The garden bugs are beginning to gather

thymetogarden, tyttoke, nartaya, and therealjephthah - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

As stated before, I am completely fascinated with garden insects. They are out there in significant numbers now, and often I will just spend hours at a time searching for them. Yeah, I know.....pretty weird. Ha! Anyway, while out there inspecting things the other day, I ran across several different varieties and was glad the camera was in hand.

Photo below - A juvenile yellow-striped armyworm on the cucumbers. In my opinion, this fella was completely out of place, because they show up most of the time on tomatoes - not cucumbers. Still, it was dealt a swift blow to rid the cucumbers of this bad pest.

Photo below - This is a leaf-footed bug, which of course is a harmful pest too. It was found on top of the trellis beam for the Cherokee Purple tomato box - where it had an encounter with the "EG-nator", as Debiclegg says...hehe...It's all about carnage!!!! hehe...

Photo below - It pays to stay very observant while tending to the plants, because I ran across this cluster of stinkbug eggs on the leaves of this little tomato bloom. Man, having this many eggs hatch in the garden would cause me to have to kill stinkbugs like crazy later, so finding the eggs and destroying them saves alot of work for me! That's the key to controlling harmful insects - finding the eggs before they hatch, and destroying them.

Photo below - check out this fully mature assassin bug that was found on some foliage of the congo watermelon vines. It was huge, and I bet it can do some serious damage to any other bug that crosses it's path. Sure, they're non-selective in what kind of bug they kill - but I always welcome these things in my garden. They're pretty wicked looking bugs, that's for sure....

On Saturday night, me and Jude did some more bug hunting with a flashlight, and I found about 3 different clusters of eggs on the tomato plants growing in the longest raised bed. Most were stinkbug eggs, and some had even begun to hatch out. They were squished with the thumb of EG, of course....
Also, i've spotted the first cucumber beetle for the year, and it met it's match, too. Hehe..

In other news, the garden is beginning to outgrow it's space, now. All trellises are completely engulfed with foliage, and most things have outgrown them in height already. Some trellis extensions would certainly be good right now, I can tell ya that much!
A couple of melons are large enough that supporting them became necessary, which was accomplished with knee highs, of course. Now's when the real fun begins around here - supporting the melons..

Also, the damage done to the cucumbers the other day while removing the corn stalks was a little more severe than initially thought - as some of the vines are dying. Hmm....since there are 8 plants growing elsewhere on the property, I might just have to make an executive decision and remove the remaining cucumbers in the 34 gallon swc. Besides, the fridge is full of them already, and  the trellis WOULD give me something for the newly transplanted watermelons to run on...decisions, decisions......

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Harvest Monday - June 28th

This week's harvest is mostly about cucumbers and corn - as I decided to pull the ears from the stalks that were starting to dry up from the searing sun from last week. This was the "ambrosia" variety growing in the swc's, and as stated before - the taste is inferior to the "peaches and cream" from years past. Still, it was good to have fresh corn from the garden for the year.

Photo below - more corn and cucumbers, and also 3 little jelly bean tomatoes from the swp's.

       

Photo below - what's this? There's a squash in there...It's the first of the season, and several more are to follow. Me and the wife also picked some pretty good blueberries from the bushes next to the woods, and a plum, too!

The corn has since been removed from the swc's, and watermelons have taken their place. It was certainly time for it, because the melon vines that were started in pots a while back had already grown about 2 feet long, and one even had a female bloom on it. Only thing is - I still don't know what will be done with the vines as they get longer. Perhaps just let them run across the yard? Maybe....Since alot of the cucumber vines had attached themselves to a few corn stalks, I roughed them up a bit while removing them. Oops. That's ok, they weren't damaged, and should look much better in a few days.

