Garden Update July 17

Whew, it's a HOT ONE out there!  We've been having a hot and dry spell the past week-and by "dry", I mean NO RAIN. It's super humid and super hot and evidently that is exactly what watermelons LOOOOVE!!! 

We can practically see the watermelons growing before our eyes! It's pretty impressive, I have to say. I've never grown them before, so I'm kinda like a kid at Christmas--all wide-eyed and waiting for Santa. Well, my "santa" is watermelon! I have 4 that are now larger than ping pong balls. SOOOO cute.  Check 'em out:

I keep trying to count the watermelons and keep forgetting which ones I counted. Bah. The bigger ones are easy to count, those small ones, well, I get confused. "Did I count that little one? Oh, here's one I skipped. Or maybe not."  Whatev. There's LOADS of them. Prolly 15 or so. Not too shabby considering they are still blooming. I'm wondering if I should pick off the blooms like I do with pumpkins. Anyone know?

There's also lots of action in the cantaloupe bed. I counted 7 of those today. Brett can literally eat a cantaloupe in one sitting-all by himself, so he's pretty excited to have 7 growing. The plants are LOADED with blooms, so I'm thinking we could get a minimum of 2 per plant (16 total). WOW!!!  Here's some pics of these little gems:

I owe these adorable, itty bitty melons (betcha thought I wasn't going to say "itty bitty!") to the pollinators, like this guy:

Thanks, bees!!!!

Here's some other (ah, less cute) things growing in my garden:

First up is the leaf lettuce I planted in May. After being "replanted" by Bryce several times, and getting scorched and then getting replanted by Bryce a few more times, I finally have some that can be harvested for dinner tonight (well, dinner salad for ME):

(i don't know what rogue plant is growing in with my lettuce. I'm leaving it to see what it does. I LOVE volunteers!)

Ginormous cabbage!!!!!  I have 15 or so cabbage plants (mmmmm, sauerkraut) and this is my bestie.

My cukes are taking off. They've suffered a bit from the heat, but I'm trying to be better about watering them.

It'll be a bell pepper palooza this summer! I counted 8 so far....mmmmm, salsa!

Cauliflower (and weeds) under some netting. Darn rabbits are relentless--even with the garden fenced off, they are STILL sneaking in!!! They have annihilated my broccoli again and now I'm just trying to save the cauliflower. I'm going to start more brocc today and hope for a fall harvest.

Tomatoes....please ripen!!! I have forty-leventy-seven tomatoes right now and they're all green. I also have no idea which variety is which because Bryce removed my tags an hour after I planted them. They are all heirloom and some ripen to a vivid orange. Guess I"ll know what they are in a few weeks.

And finally, the garden that is quickly turning into a jungle:

On a final note, the brown lawn around the garden tells the true story of the lack of rainfall here in metro-Detroit. I'm not a huge fan of watering the lawn, although I do water a section in the backyard where the kids run & play. I leave everything else to go dormant. It'll come back when temps chill out in September. I'm pretty sure my neighbors don't mind, I do live in suburbia where perfectly green & manicured lawns are the norm. I'm a rebel with my brown grass. I tell my neighbors to just look at my flowers and ignore the grass =)



This post linked to Ms. Greenthumbjean's Bloomin' Tuesday.

This post linked to Sidewalk Shoes Garden Tuesday.

This post linked to Fishtail Cottage-Cottage Flora Thursdays.

This post linked to A Southern Daydreamer: Outdoor Wednesday.

This post linked to Amy's Finer Things.