Cucumbers

I removed both of my cucumber plants from the garden this week. The dried stems and the last crinkly skinned fruit finally convinced me they were past help. They caught some sickness from the beetles that were feasting on them. I've planted some new seeds and am hoping they grow in time for us to enjoy cucumbers before winter. Two of my pepper plants are showing signs of weakness and I'm still at a loss as to what's causing it.

Here's a picture of this week's harvest; greens and herbs have proven reliable and the tomatoes are the newest addition to our dinner table.

Clockwise top left: Calendula Flowers, Basil, Swiss Chard, Collards, Jalapenos, Honey Yellow Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Brandywine Tomatoe, Anaheim Chile Peppers

July

Tomato plants (back) are growing surprisingly well. Cucumber teepee (left) was devastated from cucumber bugs I think. There's one vine left growing a single fruit. I must have gotten five cucumbers before it got weak.

Brandywine tomato

Brandywine tomatoes are very huge and on the verge of ripening.

Brandywine tomatoes still need to turn a color.

View from below a tomato vine.

Jalapenio peppers growing on Danielle's plant

New Mexico chile plant is looking a little sad. I gave it water and compost and Neptunes and nothing seems to make it happy.

This might be the start of our first eggplant

An eggplant blossom

Eggplants & Sweet Potatoes with Basil & Thai Basil interspersed. Cilantro gave up trying to grow here.

Calendula flowers interspersed among Roma Tomato plants. The center tomato plant decided to give up.

From front to back: Chamomile, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary & Collard Greens

Tomato plant in the bucket with a brandywine behind it.

Bell peppers growing in front of leeks

Bell Peppers

Brand new zucchini plant. Hopefully the birds won't pluck out the leaves before it grows any bigger.

I decorated my plot with old CD's to scare away birds.

Lemon Verbena

Greens of some kind decided to poke up after I applied compost. I had planted swiss chard, spinach and broccoli raab.

Nasturtiums are flourishing after a batch of compost.

Honey Yellow tomatoes are steadily turning yellow. We get one every other day.

Odd shaped Romas.

Roma tomatoes

Anaheim Chile peppers are growing well. They were really tasty in a queso dip I made. Efrain really enjoyed it.

July Garden Pictures

Here are some pictures from the garden during one of the hottest days of the season so far....

Chamomile plants

Red Onions

Collard Greens

Zucchini

Calendula (about to blossom)

Baby Butterhead Lettuce

White Carrot

Brandywine Tomatoes

Honey Yellow Tomatoes

Nasturtiums

Zucchini plant up close (baby zucchini is growing at center)

Sage Plants (we're ready for thanksgiving)

Swiss Chard

Sweet Potato (Porto Rico)

Thai Basil

Two Cucumber vines are climbing up the teepee just fine

A really long cucumber (must be 10 inches long)

Roma Tomatoes

Southern Night Tomatoes

Strawberry plant

Calendula & Zucchini

This morning I harvested zucchini and calendula flowers in addition to the usual collards, lettuce, and herbs from the garden. The zucchini plant needs trimming because many of it's leaves seem to wither when they get tangled up with the other limbs of the zucchini plant. I used some twine to tie the tomato plants to their staking posts and trimmed their leaves back. There are many small green fruits appearing on most of the tomato plants. There are three cucumbers growing. The teepee trellis is working wonderfully so far for the two cucumber plants that are climbing it. Occasionally I have to move them away from the neighboring tomato stakes and tie the cucumber vine to the teepee. I haven't seen any peppers yet and I'm looking forward to trying some from the seed grown plants. We are experiencing some high temperatures (mid 90s) today and I'm hoping we get the rain tonight and tomorrow the weathermen have been promising.

Clockwise from the top: Calendula flowers, Collard greens, Zucchini, Lettuce, Nasturtium flowers & leaves, Parsley, Sage, Lovage, Basil, & Thyme.

I'm planning to use the calendula petals (top of picture) as a garnish for food since they are edible. They don't have much flavor but they do have a pretty burnt orange color to them. I'm also interested in using them in rice dishes to see if they impart their color. The nasturtium flowers (bottom of picture) are pretty topping an omelete in the morning and add a spicy flavor. I've also used the nasturtium leaves (zesty flavor) inside an omelete usually accompanied by swiss chard and/or collard greens and of course cheese.