June 21, 2009

The sky as we usually see it. Clouds, clouds and more clouds.

Our 3 cantaloupe plants. So far, only blossoms, no cantaloupes.

We have two peppers so far on our 6 plants. Here is one of them.

There are 3 small yellow squash on the plant above and two on its companion plant.

These 3 pictures are of the tomatoes that are currently on 3 different tomato plants

Above are a couple of different views of the garden that I took today.

Currently our biggest problem is keeping the weeds at bay. The newspaper and straw have helped a great deal but they are not perfect. I did rake away some of the straw today and lay more newspaper under it, after I had dug up the weeds. We have decided that we didn't want to get any more hay because it makes such a mess in the car. I would have put some of the black paper/plastic strips on the area where we have the corn, cabbage and watermelon, but as you can see from the position of the flags, it was too windy for me to attempt by myself. We will add more of the strips if Mary and I can find time to get together. Lately, it seems when one of us is available, the other is busy.

I did plant some green bean seeds today. Someone from Alabama told Mary that down there they plant green beans next to their corn. Apparently, the corn grows faster than the green beans and the green beans use the corn stalks as poles. It's worth a try since this is a learning experience this year. Next year we will be expert farmers and know all the tricks----right!!!!

Since our experience with the spaghetti squash seeds, I tend to be pessimistic about planting any seeds.

I replaced the watermelon plant that died with a pickling cucumber plant. I don't think either Mary or I are planning to make any pickles this year, but the lady at Watson's said that they were very good when you use them as regular cucumbers. And they have very small seeds. We'll see.

I think next year we'll be better able to plan what we would like to plant in this garden. We still have space for more plants but I don't know if we'll use it or not. I would like to have more arugula plants and some lettuce plants but you have to start them early and we did not get an early start.

I don't think I'll have an entry tomorrow unless Mary does something at the garden. My grass is growing like crazy and needs to be mowed. How come my plants don't grow as fast as my grass!!!

On Tuesday, I plant to at least stake the tomato plants that don't have cages. Don't know if I'll be able to do anything else or not.