September is that time of year when the garden usually starts winding down, except for the weeds, which seem to just take over! It's pretty satisfying to see the produce ripen and be picked and eaten, especially at the end of the season when I'm just surprised to see these plants haven't given up! All garden credit has to go to Cameron and Todd, who are the primary caregivers in this case. Also, we subscribe to the "only plant what you will eat" philosophy, so if it seems our garden is missing something, it's probably on purpose. Plus, there's a couple things that, even though we eat them a lot, we have learned are more trouble to garden than we have time for, thereby making it more worth it to get them at the grocery store.
So, yesterday I took Emma out for a walk in the sunshine and to check on the garden, and here are a few shots of what we found. Be impressed that any photos that don't have Emma in them were taken with her on my hip.
Tomatoes -- the cherries seem to have exploded and have gone into production overdrive. We can't come close to eating all that's here. (We give a lot away!)
Cantaloupe - I think all of us were surprised at how well this plant performed. Maybe I was just uninformed about its potential.
Jalapeno peppers -- These look better and better the older the plant gets. Actually, the same thing goes for the bell pepper plants, too. (No photo included) No wonder these things thrive in the South.
The story behind the pumpkins is interesting. We were excited to watch the pumpkins forming and taking on the orange color. Then, for reasons unknown, the plant itself began looking sick. Then it looked REALLY sick. We asked around a little, and one of our more-experienced gardening friends (Ok, so he's a fair bit older than we are!)
-- he suggested that it might be a worm. There's some sort of squash bug (Doesn't everyone like Squashed Bugs?)..... which eats the plant at the roots, and kills the plant in the process. Which sounds exactly like what we have. And as the plant died, the weeds took over. In the photo, which incidently has an 11-month old baby conveniently located for size comparison, the green leaves you see are weeds, and the dead brown stuff is the pumpkin plant. We don't know yet if the pumpkins will be harvestable or not. We were hoping that this could save us some cash on the annual jack-0-lantern investment, so we'll see.
The grapes are just coming into their own for the year. I am looking forward to juicing these babies this year, since I bought a new steam juicer earlier this summer. It will be a new experience for me.
This picture of the raspberries is my absolute favorite, and I don't know why.
The raspberries are of course, on their second picking for the year. And these babies are huge! I'm hoping the plants will have matured enough by next year to get enough berries to make raspberry jam -- my goal.
The raspberries are of course, on their second picking for the year. And these babies are huge! I'm hoping the plants will have matured enough by next year to get enough berries to make raspberry jam -- my goal.
Other still-producers in the yard -- the full-size tomatoes are doing quite well. The previously mentioned bell peppers keep going, too. We had 3 plantings of corn, and while we've gone through the first two, the 3rd planting is ripening now, and it's the tallest of the stalks too -- about 8 feet high, I think. The cucumbers did not get a photo op, since they were hiding under the leaves and I was holding a baby. The peach and nectarine trees are pretty young, and the peaches weren't photo-worthy (being on the ground!), and the nectarine photo didn't make the cut.
I'm sure we only have a few more weeks of garden to enjoy, and I can't help but being thankful for the blessing it has been to us. Not that we would suffer or starve without it, but the wonderful taste of fresh veggies, plus the chance to preserve it inexpensively, plus the life lessons my children have learned from working out there, is what makes it invaluable.
P.S. Big shout out to Katie, who singlehandedly has doubled my listed followers! (Wish the lurkers would list themselves. I know you are here!)
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