Fall Garden 2010
My spring and summer gardens were a bust so as a last ditch effort I decided to try one more time for fall. You know us gardeners. Hope springs eternal.Since I didn't expect much, I was haphazard with my planting. I saved a few of my tomato, eggplant and pepper plants and transplanted them to another part of the garden.
Note: Gardeners, I know that was dicey. Mature plants rarely survive a transplant, but at this point I had nothing to lose. They already looked terrible.
I pruned them heavily, fertilized, and watered daily. Everything made it, but the tomato plants still refuse to give me fruit even though they are flowering.
The eggplant and peppers were more generous.
I threw a few corn seeds into the dirt as well as the starts from a sweet potato I had bought at the grocery store. Okra, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cucumbers went in too. (The cucumbers have been especially sweet. I'm sorry I didn't plant more. I could have pickled a few.)
As an afterthought, I
buried a few seeds for decorative gourds.
OH MY GOODNESS!
Even though I planted them last, they are taking over my garden. It's so robust, I hate to pull it up, but I might have to. Next year, if I plant these, they are going out in the field, not the garden. I've never seen a plant so aggressive.
Has anyone ever grown
decorative gourds? I am seeing all sorts of weird gourds, including one that is as round and smooth as a melon. This is the first time I've tried decorative gourds so it's all new to me.What is the most unusual plant you've ever grown? And who can tell me about sweet potatoes? How do I know they're ready?
True Believers Update: Thanks to everyone who offered to review TB or host me on the blog tour. I had more offers than I could handle.
I could have accepted all the offers, but I worried I might come off sounding canned or insincere, and I didn't want that to happen. I left some of my weekends free so if a burst of genius strikes me I can post it.
If I promised you a post as a guest blogger, expect it at least a week before it airs. I'm still waiting on my links to go live so I can add them to each article.
Comments
But like the Chicago Cubs always say, Wait til next year. :)
I'm going to try planting more hot weather flowers next year. I haven't tried zinnias yet. I'll put them on my list. Thanks!
Pretty much everything came up Aug 31 in order to avoid the frost.
I'll bet the trees are changing color now. I love brisk fall days.
I grew up in Newfoundland, where the coloured leaves were on the trees for a solid month. So, it's really frustrating here, after growing up with that.
Man, do I love tomatoes!
Thank you for following! Right back at ya. I added myself to your list--and I see that you're a displaced Texan.
Mercy! How the heck did that happen?!
I don't do gourds -- If I can't eat it, I don't plant it (except for flowers, which don't take up that much room). I did pumpkins one year -- NEVER again. They took over the garden. This year I did butternut squash which works in all pumpkin recipes, and they did fine (I grew them UP inside tomato cages ... they climbed just like cucumbers do).
I'm already sad my growing season is over. *sigh*
My Husband had a garden one year when we lived about 25 miles from where we do now, the deer loved him to death and ate all his okra, peppers and some of his squash plants.. (No fence, we were renting a space for our mobile home at the time and not allowed to build one)
I do love fresh cukes!!
jackie ^_^
I can supply half the county with birdhouses now. LOL!
I won't do it again, or if I do, I'll just grow loofas on the barbed wire fence.
Knock on wood, we don't have deer problems. They are hard to stop once they've found the buffet table.
My Dad would get Mom to put them in a bottle with vinegar and "pickle" them like you do cucumbers and onion and then he would eat the peppers and drink the juice, ICK!
jackie ^_^
Holy Moley! That would grow hair on my chest. LOL!
They're rather pretty. I'll bet they look good in an arrangement.
Gourds are used commonly in Hawaii as Hula implements, bowls, containers, etc.
Where I live cucumber thrive as well. My MIL and I have planted snap peas, eggplant, chili peppers, strawberries, squash, tomatoes, limes- calamansi (sp?), Lettuce, calamangai (sp?), green onions, herbs, and more.
Sweet potato is popular here. I believe my MIL has grown them but she does most of the gardening I mostly help her tend to them.
Food in Hawaii is expensive so growing your own really helps to ease the burden.
Great going.
What factors to you most worry about when gardening? My MIL and I always have to set up cages to keep away from the chickens. Our garden is close to the mountains and so there are stray/wild chickens.
Ref: garden worries
We raise chickens and I let them free range, but I put up a plastic perimeter fence that keeps them out. They could fly over it--but they haven't figured that out yet. :)
My biggest problem is water. I have to supply it during the summer.
Thanks for the tip!