My New Best Friend is a Hoe!

I know it seems a bit out there - but it's true! My new best friend is a hoe - as in garden tool - as in "I can weed without breaking my back!" Love this baby! I read about the Circle Hoe last summer and thought it was probably a nice tool to have, but not to the tune of $30. That was before I hurt my back, and had weeds up to my eyebrows. This simple gadget has one small flattened area that is sharpened. The rest is dull edged - so only the sharp part digs in under the weeds and everything around it goes unharmed. And it's more of a pulling exercise than hacking, so it's easier on me too. I am thrilled as are my Okra plants, who no longer share their bed with a tangle of weeds.
So, while we're speaking of Okra, have a look at the Burgundy. Isn't that color awesome? It adds eye appeal to my veggie garden, not only with color, but with the blooms, which when unfurled remind me of Hibiscus. This bud hasn't opened yet and has an almost reptilian look to it!My Tomatillos are heavy with husks! I love these - but cannot for the life of me figure out what to do about the insects (or worms?) that eat a whole in each and EVERY one! I can't find anything on the internet about it. This happened last year and I hoped that was a fluke...but no, here we go again. Guess its time to give the Missouri Extension a call.
And to finish up for tonight, have a peek at my lush and laden Marconi Pepper plant. I have very few peppers this year - only 2 plants are really producing so far. I'm determined to wait to pluck any of these beauties until they ripen to a nice rich red - so delicious!

Planting and Harvesting

My kitchen garden still looks a little empty. I've been sowing and planting for weeks, but there is still lots of blank space while I wait for everything to take off growing. Most of the peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos are gaining steadily, with some even starting to bloom. Others, like this little okra seedling are still in the very early stages of growth. And I still have a few seeds I need to sow, like the edamame and corn.Of course there are some things we are enjoying right now - like leaf lettuce, pea pods and the green onions shown below. On either side of them are carrots and beets - I've never grown either one before - but I'm thinking I won't be harvesting from them for a few more weeks. The Magenta head lettuce is new to me. It's very pretty with it's ruffled, red-tinted leaves, and looks to be doing well as far as I can tell. I thinned this tub and transplanted the thinnings into the kitchen garden and I think they are going to grow for me. I'm tired of buying lettuce - hoping these will be ready to harvest in another week or so.
And beyond the garden is the mulberry tree. I loved those berries as a kid and still do today. No thorns to keep you from picking as many as you can reach! Unfortunately this is probably the last year for us to enjoy these. The big windstorm nearly 4 weeks ago broke this tree so badly it probably won't survive. Funny thing is, the fruits on the most damaged limbs ripened first. I wonder - is that some sort of survival mechanism?

Spaghetti Squash & Burgundy Okra

Fingers are crossed that this spaghetti squash will make it to maturity! I've had a horrible time with the squash bugs this year - so far they've killed 2 lemon squash and 2 crooknecks - all were big and beautiful and at peak production. I don't know if the little varmints have as devastating an impact on winter types as they do summer types. I saved the seed for these from one I purchased at the grocery - so I was pretty pleased that they grew to start with. I sure hope we get to eat a few. This one is about the size of my 2 fists right now.

The burgundy okra has been a repeat topic on this blog - but it still has me in awe! This plant is around 7 ft. tall now. That is pretty impressive! If it continues growing until frost, I'll have to get a ladder to pick the okra!