In other news, about 25 people in separate groups toured the garden on Saturday, and it was scorching hot! Oh gosh...I was sweating like a pack mule, and served cold lemonade to those that wanted some, too. It was the least I could do since some drove 40 miles to pay the garden a visit. A few took pictures of the various things I had to show, and i'm glad they found my garden interesting.
Phillip Oliver over at dirt therapy came by, and also Jerry and Lori over at soulcatching photography. It was great to have them visit, and i'd love to see some pictures from the outing.
As usual, Jude completely stole the show with her frisbee-catching ability. Hehe....I'm thinking of letting people just come to see her, then mention something like "oh, by the way...I also have a garden"...That little stinker....She's such a good dog, though. Anyway, even though the heat really took it out of me - it was a very good day for the garden and me. :-)

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Going after the bugs at night - EG style

As promised, here's a pretty long video of me and Jude looking for bugs late at night. You might have to turn the volume up on your speakers, because I was trying not to wake anybody. And yes - there's carnage!!!!...Enjoy!

Starting a new batch of compost

Carrie, mkimmi, and floridalgr - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

Since fresh grass clippings are really in abundance right now, I decided to go ahead and get a third bin started from some of the shredded leaves leftover from last year. I mean...fresh grass clippings, shredded leaves, and hot ambient temperatures really make for a rapidly decomposing bin full of materials, and I intend to take advantage of the opportunity! Those grass clippings get things REALLY heated up quick, and not much turning is required, either! This is what was put into bin #1.....

Photo below - bin #3 has (around 90% finished) compost in it, which will be left to do it's own thing until next spring. If everyone only knew all the hard work that went into this batch to get it this far, they would certainly be surprised. Dealing with the frigid temperatures earlier in the year sure did make things go slowly for the cycle, but will be well worth the trouble in the end. About 25 lbs of UCG's in bags are laying on top for the newly started batch in bin #1. They'll be added once the pile has been reduced just a little bit.....

Photo below - here's the same things in bin #5, and should easily yield at least 50 cubic feet of finished compost for next year's garden. This particular one has the most diverse group of contents in it, because it was the one that received most of the dry molasses, dry dog food, and also UCG's out the wazoo.....In all, I guess around 300 lbs. of of nitrogen-rich ingredients were added throughout the entire cycle...

Photo below - with tomato plants growing from it, this pile of shredded leaves was trimmed down in size as much as possible without disturbing the plant roots. In November, they'll be added to bin #1, because i'm sure it's contents will have shrunk significantly by that time. (probably even finished) Boy, this is gonna be a relaxing winter around my house, because no pile turning will have to be performed......

Other things......Since I didn't have enough soil on hand to pot up all of the japanese maple seedlings, I decided to just consolidate all the soil in the containers and keep 7 plants. Besides - I have enough things to water around here. These will be kept for at least 2-3 years, then sold to the public. They'll likely get to spend the winter inside the coldframes - that is, if they'll still fit in there once cold weather arrives....

Photo below - although this side of the shed looks kinda junky becuase of all the clutter, I wanted to show you my hose that is used to get water from the rainbarrels and out to the garden. At only 100 feet long, it'll only reach to the swp section, but with another 50 feet should easily make it to the majority of things. All I know, is that dealing with the long hose is way easier than hauling 50-60 gallons of water out there in buckets. Whew! A small pump might be introduced later too, whcih will make watering much faster.

In other news, I can safely say that at least 5 congo watermelons growing in the 18 gallon swc were pollinated. Yeehaw! Since I really want them to grow as big as possible, i'll have to remove all future female flowers so the plants' efforts are focused into these 5. An aggressive fertilization shedule will be followed too, because they'll get most of their growth over the first 3 weeks....

Also, the plums are ripe, but most have been damaged by the plum curculio (pest that bores into the fruit). That's ok, there weren't many that got pollinated anyway....It's an even trade for the bumper crop of muscadine grapes that we'll definitely have this year. I can't complain.....

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Wanna see my melons? Ha!

Fuat and Seana - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

Not those kind of melons!!!! I'm a guy! Sheesh....I'm talking about watermelons. It's no secret that i'll trellis any melon on the planet, because let's face it - i've got the trellises for it. Oh, I just love seeing people's confused look while visiting my garden in late summer for the first time. A few 25 pounders suspended in mid-air is definitely something you don't see everyday, and I love doing it this way. Hehe...

