What's in your garden? (2015 edition)

[Tom L.]

I plant marigolds, too- apart from their repellent qualities, I really like the way they look and they're easy to grow- for me, anyway. I plant the tall "African" marigolds, although I think all the marigolds originate in the Americas.

It's interesting how the flowers smell sweet, even though the leaves smell pretty rank.

 

[Tom L.]

Yeehaw- my sweet pepper plants in big pots that I kept inside over the winter have peppers on them! And the butternut squash plants at home are growing, although it will be quite some time before they produce anything. Nothing is doing well under the black walnut tree, but that's understandable. I only planted beans under there, and they're supposed to be resistant to the "herbicide" black walnuts make, but I think it's just too shady, even though I had a white mulberry tree nearby cut down.

The peppermint, tomatoes, and lovage are all doing okay, and so are the beans that aren't near the tree. But mostly I'm growing butternut squash at home.

My community garden plot is doing okay, I hope... I weeded it last week, we've had rain, and the woodchuck might have moved out.

 

[KLS52]

Nice going, Tom.

 

[Tom L.]

I think this is the second time I've had a botanical smackdown going on in my plot... the blackeyed peas are clambering all over the dill, tomatoes, and watermelon- and the marigolds too, when they get the chance. I was hoping I could be lazy and not have to train them on poles but that might not be an option. For the time being, I just moved them around.

I haven't been getting much as far as tomatoes go- they usually do well for me. Maybe I didn't give them enough compost.

 

[Tom L.]

Wahoo! My mini-watermelon vines have melons on them, I've picked some peaches from my young peach tree, and it looks like my butternut squash is setting fruit. I picked some dill seed heads today-I think that herb smells fantastic. The blackeyed peas seem to be leaving the other veggies alone and pods are filling out and getting ripe/brown. And the leeks are growing.

The tomatoes still aren't doing so good- the plants are alive but not doing much. And the okra gave up after it grew maybe 4" high. I guess you can't have everything. I've heard this is a bad year for tomatoes in my area but some of the other community garden plots' tomatoes are doing fine.

 

[KLS52]

Saw this and thought of Tom...then realized I confused watermelons with pumpkins! Lol

Here it is, anyway.
Top Five Heirloom Pumpkins - Garden Tribe

 

[Tom L.]

^^^^No problem- I like pumpkins too! I didn't grow any pumpkins year, but at least some squashes are the same botanical species as pumpkin. That can be a problem if you want to keep some of your seeds for your next planting, because if you or someone else has a compatible squash variety growing close enough to your pumpkins, they can cross, and you'll get some strange surprises come harvest time next year.