Yesterday was a butt buster, for sure. It was a beautiful, partly cloudy day in the sixties, but rain was forecast for today. So, both Will and I were very busy gardening. I set out the very last of our left-over sweet peppers, in furrows Will had made for me with his middle buster furrower, as well as two flats of left-over tomatoes. I’m trying to empty out the greenhouse of everything but the very few habanero peppers I’m keeping in there, in large containers. They are long-season peppers and will like the extra heat as well as frost protection, come late fall.

Something had been eating off some of our beans’ first set of true leaves, which causes the plant to eventually die. Our friend, Heather, came over to help and she hand-planted bean seeds where the empty spaces were. Hopefully, that will let us have a normal harvest, come fall.

Our rows of beans in the Central Garden were being attacked by something that ate off the first leaves.

Our potatoes are well up and will need their first hilling soon. That’s so easy, planting them in the deep furrows of the middle buster. You hoe one side of the furrow over the seed potato. Then, when the plant gets about a foot tall, you hoe the other side around the plant, just leaving a few inches of plant sticking out of the soil. We’re always looking for easier ways to do a job — nothing wrong with that!

We started out planting potatoes in trenches made with Will’s middle buster furrower, but then went on to plant tomatoes and peppers in them too!

Yesterday, I also planted most of our last melon plants as well as several varieties of early pumpkins in the North Garden, as we had lots of “extra” room, as we aren’t growing pumpkins to sell this year. (Our buyer, The Watering Can, in Cook, Minnesota is closing earlier for the season this year so will be closed prior to Halloween.) But I do love pumpkins and the grandchildren and friends’ children love coming to get pumpkins in the patch. So, I have to plant them, anyway, don’t I?

I plant pumpkins just because I love pumpkins!

Our flowers continue to amaze us. The fuchsias, especially, are beautiful this year.

This is one of our beautiful fuchsias.

Today, it’s raining steadily, and so chilly Will started our living room wood stove! Imagine that, just before the Fourth of July! I hope all of you have a wonderful Fourth and enjoy friends and family, remembering just why we are celebrating and all those veterans who made sure we remained free throughout all these years. — Jackie

7 COMMENTS

  1. Wow. I won’t be planting here for at least a month or more. Too hot. Although, I could if I liked okra. Right now I’m waiting for my blackeyed peas and Seminole pumpkins to produce. Planning out my fall garden and trying to figure out how to rotate everything. Can’t even begin to imagine how you do that AND keep all your varieties separate. I tried your technique with sweet and field corn and both tasseled at the same time.

    • Sometimes I think vegetables just try to prove us not so smart! I couldn’t grow okra here if my life depended on it. I even tried in the hoop houses. No okra. Oh well, we CAN grow a lot of other stuff!

  3. Happy 4th. We’ve had fires in early/mid June but not this late.
    Personally I think it is a good year for taters. My plants are quite tall (but not as tall as the catnip which is in overdrive this summer). Overall our garden looks great and it shouldn’t be too long before we can dig some new (yet not full sized) taters.
    Unless you have hundreds of rabbits, don’t think that is your culprit. I would think deer would have consumed more than just leaves. If you identify the “perp”, let us know.

  4. Happy Fourth to you and your family. We are so privileged in this country due to those who sacrificed for our freedom. We could use a little rain here. Our Temps are in the high 80s and low 90s. Stay warm and Happy Gardening!

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