Photo below - it's kinda hard to tell which is vine and which is blackberry cane, but you should be able to see the vine that is running horizontally along the top of the trellis to the left. This is what is being grown in the gray colored swc on the right side, and has already vined out around 10 feet so far. This swc has to be filled up every couple of days, because these plants are drinking alot of water!

Photo below - just look at this little stinker. I hope it was pollinated by the bees, because what few that's been seen have been in the cucumber area (more flowers for them to visit). Just as a precaution, i've began to hand pollinate as well. This one is a Congo Watermelon, and there are 4 more out there just like it....

Photo below - here's the honeydew melons that are beginning to vine pretty well, too. Gosh, they are so far behind the congo, but should start to grow pretty fast since hot weather has finally arrived. This "cool green" variety is just awesome, and probably the best melon i've ever tasted. It's impressive!

Photo below - here's a tiny "sugar bowl hybrid" watermelon growing in the big box that's ready to be pollinated by a bee. Oh...you can bet that this one was hand pollinated too, just as insurance. These typically grow to around 25 lbs. too, but my friend James, from work grew one to almost 40 lbs last year. Yikes! I'd love to grow one to that size! Hehe....he calls himself "EG jr."......

In other news, the blackberries are everywhere now! Chance and Shawn Jr. are supposed to come this weekend to pick some, and i'll probably get out there with them. Although I won't pick all that many, somebody has to be there to show them how it's done. Lord knows i'm a real pro at it!

The green beans are coming in now too, but only a few at a time. Jude gets those, 'cause she loves them! About 10 ears of corn were pulled the other day and made their way to the dinner table, which were "Ambrosia" variety, and far less impressive as the "peaches and cream" from previous years. I'll not grow that one again, that's for sure....

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

A tomato thief is in my garden

It seems that gardening is always a challenge, whether it be because of harmful insects, diseases, pests of all kinds, or even nasty weather that Mother Nature always throws your way each year. When fruit begin to disappear, that's possibly the worst feeling in the world to a gardener. I've been closely watching a Giant Oxheart tomato for a few weeks now by the shed, and am eager to try one for the first time. Well, while inspecting everything the other day, I noticed it was completely gone! Could Jude have done this? Nah.....there's no way. Now that she's a well-trained adult dog, she wouldn't dare touch anything in the garden. I just know it. So, it's more likely a squirrel, raccoon, or opossum that decided to become a tomato thief. An early morning stroll with my loaded shotgun might just be in order..Hehe...

Anyway, the tomatoes are doing exceptionally well, and we should be covered in them before too much longer. Just look at these Cherokee Purple tomatoes below - man I can't wait to eat some mater sammiches!

Photo below - One of the brandywine tomatoes is a really nice sized fruit, and has a beautiful shape to it, too. My little tomato thief better not steal this one, or the homemade flamethrower (a project for another day) just might take center stage. I'll resort to "shotgun therapy" first, though. Ha!

Photo below - now let me tell you about the jelly bean tomatoes in 4 gallon swps....Both plants have an issue with their top growth becoming all droopy like this one, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on with them. The roots are getting too hot in the containers.....I have always grown cherry tomatoes in these same planters with great results, but only in an area that received about 6 hours of direct sunlight. This particular area gets 8-9. Oh well, it's definitely a lesson learned on my part.

Photos below - sure, I could yank the plants and start over in a different location, but really don't want to lose all of the little tomatoes that have formed already. There must be at least 40 of them, and i'll just leave the plants as is for now....

In other news, it's been a real scorcher around here! The heat index has been at least 100 everyday over the past week, and it's brutal to do anything outside. Still...I tend to the garden for at least 2 hours each evening, because it requires alot of time to make sure everything is going ok. I know gardeners that just plant it and forget it - but they always end up with less than ideal results......

Also, i'll have more than just cucumbers to show for the next Harvest Monday! Yeehaw!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Keeping squash from getting out of control

Some gardeners are afraid to grow summer squash in a small space - not me, though. Whether it's yellow crookneck or zucchini, it's only got a 2' x 2' space alotted to grow in if it wants to grow in my garden. Upside down tomato cages are used to keep the leaves from sprawling out everywhere, which is quite effective - at least in my experience. Daily attention is needed to make this happen though, as the leaves must be kept inside the hoops as it continues to grow upward.
Photo below - yellow crookneck squash.......

