Thinking we were going on vacation for a week, I got determined to plant the seedlings and put up a fence. I ended up gardening for about 8 hours on Sunday and 6 hours on Monday! Unfortunately the vacation isn't going to happen, but secretly I'm a bit happy. Staying here, I won't miss out of the growth of my garden!! Today was a rest day, and besides a bit of weeding and the basic watering, I had a day off of gardening!
I now have 22 pumpkin plants planted. Seven Connecticut Field Pumpkins and Fifteen Sugar Pie Pumpkins! We're hoping for a BIG harvest. I still have mud on the wall, but I got the border up and the soaker hoses in place. There are a few sunflowers, dill, marigolds, radishes, and nasturtium in the mix as well as the two watermelons I planted several weeks ago.
My husband has plans to double our pumpkin patch and make a second row with a walk way between the two.
I'm almost finished transplanting all of my twelve tomatoes. I have six each of Roma and Cherry tomatoes. Here's a few of them.
I still have two that I bought that I haven't transplanted in the garden yet.
I planted more of the bush cucumbers that I had started from seed. Apparently you're only supposed to use three plants in a "bush"! So I had to thin them out.
I also had a problem with a few low spots that were getting water logged, so I made a trench to help it drain better. It really showed me what's under the topsoil and why digging has been such a challenge!! I had to use a hammer to break up some of the coral and when I came in the house I had mud splattered all over my face! Now that would have been a great picture!!
I finally put some cardboard down and pavers on top to make a walk way but need to grab some more pavers to finish that up. It gets really muddy when you start to walk the same area too much.
Where the trench runs, I was afraid that I would walk on top of it and either break a paver or just fall through, so I used some leftover boards with nails in them (they were from the pallets I used to make hanging planters) to give it extra support!
My Oregano just wasn't taking off, and I learned recently that it doesn't do well from seed. A new friend offered to give me a branch off her sturdy plant. Her Oregano has thick branches like a bush or small tree. She cut off a large section and after I got home I cut several smaller branches off the large piece she gave me. I dipped the ends in honey and planted them straight in the pot. I'm supposed to keep an eye on them for a few weeks to make sure they root then I can plant them in the garden. The honey acts like a root enhancer. I sure hope it works, I love Oregano!
My neighbor had a laundry basket set out by her trash (the top was cracked) so I decided to rescue it and after drilling holes in the bottom it's my new potato pot. I have seven red potatoes in there.
I've been reading a lot lately about gardening and growing tomatoes, but this one idea really stood out. I decided to give it a try to here's the out come!
Weird huh? The directions were to make a 6 inch trench and lay the plant on it's side. Covering the root ball and the leaves up to the end with just the tips hanging out. My plants are a bit taller so they stick out a little more than the directions, but we'll see if there's any truth to this trick. I have two planted here with the root balls at opposite ends. In this view they are laying horizontal. I have a cucumber bush on each side of them!
Oh and remember that Celery and Romaine that I was growing in my kitchen? My husband made me plant them outside. Hopefully they will grow in the soil. They didn't have any roots yet. These were cut on July 21st.
Less than three weeks left of summer here. My daughter is getting ready to go back to school, and now that we're not going to be able to vacation in Hawaii I might just plant that second row of pumpkins.
What about you? Any last minute plans before your summer is up? Did your kids already start school? Did you get some family vacations or special events in while the kids were out of school? I hope you've all been blessed with the joys of summer including reaping in a harvest from your garden!
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