It amazes me how hardy and fast growing these gourds are! I haven't been watering or caring for them at all. They look all wilted during the heat of the day, but then at it cools in the evening they perk back up.
They have big white flowers that bloom at night. I'm assuming that they are pollinated by moths. Interesting plants. I'm curious to see which type these gourds turn out to be. I planted a lot of different types last year and apparently one got tossed in the compost at some point, but I don't know which.
I finally (mostly) cleared the entire garden. I'm not sure if I am going to plant anything else until fall crops start going in. At least it is clear.
I (very sheepishly) admit that I have been doing most of the "weeding" with the weed-eater. Having the issues with the sciatic nerve, and having a big pregnant belly, has made it difficult to bend. Or rather, difficult to straighten back up after bending. I hand weed between individual plants while I am watering and checking on things, but the paths and edges are done with my trusty weed-eater.
I tied tomatoes again last night. Some are so tall that they are sticking up above the fence. The t-posts are 8ft tall and are probably 1-1.5ft in the ground so they are at least 6.5ft tall. The plants in the middle of the row are bigger and healthier than the ones on the outside edges. The soil is better there. Hopefully with continued amending it will even out eventually.
Twining the vines vertically with t-shirt fabric has (so far) been working wonderfully! It has allowed me to direct them to less crowded areas. It gives the vines plenty of support. I'm not sure how things are going to go with the vines that grow higher than the fence. No ripe tomatoes yet. I'm still waiting patiently.
The peppers and broccoli are doing well. Especially the peppers. I had to stake the larger plants because either the wind or the chickens have been knocking them down. The broccoli has had some issues with cabbage worms. I have been picking them manually, but may need to spray them soon. So far I have used no form of insect control other than observation and hand picking this year. I have seen a few stink bugs which worries me because those and aphids were the downfall of my garden last year.
The cucumbers are starting to do well! They are even flowering. I'm looking forward to fresh cucumbers from the garden.
The corn is starting to really grow as well. This area still needs to be weeded. I can only do small areas at a time, but slowly it gets done.
The beans have reached the top of the arbor. My hope is that next they will fill out and get thicker to completely cover the fencing. These are rattlesnake pole beans. The butter beans are not growing as well. I still have not gotten the last pole bean arbor put together, but the beans in that area are up already and looking for something to climb.
The butternut squash are starting to climb (with my help) up their arbor. They are looking thick and beautiful! Some even had small blooms on them.
The baby chickens are moving in their tractor behind the peach trees and are heading behind the little garden soon. It will be time to add the females to the big coop soon and allow the males more room to grow out.
The last few days have brought a few ripe blueberries! Not a lot of them. Just enough to snack on while standing under the bush. Very soon we will be spending a couple of hours every other evening picking gallons of berries before the birds get them. Keegan has been dreading it for weeks already. It is very time consuming and can be boring and mosquito ridden work.
These little beauties make it worth while though! He will forget when he gets his first fresh blueberry cobbler, pie, or fresh berries over ice cream. MmMmMm blueberries....
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