Photo below - this zucchini plant doesn't look so scary now, does it? Most people have heard the horror stories about "the monster plant in the garden", but it's nothing more than a big baby if ya take care of it.

Photo below - while checking everything out the other day, I ran across this mature green stinkbug. Stinkbugs cause alot of damage in the garden - especially to tomatoes. If you've ever picked a ripe tomato and discovered some kind of white spot underneath the skin - that's stinkbug damage. Looks pretty scary, doesn't it?

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Photo below - Well, it doesn't look scary now! As is done with most bugs in the garden - it was caught, then executed without a trial. Ha! Yeah, i'm pretty rough on bad bugs in my garden, and they meet certain death when an encounter takes place. In a video that will be posted later this week, you'll get the idea. Carnage!!! It's all about carnage!!!! I just know that ribbit is thinking to herself  "is there anything that EG won't pick up with his hand?" Hehe...Not much.....

Speaking of bugs, i've got a post coming up that has some cool bug pics included. In one outing, I was able to photograph an adult assassin bug, and also an adult leaf-footed bug. Cool!!!! I like bugs - can ya tell?

In other news, a tour of the garden will be available to the general public on Saturday, June 26th - from 12 pm til 6 pm. Some of the Shoals Master Gardeners requested a visit, and I didn't want to leave out any of my readers from the area. If interested, you can contact me by email for directions.

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Harvest Monday, June 21st

puppydog067 and Carolyn - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

Ok, it's not much - but all I got is cucumbers again. That's ok - i'm just glad to have something! The first harvests of the summer usually happen this way - not much at first, then alot at one time. Another one was harvested later, but I didn't get it's photo.....

You can see that the blueberries and blackberries are beginning to come in also, and should go crazy in another week or two. I'll also be posting something every day this week, because there's just so much to talk about right now. Only one video will be posted - as I decided to take the camcorder outside while hunting for bugs late at night. It's pretty good!

If you'd like to share your harvest for the week, run on over to Daphne's and join in on the fun!

The temperature is supposed to get up to 97 here today, but I don't know what the heat index will be. Probably around 105-107, if I was guessing. Although it isn't a problem for the garden - it's sure rough on me and Jude! Whew!

*I also wanted to tell you that the 2nd part of the flowerbed project has been posted, and the link can be found at the right side of the page. Enjoy!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Rooting and pruning tomato suckers

yma, njumpasorn, and katrina - Welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

*If you would like to be notified when a new post is published on my blog, create a blogger or google account - and click on the "follow" text directly above the photos of my followers on the right side of the page. It will eliminate you from saying "I wonder if EG has posted anything new...", because you'll know immediately when I post something.

Anyway, here's a video I made the other day about rooting tomato suckers, and pruning, too! Enjoy!

A video about trellises

Welcome, John - and thanks for following my blog!

Here's a video of some of the trellises on the property, and how I use them to their fullest. I shot this for my friend Toni, and also hope that Mansgirl finds it useful, too!
Towards the end of the video, you'll see me move a limp cucumber plant out of the way. At the time, I thought it only needed watering - but when other things started doing the same, it came to me what was happening. I'll post about it later.....

Things growing in swc's/swp's

Almost half of my gardening is done in self-watering containers/self-watering planters, and today I decided to devote an entire post to these particular plants. Although it isn't all of them out there, i'll try to highlight a few - so here goes!

Photo below -  First, you'll notice that the red swc with honeydew melons in it has been moved to the next trellis over. This was done to hopefully expose the container to more exposure to direct sunlight, because the plants are kinda leggy.

Photo below - the 12 cucumber plants growing in the 34 gallon swc are doing really good, and have already outgrown the really tall trellis I made for them. I can't wait to see what the roots look like at the end of the growing season, because I bet it's pretty congested in there! The corn next to them are doing good too, and a few ears should be harvested in 2 weeks. I bet it's gonna be some good stuff, and we'll most likely roast them on the grill. Yum!

