Harvest Time!

Cantaloupe Crazy!

New canaloupe, about the size of a large grape.

Bell Pepper continues to grow

 Tomatoes Ripening

Corn coming up

"Alone and warming his five wits....

... the white owl in the belfry sits" ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"A wise old owl sat on an oak, the more he saw the less he spoke;" ~Unknown

 A welcome guest, Mr Toad is also on duty tonight guarding the garden with a watchful eye.  Garden pests beware!

We accidentally dislodged a few green tomatoes trying to get to the red tomato.

This Tycoon tomato complimented Lea's tacos perfectly

So far we've harvested four 444 tomatoes and two Tycoon tomatoes.

Corn Nuts

Well I may be a little nuts.  But I've been dreaming of growing corn since reading an article in Texas Gardener.  Yesterday the guys and I made that dream come true.  We sawed, hammered, cleared and dug out a 4 x 10 garden for corn.  We're two weeks late getting the crop in according to the calendar I found on the Burpee seed website.  Hopefully, we'll be ok.

Bryson and Ethan pitched in all weekend.  I seriously couldn't have done it without them.

Black Kow was used to amend the soil.  When Ethan found out it was manure it really grossed him out.  He started wiping his hands on his brothers shirt.  (What are brothers for?)

This picture shows the grade, we had to dig in deep to level the box.

Special thanks to Steven for the corn seed that rekindled the dream.

Spice of Life

Ever wonder what a baby jalapeno looks like?  Wonder no more!  Click on the picture to enlarge.

Cantaloupe is growing into the empty space between the gardens. 

Now I have to be extra careful where I step.

The very beginnings of another bell pepper

Cucumbers are growing.  They are large enough now to get a little mulch under them.  It helps keep the soil hydrated under the bright Texas sun.

 

Even in this drought Lea's Esperonza plant is producing lovely flowers.  This one looked exactly like the one I dug up in the spring because I thought it was dead.  That was a stupid rookie mistake.  Sorry Lea.

A Pepper in Hand is Worth?

The bell pepper has grown to a good size

So it's time for a little harvest

A pepper in hand is not worth two in the bush.  But it does make you feel pretty good.

Just like you get from HEB!  Tastes great!

Tomatoes are still green, but there are plenty to share.  Hang on everyone, perfection takes time.

Bell Pepper

Just found this bell pepper hiding under a leaf today.  I thought this plant was going to die but now there's new life.  Happy Easter everyone!

Full Garden View

Cucumber Plants

44 Tomatoes

The largest 444 tomato plant has 14 tomatoes some are new others have been maturing for a while

The medium size 444 tomato plant has 10 tomatoes.  Several are quite mature.

The Tycoon tomato plant has 12 tomatoes and they are getting big.

The Celebrity has 3 new tomatoes.

The smallest 444 tomato plant has 5 new tomatoes.  The 444 and Celebrity tomatoes are supposed to be medium in size.  The Tycoon tomatoes are supposed to be larger.

If you look close you can see the cucumber seedlings.

Bell Pepper plant still growing.  Turns out my neighbor has one and it's dark in the same places so it may be normal for this type of bell pepper.

Canteloupe plant is flowering

Jalapeno plant is flowering as well.

Planting Cucumbers

A few days ago Bryson requested that we grow cucumbers.  This got me thinking about how this could be accomplished.  It was obvious that there was no room in the garden.

This area of the garden, next to an open area is perfect for growing cucumbers, which can be expected to spread along the ground.

The cilantro is flowering and has thinned into feathery leaves that aren't as good for eating.  The onions around it could be left to make large onions or harvested early as green onions.

So to make room for the cucumbers, I decided to remove the cilantro and harvest onions.

From Garden

To Kitchen

After carefully washing everything, Macey and I each tried a green onion and found them to be sweet and delicious.  They were placed in a plastic bag and put in the fridge.

With an area of the garden free, Macey and I were ready to plant our cucumbers.

We used a small garden trowel to make sure the soil was nice and loose then seeds were evenly spread across the area.

A thin 1/2 inch layer of potting soil was added over the seeds.

And then the seeds were gently watered.

For the next week or so we'll water the seeds each day keeping the soil moist.  My favorite part of this project was spending time with Macey. 

Black Death?

Well it doesn't look good for the Bell Pepper plant.  I'm not sure what this is but it doesn't look good.

Ailing Plant

 The black areas where the branches come off the stem look unhealthy

Another look at the area in question

Tomatoes look good

Feed 'em Right

Lea made an amazing dinner tonight.  Pasta and tomato sauce with garlic bread and then a pudding/cake dessert with whip cream.  It was so good that I was inspired to feed the vegetables.

Mom and Dad are using Organic LadyBug 8-2-4 Fertilizer and their tomato plants are huge.

LadyBug 8-2-4 All Purpose Organic Fertilizer

Meanwhile, the 444 tomatoes are getting bigger.  Dad gave me a container of LadyBug to use in the garden.  (Thanks Dad)  It was sprinkled around each plant and watered in.  Then additional cyprus mulch was added.

Tycoon Tomato

 Bell Pepper Bloom