I completely agree with you :hugs I think growing a garden is just another way we can be good stewards of the earth. It gives me immense pleasure to plop a seed in the ground, nurture it and reap the rewards of the harvest.
Potato - when the vines yellow and die back and the ground is cracking at the base
Watermelon - hard to judge, I wait until it has a nice creamy underbelly and the vine starts to brown a little where it attaches (sometimes still a crap-shoot)
Cantaloupe - when they are no longer green and have...
Next year I plan on using peat pots for cukes, watermelon and cantalopes. I am probably going to use 3 1/2" pots and plant 3-4 seeds in each. Just make my mounds and put the whole thing in without root disturbance.:happy_flower
I'm also going to do it for the cukes & melon plants that I sell.
Ours were planted late March. We just dug them last week. They are ready when the vines start to yellow and die back. The ground should be cracking at the base of the vine due to the growth of the potatoes. If you see this happening, just kind of scratch underneath one to see what it has produced.
I got an early start on them in the greenhouse. This year I put a weed proof barrier under them which works great! We have had a good growing season so far. I've only had to water about 4 times.
Yes, Nubsmum, they're real. Still not as big as I want them, though.
I'm a little busy, but here are a few pics:
Blanket flower and purple coneflower:
Rooting Strawberries:
My greenhouse:
My Blue Andalusians:
My Buff Orps & Black Australorps:
Athena melons actually ;) This is the first time I have grown cantaloupes in a few years. Last time, I had horrible luck. Things are definitely looking up.
Four together here:
There are two in this picture:
This is what I do & it works really well. Find your best looking runners. Fill a 4" cup with compost, potting soil, etc. and bury them halfway in the ground under the runner. Weight the runner down with a small rock. Wait about 10 days and check to see if it has taken root. Make sure you don't...
You know, it's that weird stance we take when we reach down with both hands and grab a bunch of weeds and pull till we almost fall on our backside. I cleaned the okra out and was rewarded with a few pods. I think I'll fry it up with some squash tomorrow:)
After about 3 weeks of no significant rainfall, we finally have had rain for the last 3 days :weee(almost 2.5 inches so far and calling for more today). I picked almost a bushel of cucumbers yesterday. Apparently I missed some last time because a few were huge.
They were planted about the first of April. The weather was perfect for them, but for the past 2 weeks it has turned off dry.
As far as the blues: I've only had mine for about a week now. They are about 18 weeks old. They are very curious. I really do like them. When I hand feed them treats...