It's Party Time!

At least this little girl pumpkin thinks so!! Things have cooled off, my back is cooperating better, and I'm feeling like getting out in the gardens again. Thank God for my husband! He's been diligently caring for the garden, watering, treating for bugs and worms, and harvesting the veggies. I knew there was a reason I married him! LOL However, the heat and dog days of summer really did a number on the veggie garden. Everything except the blasted okra and the jalapenos quit producing. We pampered the tomatoes, the bell peppers, and the watermelons through the worst of it and now we've got some fruit growing again. I'm surprised how well most things like the warmer side of cool temps!

Here's most of today's harvest. There are still a few more cherry tomatoes out there that I need to bring in, but I was tired of fighting the bird netting so I decided I'd collect them this evening.


Some of these jalapenos are HUGE! I noticed that when the temps got really hot, the jalapenos were smaller and turned red much faster than when the temps were more moderate. The larger tomato in the pic is supposed to be a cherry tomato, but that thing's big for a cherry tomato! (They do say everything's bigger in Texas!)


A pretty orange bell pepper enjoying the shade. This might be part of my dinner tonight!


Some cherry tomatoes in various stages of growth.


Our last Sugar Baby melon ripening in the sun.


Our first Moon & Stars watermelon. These finally took off when we pulled out the beans.


Our first full size fall tomato!! It's an Oxheart Orange tomato and I accidentally discovered it yesterday while examining the tomato patch. There's also another little baby growing on the plant as well. I'm so excited as this is the first of the $0.50 each heirloom tomato plants we purchased at a local nursery and planted in late April or May. They're all huge and tall now and I hope they'll produce well during the upcoming fall months.




Here's one of the pumpkin vines in the front flower bed. I didn't realize how long the vines get and how huge the leaves are on a pumpkin vine!! WOW! I have one vine that's at least 10' long and sprawled all over the bed! The second picture is a little girl pumpkin whose flower opened yesterday. I'm waiting to see if she got pollinated. I don't see how she couldn't as there are bumblebees, honey bees, and butterflies all over that bed.

Today's Harvest & Time to Plant!

A Sugar Baby watermelon (that may or may not be completely ripe), some Park's Whopper tomatoes, a Ponderosa Pink tomato, some cherry tomatoes, and more okra. We're going to have fried okra tonight and I'm thinking of making a BLT sandwich and using one of those tomatoes, too!!

I'm trying to gear up for the fall garden. I'll tell ya', it's hard to think about anything outside when it's 103º (or hotter) outside! However, now is the time to start planting if you live in north Texas and want a fall garden. Here's what you need to be planting now and in the coming weeks:

Southern Peas...July 1-August 1
Hot Peppers...July 1-July 25
Bell Peppers...July 1-July 25
Potatoes...July 25-August 10
Pumpkins (small)...July 15-August 15

I planted my Sugar Sweet pumpkins yesterday, July 15th, outside in one of the beds in hills. I put 5 seeds per hill, watered with some fertilizer (John's Recipe) and then lightly covered the hills with mulch. I also put mulch, LOTS of mulch, around the base of the hills. The seeds should germinate in 6 or so days. We'll see! Maybe the cooler temps will help keep them alive.

I've got some bell pepper seeds to plant. We're getting a second setting of fruit on the plants we planted in April, so I'm not sowing too many seeds.

I'd like to grow some red potatoes in a garbage can or pile, but I've got to see if I can find some starts. Not exactly sure where to look, so I'll call around and see what I can find.