Photo below - here's some of the plants growing in 4 gallon swp's. The one on the left is planted with 2 cucumbers, and so far are doing exceptionally well. To the right of it is a tomato plant of some kind - of which I can't remember the variety right now. Oops! To the right of it are 2 black cherry tomato plants, which aren't shown in the photo.

Photo below - here's a "bush" variety of sugar baby watermelon growing in a 4 gallon swp. The reason they call it "bush", is because the vine is only supposed to get around 4 feet long. It'll be trained up the trellis later as usual, and it will be the first attempt for me at growing any type of watermelon in such a small swp. It's gonna be interesting!

Photo below - Here's my only early girl tomato plant in the garden, and it's being grown in a 4 gallon swp, too. See that tomato on there? Well, after taking this picture, I looked at it closely and it had a severe case of BER. Booooo! Luckily though, i've only found about 3 tomatoes that have been affected so far. That's not bad for 31 plants....

Tomorrow, i'll post a video of my trellises, and how they are utilized in the garden for my good friend Toni. She had asked me some questions about them, and the best way to explain everything is by doing a video. I've got another one that'll be coming up a day or two later, that covers rooting suckers from tomato plants. Gosh, I just love rooting those things, and have been giving out free plants like crazy!

Take care, and happy gardening!

My tomatoes are pretty happy, I reckon

Ok, it's time to show my tomatoes. Afterall, isn't that the best thing to show? I've officially got 31 tomato plants growing now, especially since one of my cucumbers in a swp died on me....
Anyway, these first ones are Neves Azorean Red, and I just noticed that they look like they have BER....whimper....Gosh, i'm gonna have to go out there and take a closer look, bit it sure looks like it. *After a close inspection of them this morning, no BER to be found. Yay!

Photo below - Brandywine, and thankfully the leaves appear to be free from any diseases. Earlier, lots of leaves were affected with something, and a liberal spraying with copper fungicide took place. Those leaves were removed, then discarded into the woods at least 100 feet from the plants. I'd really like for these to do well this year, because they'll probably become a staple around here. (If not too much trouble)

Photo below - here's an updated picture of the 8 Cherokee Purple plants, which are really beginning to get bushy. I'm ecstatic about this planting - especially because they are really healthy plants. I just knew this box would perform well for them, and can't wait to start harvesting a few. This box will be made 3" deeper once the flowerbed project is finished, as there should be enough scrap pieces leftover for adding at least 1 more layer of timbers. Who knows? I might even build another box when cold weather arrives. Hehe....Shhh....Don't tell my wife!

                                     

Photo below - check out these 3 plants growing in the big pile of shredded leaves. Ha! From left to right, we have Stupice, Giant Oxheart (I think), and one of the jelly bean volunteer plants from work. Man, they sure like growing here, and I might just start leaf "farmimg". Hey, it works..

In other news, the 8 tomato plants growing in swc's by the shed are starting to set fruit, too. They are the ones that have herbicide damage - which makes the leaves look really freaky! Only one plant didn't get exposed to it, which is a Giant Oxheart. As you can imagine, that particular swc is using alot more water than the others.
Also, The jelly bean tomatoes growing in 4 gallon swp's that have set fruit like crazy already are experiencing some problems now. I just don't understand it - the leaves are lush and green, but the top growth is drooping....Gosh, I hope it isn't a wilt of some kind!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Corn and sweet potatoes

When hot weather arrives, things just explode in growth around here. For instance, take the watermelon vine in the picture below. It's already outgrown it's 6 foot trellis, and is looking for more. Man...I like it when this happens, because blooms are soon to follow. All of the melons (4 total) growing in the largest raised bed are sugar bowl hybrid, which typically get to around 25 lbs. With strong netting and rope, they'll be suspended with ease.

Photo below - Here's one of the butternut squash plants that needs some water. When the leaves get all droopy like this, the plant is protecting itself by minimizing the surface area that is exposed to sunlight. Although not good to repeatedly let them get this way, it definitely indicated that it needs some water. I gave it a good watering after this photo was taken.

