Case in point - See this little caterpillar on a melon leaf below? It's a melon worm, and they bore straight into a developing fruit - completely ruining a perfectly fine watermelon.....And, it was discovered by scanning over the foliage the other evening....
Photo below - enlarge the picture by clicking on it, and you can see some (almost) entry points by one of the 3 worms found. I'm lucky that it never made it through the rind, or this fruit would be toast....Thank god for retarded worms, I guess...haha...
Photo below - here's the crimson sweet that looks like the best performer so far....at 6" in diameter, it's certainly well on it's way to becoming something great later on.
Photo below - several butternut squash are getting in on the fun, too - and only 1 knee high is used to keep them from falling. The reason is because the stem is so big and strong, and a person only has to add some extra support to keep the actual vine from bending under the weight. A total of 7 have achieved fruitset so far, and that's certainly more than enough for our needs.....
In other news, it seems that one of my sisters has been a lurker of the blog for a while and didn't let me know about it until Saturday.....That just proves my point that all older sisters are buttheads! Haha......Perhaps she'll leave me a comment sometime....Anyway, I gladly handed her a big sack of squash to take home, and was thrilled to get them off of the kitchen counter. Yep, i'm to the point of almost begging people to take my squash, and i'm sure you've been there before as well...which reminds me, I really, really need to construct that trebuchet for the backyard. That way, if nobody takes my unwanted produce, i'll just launch it into the woods...lol.
The picking of blackberries will begin this week, and Jude is rarin' and ready to go...We did a brief walkthrough on Saturday, and the honeysuckle vines have really engulfed everything....Oh well, these size 15's are real good for tromping onto vegetative growth, and a clear path will be made in no time at all.
Take care, and happy gardening
EG
12 comments:
I agree with going through that foliage, that's how I found the SVB moth, I probably never would have seen the darn thing otherwise. The melons look great! And to your sister, "hey, are you going to let him get away with calling you out like that?" LOL....
Daily plant inspections is the only way I stay on top of the slugs in my maritime pacific northwest garden (where slugs are the informal state animal!). Your melons are looking pretty fine. It is normal for us to be quite a bit behind you in the growing season - but I am beginning to really worry if my squash and melons will produce this year - the unusually cold spring/early summer is keeping them stalled out in growth and the window of growing opportunity is starting to close on me.
I have melon envy - Just say'n
You'll LOVE the Crimson Sweets! We grew those last summer for the first time and they were prolific producers with great sized fruit that was always sweet.
Boy do I wish I had something to support in my garden. Your plants rock!
I would take some of that squash off your hands if I were nearer :o( Those Melons are lucky that you give them a little help with your home made slings :o) That's a great idea...don't worry about the neighbors, they'd love to be in your shoes if they really knew which way your walking.:o)
I thought I was the only crazy one! Everyone always asks why my garden looks so good, its because I spend a ton of time watching over it. Today I found a couple of caterpillars on my Pak Choi!
Erin - my sister has to take it - afterall, i'm alot bigger than her. lol.
kitsapFG - oh, that's too bad....I know some of you gardeners are really having some bad weather for gardening, and hopefully it'll improve soon..
Liisa - i'm sorry....maybe you can have the space to grow your own someday....
Stephanie - yeah, they're pretty good producers, and hopefully this year's crop will be a good one..
Sinfonian - thanks, man...I hope the weather out there in Washington gets more suited for gardening soon..
Gingerbreadshouse7 - and i'd gladly give you some!
Sarah - exactly....a good garden takes lots and lots of pampering...
We have a watermelon that volunteered right next to a fence. It set a fruit and I had decided there was no way it was going to make a full melon.
Thanks for the knee high idea. I'll go ahead and support it and see if it makes it.
I wish I had retarded worms that would leave my tomatoes alone.
Your garden looks great like always!
No melon worms here so far, but I've already smashed several fuzzy yellow babies of the Mexican bean beetle. You are so right that regular patrols are important! Your garden is looking great. "Too much squash" is such a great problem to have!
Are the melons being supported by stockings?! What a great way to recycle :) Everything looks fantastic, the crimson sweet is making my mouth water!!
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