Mid-July Update

Well, maybe it's a little bit past that, but so many things are happening that it's time to record the progress.

In the Three Sisters garden, there's a lot of progress.  Beans are running wild!  If fact they've broken the tops of a lot of corn plants and are reaching desperately for more support.  Thank goodness most of the corn has been pollinated and is developing well.

The beans themselves are quite attractive with purple blotching on the skin.  This might make them difficult to find hidden amongst the thick foliage of corn and beans.  These are a heritage Italian bean - name unknown.  They are delicious and I hope they freeze well.

Most of the cobs on the corn are swelling.  A few have silk that is starting to dry up so it might not be long before we have to start the water boiling!

And as for the squash, I have no idea what on earth I will do with all of them.  The spaghetti squash, in particular, is going to have a lot for me to deal with.  It has vines snaking out all over the place, each one with at least 3 squash fruit to it.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen.  Little Gold Nugget is always the first to ripen although we have eaten a couple of Sweet Baby Girl.  Because these two cherries are so tasty, productive and early, I will probably always have at least one of these in the garden.

Beth's Big Fat Tomato is setting fruit now.  When I was pruning, I inadvertently snipped off a fruit truss!  Fortunately, there are many more to take its place.

Some of the onions are starting to fall over.  This signals that they are approaching harvest time.  Only a few of them are at this stage, though, so we should get some good size from the crop.  So far (touch wood) I've only found one that has gone to seed.  Our spring was warmer this year than last when over half the onions went to seed.

One of the crops I'm most excited about is the cantaloupe.  I'm growing 2 plants in one side of the compost bin as it worked really well for tomatoes one year and crookneck squash another.  At first I was afraid the delicate little plants wouldn't last as wood bugs were munching at the stems but I put a clear plastic water bottle collar on each plant and they are now thriving.

Tiny little cantaloupes are now forming and given the richness of their home added to the protection and heat they're receiving I'm hopeful that we'll get some cantaloupe to eat.

All in all, I'm pleased with the way the garden is developing.  Only the garlic is smaller than I'd hoped for, but then it didn't get any of the SeaSoil.  Everything else is thriving.  So far - best garden ever.