Photo below - check out this miniature corn.....It's not a miniature variety, but is trying to produce ears at only 1 foot tall. The reason? Apparently when corn germinates, it's kinda got an internal clock for reaching maturity. These plants experienced some excessive watering during the abundance of rainfall a while back, which kept them from growing much. Before it could recover well, time apparently ran out. So, it's producing ears. I don't know if they'll be ok, but I still hand - pollinated them from other plants' tassels. Hey, i'll take all the harvest I can get! I don't care how short the plants are...heh.

Photo below - More and more stalks are producing 2 ears, as seen in the picture. There must be at least 4-5 plants out there that are this way. Nice! Looks like we'll be enjoying fresh sweet corn over several weeks, because these plants are at least 2-3 weeks behind the others. These particular ones are growing in the largest box - just for reference....I'm pretty sure they're "Kandy Korn" variety....

Photo below - A current picture of the sweet potatoes shows that they are quickly getting out of control. That's alright, I just keep forcing the vines toward the center of each container - kinda piling them up if you will. You'll notice some new plants in the container on the left - those were runners that were rooted from the other plants, and have to be watered pretty often until they become well established. Spectracide is sprayed on them weekly to deter harmful insects, and they are watered very deeply at least once per week.

In other news, the blackberries are beginning to ripen. Me and Jude went out to the patch and she ate about 5 or 6 - the little stinker....She sure does like going out there each year...We will probably pick a few, but there's still 5 gallons in the freezer from last year that need to be used. Perhaps a blackberry jam post is soon to happen...hmm....

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Harvest Monday! Yeehaw!!!!!

Welcome, Trish - and thanks for following my blog!

Umm...yeah....i'm trying to control my excitement but it's no use. Finally!!!! Oh god, i've finally got something to show since the onions a while back. Whew......These straight eight cucumbers couldn't wait any longer, so I just had to pick them. Some will likely make their way to some of my friends at work, because we don't eat many around my house - just make pickles with them. I'll only make whole dill pickles this year - as we still have some bread and butter pickles leftover from last year. Anyway, these babies came from the vines growing in the 34 gallon swc.

If you'd like to share your harvest for the week, visit Daphne's Dandelions to take part in the festivities - and also see what everyone else is harvesting.

In other news, it was extremely hot over the weekend, and working on the flowerbed was almost unbearable. There's a reason I don't take on summer projects - it's just too dang hot! However, since the flowerbed is almost complete, i'll go ahead and finish it. My next project will begin sometime in early October, which will be much better for working outside. I'm thinking a nice ramp for my parents will be next.

A quick early morning survey of the garden revealed that the muscadine grapes will produce the bumper crop we've been waiting for. More on that in another post....

I've got several posts coming up with all kinds of stuff, and even have a couple of videos about my trellises and rooting tomato suckers. I hope you like them!

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG

Constructing a flowerbed on a slope, part 1 of 2

Just wanted to let everyone know that the first construction post on the flowerbed is ready, and can be viewed Here . I hope you find it helpful!!!!

EG

Some things you haven't seen in a while - and Rhubarb?

Last year, I mistakenly planted spaghetti squash when it was intended to be Waltham butternut. Talk about a real bummer! We don't like the spaghetti variety, but can't get enough of the butternut - so I gave the entire harvest from last year's plants away. Blech! Anyway, after last year's fiasco, I got it right this time.
Photo below - here's one of the butternut squash plantings in the 4x9 box next to the woods. With only 5.5 hours of direct sunlight each day, it's doing very well so far.

Photo below - What the? Ok, let me explain....A while back, me and the wife were at The Home Depot in Decatur, Alabama, and I came across something not offered in my local stores. Rhubarb. So, I had to buy one - especially since it was 50% off regular price. Well, I kinda neglected it for about 3 weeks, and didn't even plant it. Reason? There was no place to put it in the garden. So, it died (or so I thought), then it came back to life during all of the rainfall we experienced a few weeks ago. Since a couple of large swc's were constructed for a good friend - I had the scrap pieces of totes leftover. Well, I combined the 2 halves, and stapled landscaping fabric onto the bottom side to keep weeds from entering the new homemade container. It was filled with homemade compost (90% finished), then the rhubarb went in. I think it will do well in it, but only time will tell. I figure it holds about 35 gallons of soil, so that should be plenty - in my opinion.

