We continue to flounder in a flood of tomatoes (I picked two more buckets the other day and am trying to pretend that they're not sitting right outside the back door, waiting for me to do something with them).
I am fighting for a dozen baby cantaloupes against the never-ending tide of cucumber beetles,
and I've been checking our two remaining watermelons frequently, trying to figure out when they're ready to be picked.
(The white scars are from me scratching the rind to see what color it is underneath)
I went online and Googled "when to pick watermelon," found a checklist, went through it and crossed off several signs of watermelon readiness, and ran out to the garden ready to eat the juicy red goodness. I grabbed a big knife and chopped one in half while Kiddo and I drooled in anticipation, only to be disappointed when the watermelon halves fell apart and the entire inside was white! Not even close to being ripe. I almost cried. And tore up my Google list. Such a beautiful watermelon, totally wasted. I'm being much more protective of the two that remain.
The onions squat in the ground, waiting for us to come and pluck them from the dirt and rain.
The hyacinth bean vines are growing out of control (over the arch, up the sunflowers, across the fence, down the path...),
as is the
The potatoes are dying and will soon be ready to be dug up and transported to the basement, and Kiddo's maze has grown to jungle status.
Out on the compost pile, hidden in the mile-high weeds,
our volunteer pumpkin vine has been producing these,
and on the other side of the pile, we found a couple of vines with these.
The jewels of the garden, however, have been Kiddo's flowers.
He had a great time picking the best for a bouquet the other day. I just told him to make sure the stems were "about this long," and he did the rest!
Sweetest bouquet ever.
He's a keeper!
(And so are his flowers).
Linking up:
KinderGARDENS week 16 at The Inadvertent Farmer.
11 comments:
I looooove his bouquet! So sorry about the watermelon. I think I would have cried.
Beautiful flower bouquets! Such gorgeous color...
And I love the little bicolor gourd! Those will be fun to decorate with this fall.
Good luck with your tomatoes. I get to this part of the summer and think what a crazy time it is. Then I get to December, and I'm very thankful to pull out a jar of canned tomatoes with which to make chili.
Those flowers are amazing! Ours died a few weeks back. I am so jealous of your canteloupe!
Way to go Kiddo! Such lovely flowers. Sigh, last year I wanted to live in Cathryn's garden, this year I want to live in yours. Good luck with the last 2 watermelons!
EVERYTHING is so beautiful, even your compost pile!
I'm thinking that like winter squash, shouldn't the vine start to die when the watermelon is ready? Then again, I will never come CLOSE to growing a melon here, so what do I know??
Hyacinth beans--hmm, I'll have to try those next year for my tunnel, we never reached the top this year.
My warmest thoughts sent your way as you process the tomatoes! I had to laugh, if I had a bucket of tomatoes they would also probably be outside the back door waiting for me to decide "today is the day!"
Fall's a-comin! Just look at those pumpkins and squash! And those flowers...I swoon at the loveliness!
So beautiful! Better watch out or I'll be stealing the bucket of tomatoes!!!
Amazing kiddo and amazing flowers! Amazing GARDEN! sheesh :) i am jealous of your volunteer pumpkins and all the melons. Maybe you could make tomato jam? That's what I'm planning to do with my tomato overload.
You can never take too many pictures of kittens.
You have a great kid and great flowers and a wonderful garden!
I just love coming here. This tour of your garden made me so happy!
Your watermelon story - been there, done that. It's not fun. Were the stems brown and dry right at the base of the fruit? That's the only sign I've been able to use successfully. And watermelon already?!?! Last year we got our first basically ripe watermelon in late Sept.
All of your melons are beauties! I've never been successful at growing cantaloupe. They've always rotted. Mmmmmmm, but I can almost taste yours. : )
I loved all your photos! The flowers are gorgeous. And those pumpkins looks spectacular! We had WAY too late of a start on ours this year and will not be getting any of our own. : (
(And yes, I did take Ashley Ann's Snapshop. She's amazing. The course is beautifully put together. I hate spending money, so it was hard for me to get over that part, and I already have a pretty good handle on most of what she talked about. But I just upgraded to my first dslr and wanted to start at the beginning. This was just that - the beginning. I would highly recommend the class if you aren't comfortable shooting in manual. If you already shoot in manual and just want to get a better handle on things, then it's just a matter of deciding to spend the money for the sake of a very enjoying and beautiful course.)
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