Watermelon Success

With the possibility of large hail soon, I tested one of the watermelons today, and it is perfectly ripe, sweet, and juicy....delicious! I've harvested the rest of them.

The variety is Blacktail Mountain.

Growing in the potato bag worked, using fresh potting soil and fertilizing once after the seedlings had true leaves.  I watered once a day, sometimes twice when it was hot and dry. I got one fruit per vine, partly due to losing a few tiny fruits during a cold spell, but the vines are smaller, so that's better for the plant anyway. One vine climbed the fence. Now it's time for dinner!

A prettier post

That last post had tiny seedlings, so I thought I'd show you some flowers. This is Queeny Lime Red Zinnias with dill as filler.

Dill is very versatile...good for cooking, good for flower arrangements, and good for Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Above it goes well with Purity Cosmos, which I had to trim because a whole stem fell over and was touching the ground. It became an interesting arrangement with  those curved stems. Below is Black-eyed Susan, which survived last year's drought!

"Fall" Planting of Greens

This bed is looking sad after I harvested the garlic and most of the lettuce. I dumped some finished compost in the middle of it to prepare for my favorite cooler season vegetables--kohlrabi, kale, bok choy, and lettuce. 

Because I've had a problem with seeds getting eaten before or during germination, I started the seeds and kept them on the back deck. Then I transplanted them into the bed. I measured so that they will fit under my cold frame. We will get cold weather, so I want to be prepared. Below you'll see the bed is mulched with dried grass clippings, sprinkled with cayenne pepper, and surrounded by netting. What you can't see is that I put some slug granules outside the garden bed. If we have a dry spell, the slugs are attracted to wherever I water. I'll update this blog on my success (or failure) later.

Renewing the Strawberry Patch

The strawberry plants are doing well...too well. They have overtaken their space, and, while they look healthy and lush, the plants in back weren't producing many strawberries this year (or maybe the bunnies got them first). Can you see the four stepping stones? Nope. I'm doing this now because we have a few cool mornings, and I read that strawberries prepare for spring fruit in September. I don't know if it's true or not, but this gives them enough time to put down some roots.

I carefully removed plants from the edge, which are newer, setting them in the shade in some water. Then I hacked away at the rest, removing many runners, too. They made quite the pile (above). I added compost to the old plants and the cleared portion (on the right in the photo below). I re-planted the saved plants, laid some paper down for a path, topped the paper with stepping stones, and mulched with some fresh grass clippings. If the transplants make it, I'll be happy. If they don't, I can order some new bareroot plants in spring.  

August Update

Cut flowers! I enjoy bringing the outdoors inside. These are limelight hydrangea. 

They look so good outside that I'm hesitant to cut them. 

The begonia (above) loves its spot on the deck, as does the coleus (below). These are cuttings...I cut the tops off so all the plants would be even in the containers. 

My husband said the viburnum berries below look fake. They are brightly colored, uniformly sized, and abundant, almost too perfect.

The sweet Joe Pye weed (below) is getting ready to bloom in its first year in my new native plant garden.

The Purity cosmos (below) were supposed to be a little filler  until the native perennials adjusted. Instead, they are the stars, loved by both bees and humans.

Picotee cosmos may be a new favorite. 

Tomatoes are doing well. 

I'm going to try to save the seed of this beautiful zinnia. 

The watermelons are getting big. I hope we get at least one to eat. I never know what will happen because of weather and critters.