September in the Garden

How did a month slip by me without posting? I kept thinking I'd find a minute, or get a really great idea for a post. I guess I finally found a minute :)

Thought a mini-tour of the garden might be nice, to show a bit of what is going on now.

Blooms are still abundant. This nasturtium got a real late start, with the first blooms finally appearing in August.
In addition to the various squash and okra blooms, I found some volunteer peas flowering. Evidently I lost a few of the seeds I tried to gather from the Dwarf Greys I grew in the spring. Only a couple of plants, but those sweet young pods will be a welcome addition to fall salads.The watermelon patch was a success! Look at this beauty! It measured 31 inches around and weighed in at 16 lbs. We had a little help from something - rabbit? possum? skunk? - not sure what - but a couple of the ripe melons had the most perfectly round holes eaten into them. Maybe fencing the Great Dane out of the melons was a bad idea...Wonder what I've got here...seriously, I'm not sure. I sowed some seeds for both winter squash and gourds, and I'm sure this must be a squash (tucked in amongst the weeds! I failed seriously in keeping the weeds at bay this year!). But what kind? I thought I had sown Blue Galeux here. And since I haven't grown it before, maybe this IS B.G. But if that's the case, it sure doesn't look like what I was expecting. ID from seasoned squash growers would be welcome!
And the final image is my pride and joy of the fall season. A Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash. I purchased what appeared to be a Butternut squash with an extremely long neck at the Farmer's Market a couple years ago. The man I bought it from referred to it as a "Neck Pumpkin" and claimed it would make the best pumpkin pie. He was absolutely right! It was amazing how much wonderful orange "meat" there was in it, so I saved seed. Didn't get them sown last year, but happily this year I did. I've got 10-12 of them and most of them are just HUGE! I think a couple will join my other fall harvest decorations (dried colored corn, corn stalks, mini-pumpkins, gourds, etc.), and the rest will go into the freezer for soups, pies, etc. for the winter.

Blooms all around

Blooms are everywhere right now. In the flower beds and in the veggie garden, not to mention scattered around the yard. My 3 different mini-roses are all covered in buds, one yellow, one coral and this one, a brilliant red.
And while garden blooms aren't usually as showy, these Dwarf Grey Peas certainly have notable blossoms - a pale creamy pink on the outer petals, and a dark velvety burgundy inside. Beautiful in the veggie-patch, and gives us hope for the pods to start forming soon.
The Pak Choi has shot up flower heads - too hot already I guess. I'm letting it go so I can collect seed. And the bright yellow blooms give a nice color-pop to the garden area.
No blooms here - but the Magenta Lettuce is showing signs of forming nice loose heads, and with the red tint and ruffled edges, it does resemble flowers somewhat. There are a few other plants sharing this pot - the 2 blue-green "weeds" in the middle - lower edge - are Nasturtiums. A few others are sown around the edges and when they are big enough, will be transplanted elsewhere.

Peppers & Posies

Well, actually this post is about jalapenos and nasturtiums, but Peppers & Posies sounds much catchier.

I was so busy watching over the tomatoes, soybeans, corn, squash, cucumbers and all, that I had completely missed the fact that the Tam jalapeno has tiny peppers now! I so hope the tomatoes and tomatillos and cilantro all do well - then there will be fresh, homegrown salsa to enjoy.

The nasturtiums are so beautiful....why on earth had I never grown them before? The orangy-yellow colors are certainly eye-catching.

Ahh, but this red one is my favorite. It really grabs attention, tucked in amongst the cauliflower and broccoli.

Garden report

The big planter at the entry to the front porch is filling out nicely, compared to a few weeks ago (see photo).

















I finally have my grapevine wreath planted for the season - with blue-eyes and snapdragons.


















I've never been a big fan of impatiens - but these double-impatiens in a deep rosy color with white variegation remind me of mini-roses....love them! They were a gift from one of my sons and his little boy.

In the kitchen garden things are really taking off now - several of the tomato plants now have small green tomatoes. These are "Bloody Butcher", an heirloom that I'm growing for the first time. They are supposed to ripen early - I'm hoping by July 4th!

Snow's Fancy Pickling cucumbers have blooms! I ended up with only 2 plants, so I'm a little doubtful there will be enough to can pickles. But I'm sure they will be great fresh and as refrigerator pickles.

These are the first nasturtium blooms my garden has ever seen. I've never grown them before and wasn't sure exactly what I was getting. They sounded awesome - insect repellent, yet edible blooms - in a striking orange color with wonderful variegated foliage. I have 3 others planted and hope they will all be blooming before long, providing whatever magic they have to ward off the evil insects!