Photo below - it's official. Once the corn growing in swc's is harvested, 2 of these babies will occupy the vacated containers. Congo watermelon, and I got carried away with planting them this year. As a matter of fact.... once planted, there will be a total of 8 watermelon plants growing. Oh boy, it could get interesting during the months of August/September! I'm just glad I decided to start them when I did, because it allowed a good jump on things for a late crop.

Photo below - Speaking of watermelons.....here's one of the 4 total sugar bowl hybrids growing in the main raised bed. It's already climbing the trellis, and has sent out two more vines that are running as well. Since the box is 14" deep now and has plenty of soil for the roots to grow in, I feel really good about them this year.

Photo below - here's 2 more at the opposite end of the bed which aren't as far along. Although not intended to be this way, it might be a good thing - providing a staggered harvest of melons throughout the late summer months.

In other news, it seems that the members of the Shoals Master Gardeners would like a tour of the garden sometime this summer. The only thing is - i'm having a difficult time getting one scheduled. Maybe it'll happen one of these days......

Also, i'm getting kinda burned out from everything going on right now. My job is really demanding because of late night phone calls for assistance from employees, and the sweltering heat outside is taking it's toll on me while working on the new flowerbed. I'm getting too old for this level of manual labor, and can't wait until it's finally complete. Removing all of the large tree roots from the area to be tilled is the hardest part, and an axe is the tool of choice when dealing with them. Who needs a gym membership when you can get all of the exercise you want from a garden? Not me, i'm sore and stiff every morning  anyway. Whew, I need a relaxing vacation in a bad way......

Take care, and happy gardening

EG

An update on the tomatoes

Aside from a foliage problem with the Brandywines, the tomatoes are doing very well in the garden. The tomato plant total count is up to 29 now, I think. Since there are tons of successfully rooted suckers from plants laying around, everytime something else fails in the garden - a tomato plant takes it's place. Hehe...

Anyway, here are the Cherokee Purple tomato plants growing in the 4x8 box that look as good as any plant that's been grown by myself in over 20 years. Needless to say, this makes me really happy, because these 8 plants are gonna bring alot of happiness to me and my family this year. The homemade salsa that's gonna be made this year will be with these tomatoes, and I bet the sweetness of the tomatoes will make it really good. You'll notice a couple of really small plants in the front, which are some suckers that were rooted.

                                               

Photo below - since the plant acquired from the workshop at the extension office eventually bit the dust, it was replaced with one of the volunteer jelly bean plants from my place of work. Oh, it's quite happy in here, and I expect it to thrive.

Photo below - one of the jelly bean plants that I started from seed is setting fruit like crazy. This particular one is growing in a swp constructed from 2 cat litter buckets. In all, there are at least 4 jelly bean plants in the garden, because me and Austin sure do like eating 'em! Since it's likely that we'll be completely covered in salad tomatoes this year, i'll probably try to use most of them in different things - like spaghetti sauce and who knows what else. I bet a really chunky sauce would be good.....

Photo below - the first beefsteak tomato to have fruitset is on one of the Giant Oxhearts, and I can't wait to try this one....In all, there are four Giant Oxheart plants in the garden, and I sure hope they are good. This one is being grown in a swc by the shed.

Photo below - Here's the heavily pruned Brandywine plants that are experiencing foliage issues right now. Copper fungicide has been applied to the entire plants, and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it slows the problem down. After some research, it appears that Brandywine is one of the worst heirloom tomatoes a person can grow in the deep south, because it has all kinds of problems. Oops!

The weekend was spent working on the big flowerbed for my wife, and the construction of it will occupy at least 2 posts. If you have thought about constructing a raised bed on a slope but didn't know how to do it, then this project should be of some help to you. I really enjoy showing people how to build things, and this project is gonna be a really good one to follow. While out there working on it, my son told me "Ya know....you could have your own tv show". Yeah, I guess it is possible, but who would want to sponsor me? Hehe....Anyway, because of the numerous photos and detailed tutorial, these posts will have their own pages, and links to them will be present on the right side of the page. I'll let you know when the links become active....

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG