TOPIC: Other stuff growing...

Last week I hoe'd my watermelons and cantelope one more time and then put down a soaker hose and a nice bed of straw.

They are finished for the year now - just water when needed, and mow around the edge of the straw bed when I mow the yard.

No more hoe'n, no weeding, just water some and then pick and eat.

I like it when I get my garden to that point.

Below is what they looked like yesterday evening (growing fast). They will run out all over that straw and when they start getting out on the grass I will just pick them up and turn them back to the straw bed again. I do that each time before I mow once the vines get that long.

In the middle of that melon section I have watermelons (charleston grey), and on each end, cantelope.

We are having a family get together at my Moms this evening, grilling burgers, bbq chicken, hot dogs, etc..

Hope you are all having a great Holiday weekend !


TNhunter

Update as of 06/16/2012...

My first plum tree had a nice crop and we ate plums for several weeks, and made some nice jam and jelly too.

Then just as they were finished, my second plum tree kicked in and it had a great crop too.

This morning I picked the last of the plums from it, and also one of my peach trees (early variety - think it is called early elberta or something like that) those peaches were ready this morning too and I picked several of them.

Couple more weeks and my other peach tree will kick in...

Nice how all that works out time wise.

Anyway I picked the last of those plums this mornign and several nice peaches and my wife made a couple batches of jam.

I have a couple of big tomatoes that are about half red now, and my sweet corn has tassled and is setting on ears now, also picked a load of cukes, yellow and green squash this morning..

That's good stuff there now !

TNhunter

TH, I already ate breakfast and lunch, but a slice of toast with some peach marmalade would sure hit the spot. Looks like your green thumb is paying off. Spent time in my garden yesterday and I have one heck of a sun burn. My plants are doing well. We need rain and may finally get some tomorrow here in Central Ohio. I have been watering my garden thou, but a nice soaker would be great for all crops including ginseng.
Latt

Tn that looks so good rite ther yum yum congrats on the benifits of your labor

Latt and Billy... Thanks for the comments.

Latt - hope you get that rain soon. We had some good rain late may early June and even last week, but it has turned off much hotter the past few days (humid again too) and it is starting to get a little dry too. Everything still looking good right now, including my seng, but we will need some rain soon too for that to continue.

I remember last year we got some good rain in June and had a good crop of blackberries as a result, but then July August Sept were just extremely hot mid to upper 90's a lot, and almost no rain at all.

I sure hope that don't come back, but have a little fear that it might. It is normal to be hot and dry in those months, but if we could just get a decent rain now and then, that would make all the difference.

Speaking of Blackberries... I got a nice wild patch out in the field behind the house and I got up early and went down there and picked about 3/4 gallon.

It is early for blackberries - It is usually last week in June, first week in July before they are ready. June 17 is definately early. Still lots of red ones so next weekend should be even better than today. A good rain would sure make for a good crop of those.

Here is a pic of what I got this morning...



TNhunter

TN, Nice looking black berries you have. My wife and I picked a gallon Thursday but they weren't as pretty as yours. We are going again in the morning and maybe pick 2 gallon hopefully.
I love the jam and( berry and dumplings).

rootman

Rootman....

Those are some nice blackberreies...

Out past where I stop mowing for my back yard, it continues down a ridge and I have it cleared (for spotting deer and turkeys).. I just bush hog it every fall to keep it cleaned up.

Last fall I noticed a nice patch of blackberry canes up and looking good just a small ways out from the woods. They managed to get fairly tall and thick in just a year, even with the bad hot and dry season we had. Well instead of cutting them down last fall, I decided to just leave them and I cut around them and just left them there in a nice patch (about 10' wide x 20' long). As you probably know blackberries make canes one year, and then the next year those canes have blooms and berries.

Well this year we have had some good rain here in June and that little patch has grown quite a bit. It has lots of nice healthy and tall next year canes in it, even bigger than last year canes. And last years canes are just full of berries this year.

I expect the will produce even better next year than this year.

I am just going to keep mowing around that patch, may let it expand some more.

It is sure nice to have a nice block of blackberry canes just a short walk from your back door.

TNhunter

TN,
That makes it nice having your own briars. I'd read somewhere about canes needing a years growth and producing the next year. It may have been on one of your earlier post.
My wife and I picked 2 gallons this morning and there are still plenty of red ones.
May go back in a few days.

Harvested 30+ nice red ripe tomatoes this morning and put some up for making homemade soup in the winter months...

Picked the rest of my sweet corn this morning and putting that up too now.

After that I will still have tomatoes for quite a while, and my watermelons should be getting ripe next week, and some of the cantelopes are turning now.

After watermelons, it not long to seng season kicks in.

Yum Yum !!!

TNhunter