Main Planting Season Coming to a Close

I’ve got a three day weekend planned away from the garden. I won’t know what to do with all of my time. I usually spend 20-40 minutes in the morning watering seedlings, opening the greenhouse for the day, light weeding, and general enjoyment of the morning. Then after work, I water seedlings, do serious weeding, and plant.

I finally got my melons and squash planted. I planted them as place holders for the future berry patch. I love to grow squash and melons. It is one of the most rewarding plants. I grew mostly pumpkins, heirlooms and jack-o-lantern types, Butternut squash, and Yokohama. Yokohama is a guess for a squash I grew some years ago that I fell in love with. It was a small blue squash; very dry meat; rich, sweet, and complex. Truly the best winter squash I ever ate. But tags got lost, so I’m not exactly sure of the exact variety. I lost an icebox watermelon name, the same way. The very best watermelon I ever grew; I can’t match a description in the catalogs; and I can’t remember the name.

I hope to have the bulk of planting finished by the end of June. I should be right on target. I’ve got to plant some fall filler plants for beds like the cabbage. My cabbage got root maggots, and looks like will be a complete loss. It is still pretty, but the heads are not forming right. I expect the onions, carrots, and beets will have the little buggers too. I pulled my turnips, and there was some root damage. I’ve still got okra to plant, and a few flower seeds like nasturtiums. I’ve got some trays of flowers ready to plant, like red salvia and gloriosa daisies, and I’ve got some seed trays just coming along, like portulaca, alyssum, and asters.

I’ve not brought my baskets out of the greenhouse yet, it has just been too cold. It rained yesterday and cooled the ground down. It got down into the mid 40s last night, the evening I decided to set my melons and sweet potatoes out. The mosquitoes are flourishing. We had considerably more last year at this same time. I don’t see very many during the daylight hours, but once the light starts fading, the night air is alive.

I guess I better get to bed, I can’t keep my eyes open.

I finally stopped mulching the potatoes. The early reds are blooming.
The barren ground is starting to take shape.


The Berry Patch will be melon's and squash this year.

Kerri's tunies are lookin' pretty good.
I have a serious coleus fetish this year. So many varieties.

My Lima Bean/Mina Lobata trellises.

Cukes and beans
Here is a pile of plants I need to try and get to before I leave. Betty took some cuttings from her place and dropped them by for me.

Barrow's of fun

I sprayed the Bouncin' Bet and Day-lilies last year and twice this year. Tough little guys to eradicate. Hopefully I can plant by the first of July.


Little peppers and tomatoes