Tuesday:
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Our very first ever cantaloupe! It was a biggie--5lbs 8oz. I don't know the variety; I purchased these plants as a flat. |
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| Brett and I devoured this beauty. Turns out we're the only cantaloupe eaters in the house. WHOO HOO!! |
Wednesday:
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| The anaheim peppers have been steady producers. I've been seeding & dicing & freezing them for either pepper jelly or salsa. |
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| Our 3rd cantaloupe of the week (no photos of #2) The cukes are a couple of pickling cukes that were hiding and grew BIG! |
Sunday:
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| a couple o' cukes. Good thing we love 'em!! |
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| and TWO more cantaloupe!! These were about 4 and a half pounds each. |
I pulled out the cantaloupe plants that had produced the first 5 this week. They were severely mildewed (I think it's mildew) and since they were done I wanted to get them out to put in some carrots. I've been trying to cut off the nasty leaves on the remaining cantaloupes, but I'm not sure if my efforts are enough.
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| Lest you think ALL of my soil looks like that---rest assured, it does not. This section was just ammended with cow manure. |
The cukes also have powdery mildew. I just don't understand how powdery mildew works...these plants are in full sun...when the mildew hit, we'd had no rain for about a week AND the humidity was insanely LOW (like 36%--that's really low for Hockeytown). I clipped off all the mildewed cuke leaves, hoping to slow it's progress.
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| cuke vines, stripped of leaves near the bottom, in an |
It seems to be working as I just need to pluck a few leaves daily to keep that upper growth green & free of mildew. If you have any ideas about what I can do about this problem-or prevent it next year-please post in the comment section. The strangest thing about the mildew in the veggie garden is that I have ZERO mildew on my 75 year old lilac, which has never happened in the 14 years we've lived here.
Peas are taking off in our (unseasonably) cool weather:
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| they are caged to protect them from herds of viscious rabbits...and they are in the bottomless deck planters that Brad replaced for me. |
The broccoli starts I put in last week are happy, happy, happy. I am bound and determined to harvest some broccoli--take THAT, rabbits!
I've harvested about 53 pounds out of the garden this year. I set a goal to double last year's harvest of 68 pounds. I think I'll get close to hitting that goal as I still have 8 watermelons to harvest (hmmm, 10 pounds each), 5 cantaloupes (4 pounds each) and we still have 8-10 weeks before we'll get any frost.
Linking this post to:
Ms. Green Thumb Jean
Fishtail Cottage
Wow congrats on the cantaloupes! VERY NICE
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on all those cantaloupes!!! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI have melon envy!! My 3 types of melons failed to produce a single fruit thus far. Too cool a spring/summer for us.
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies. Not bad for our first year growing them. I have 5 more that will be ready in the next week, and 4 that are softball-sized. Don't know if those will make it before the mildew gets the plants.
ReplyDeleteWow, wow, wow! That's some melon harvest! :) Thought I'd answer your question here...I don't know how the green onions will turn out frozen. I imagine they will not have a great consistency, but I will probably just throw them into a soup so it won't matter. I just couldn't bear to throw them out. :)
ReplyDeleteThat you two are the only canteloupe eaters is great. I hope they are delicous!
ReplyDeleteI hope you end up reaching your goal... It sure looks like you will. Oh man I want some broccoli. I planted some transplants in the spring hoping for... You know.. A spring crop. But they were not having that, so hopefully they end up ready by fall!
ReplyDeleteHanni--you'll have to share how those frozen green onions turn out. I have them coming out of my ears right now and I'm not able to keep up with them.
ReplyDeleteBarbie-they are the BEST cantaloupe I've ever had. My middle boy, who is 8, hasn't commented on them, he just inhales them.
Prairie Cat-funny, I planted a spring crop of broccoli, hoping for, well, you know-a spring crop. Sigh. I hope you get some!!
wow look at those cantaloupe, they are awesome!
ReplyDeleteI envy the first bite of that fresh cantaloupe--must have been wonderful!
ReplyDeleteFound you at Oregon Cottage... wow your climate sounds a lot like ours! It's been very cool here this spring summer. And the bunnies have been awful this year for us, too!
ReplyDeleteWe get mildew too, but the humidity is seldom above 15-20% so I don't think that's what is causing it? I wondered if it may be from lack of moisture in the soil? Our mildew is always late season when the rain tapers off and occurs on the poor plants I don't get around to watering often enough ;) Would love to know if you find a solution to this (or the bunnies, lol)
Those cantaloupes look so delicious. I have two small ones left outside. I hope they ripen soon.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on all those cantaloupes! You, among many others, have made me jealous that I did not grow any this year.
ReplyDeleteWow - cantaloupes - our NW weather is too cool to allow us to grow them - envious
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your harvest total! Your cantaloupes are beautiful - inside & out. Too cool here in the NW for them so I will just have to admire yours :)
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