Despite the heat all the plants are doing well, probably because I keep them well watered. Its hasn't rained a drop in about 4 weeks, but with all the rain we got this late spring/early summer, the lakes are still full and there aren't any watering restrictions.
Cucumbers ,Okra, Beans
The cucumbers are doing great. These are actually called "Eureka Hybrid Cucumbers", and I read that they are very disease resistant. I believe it, because by this time usually my cucumbers collapse and die, but these are still going strong. The kids wanted to help in the garden, so I assigned Andrew to be in charge of picking the okra every day, and Michelle to be in charge of picking the cucumbers.
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| A day's harvest. Andrew picked about 12 okra pods, and Michelle picked 10 cucumbers. |
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| The vines are now starting to sprawl along the ground too. |
Here are the okra plants. The are getting very big, taller than me now, and they are starting to produce a lot now. These are the same "emerald" okra I've been growing the past few years. I am out of seed so hopefully I'll remember to let a few pods mature and save the seeds for next year.
In the picture below between the okra and cucumbers are some bush bean plants. After initially fighting spider mites, they are gone now, and the plants are pretty pest free. I think the neem oil and soap applications helped. But now their greatest enemy is the heat. They have not been producing much, except a few very small pods every day. Occasionally I'll get a few good pods. I might pull them up soon and start planting pole beans there for a fall harvest.
Birdhouse Gourd and Milo
Here is the gourd arbor I made with the birdhouse gourds, and the milo plants below. I had scattered some seed around the area in the late spring, and now they are close to being ready for picking. I have grown these mainly for the chickens to eat.
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| A closeup of the milo seed heads. |
The birdhouse gourds are still doing well. Last time I mentioned their wilting, and that I was concerned it was bacterial wilt because of the cucumber beetles, and how they can transmit disease. Thankfully, I don't think it is. I think it was just the heat and dryness. Since I have been watering more, the wilting has not been as pronounced, but it still happens. I think these plants just don't like the dry heat, and are just surviving until the heat lets up. By the end of the afternoon, they look pretty droopy, but they recover pretty well.
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| The birdhouse gourds. These have not really grown in a while. This might be as big as they get. (probably due to the heat) Pumpkins and Squash
The lone pumpkin plant which was a volunteer has now become huge,and has now reached past the yellow squash, to where the bush beans are. At first I was not sure if I was going to pull it out because I had this spot reserved for Hubbard squash to be planted later, but I've grown fond of it, and have taken care of it by removing squash vine borer (SVB) and squash bug eggs. The squash bugs have arrived, and I have found some egg clusters and have crushed them. I have crushed about 6 squash bugs too. If I keep checking for them every few days I can keep them under control. But as the plant gets bigger, it gets harder. The SVB have actually slowed down a lot recently. I think we are now between the generations of them (there are supposed to be 2 generations in the summer) and I expect them to show up strong again later in mid-August. I have only seen a few eggs this past week. I have also been burying some of the newer vines to let them take root. So this plant is now pretty well established, and now just waiting for the female flowers to start appearing. So far only males.
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| Pumpkin vine has gotten huge. Amazing this is just 1 plant. |
The yellow squash outgrew their tulle covers, so I removed them earlier this week. So far I have gotten about 8 squash from them. When I removed the covers, I piled new dirt and mulch over the base of the plant and parts of the vine laying on the ground, to protect from SVB, and to encourage more rooting. I will begin monitoring the vine, and injecting with BT when I see they are showing signs of SVB damage... but that shouldn't be happening for at least 3 more week, so I should have plenty of time to get lots of squash from these. When I planted them I was worried about the timing,and the heat of July and August affecting their fruit setting. But they have done fine. Despite the 100 degree weather, I have more squash on the way!
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| Yellow Crookneck Squash |
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| Small squashes developing |
I still want to pursue growing Hubbard squash again this fall. So I went ahead and started them, and here are the seedlings now. I have them covered to protect from bugs. I am hoping by the time these get bigger and start sprawling around, the pumpkin vine will begin dying off around the base, and these can just grow over and take over that area. If not, its going to be hard to find space to train these vines. These plants are enormous. I need a bigger yard!!
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| Blue Hubbard Squash seedlings. |
I am also trying spaghetti squash for the first time this year. I got the seeds from a squash my wife bought from the store last year. There are 4 hills here, two spaghetti squash and 2 sugar pie pumpkin hills. This is at the opposite end of the garden area, where the tomatoes were growing earlier this year. I also have these covered with tulle to protect from bugs (SVB, squash bugs, cucumber beetles, the big Three...Boo! ). The seeds just came out a couple days ago.
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| spaghetti squash and sugar pie pumpkin seedlings |
Peppers
My peppers, which had such a slow start, are doing real well. I can definitely see a difference in the plants, not just in the fruit, but in the size of them and their leaf size. Some have gotten top-heavy and I have had to stake up. But otherwise no problems, no bugs bothering them. Pretty easy!
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| The Costa Rican Sweet Pepper |
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| small skinny pepper, maybe a Cayenne? |
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| Looks like a jalapeno or similar hot pepper |
Basil
Growing among my pumpkin plant is basil. I have three big plants. These become like woody bushes when they are big, and are pretty tall enough to stand out among the pumpkin leaves. They produce tons of flowers, which the bees love! Also every time I go into the patch and rub against the leaves, they produce a wonderful smell. I see some black carpenter bees, and some real small other type of bees buzzing like crazy every morning. These were all volunteers. Last year the plants dropped seeds like crazy, and when I saw them come up this year, I let them grow.
