The Garden - July 31

When I took these photo, I didn't realize the flash was on, so they look a little weird.




The corn has really taken off and is starting to get it's tassels. We should have some sweet corn pretty soon.



The pumpkin growing amongst the corn is a Rouge Vif d' Etampes.



Italian plums are starting to ripen. This is the first year that I really have a crop. They don't get as purple as I thought they would when ripe. They are almost too sweet when soft. I've been picking and eating them when they are pretty hard. It only takes two bites to eat one and the pit comes out clean.



Chrissie hanging out under the tangerine tree.



Sid made two new bee blocks this spring, that's five blocks in total now and they are almost completely full. The population in our garden has grown a lot over the past 4 years. Now I hope we can find someone who wants to rent the house and garden, so those bees have something to eat.

Before and After

This is one of the larger Rouge Vif d' Etampes pumpkins from this year. It is about to become a pie.

Pumpkin roasting in the oven.

Finally, pie!

Pumpkin harvest

I decide the pumpkins were ready for harvest. They didn't get as dark orange as I thought, but I compared them to some other pumpkins I saw recently and decided they were ready. There is one more still on the vine. It got a later start.

Peas are about 7 inches tall now and reached the bottom of the trellis.


The largest of the broccoli plants.

First real rain

We had some showers about a month ago, but this is the first real rain of the year. Reflections of the basil plants in the rain.


I think it's going to be a slow Halloween. It's going to be raining all weekend and maybe into next week.

Pumpkin and seedlings


Tall Telephone is growing fast.


This is one of the broccoli seedlings I transplanted a few weeks ago.

Peas and pumpkins

The pea seedlings have sprouted. This variety is called Tall Telephone.


I like this photo because it shows the contrast between the older pumpkin and the younger one. Varieties like New England Sugar Pie start out green and mature to orange. Rouge Vif d' Etampes starts light yellow and matures to a dark orange, almost red.

Morning in the garden

I was looking at the garden this morning and realized the pumpkin plant was huge. It's taking over the yard. Cold temperatures will take care of that soon enough. Although it was in the 80's today again. Of course, the larger photo is much better than this tiny thumbnail.

2 weeks until Halloween

I don't think they are getting any bigger at this point.

These still need to get a lot more orange before they are ripe. Look here to see a ripe version.

Pumpkin

It was almost dark by the time I got outside tonight. This photo was taken with the flash.

Enjoying the garden

Lu was having a nice day in the garden while I cleaned up and planted some winter crops. I planted peas, carrots, broccoli and some herbs.


I'm always happy when I find a honey bee enjoying the stuff I planted. There is lots of pollen on this little guy.


One of the Rouge Vif d' Etampes.


The afternoon light was just right to take a still life photo of my harvest. Pomegranates, peepers and cucumbers. It made me feel like painting again.


The tomato still life wasn't as pretty, but I'm just happy to still have good tomatoes to eat.

Starting to color upRouge Vif d' Etampes is a dark reddish-orange pumpkin when it is mature. I noticed today that they seem to be getting a little more orange, but I'm not sure if you can really tell from this photo.

Pumpkin progress

Here's a photo of one of the pumpkins. I like the shadow of the flower blossom on the left side. It rained for the frist time since spring on Friday night. It wasn't a lot of rain, but there were still some droppets on the pumpkin when I took the photo.

Smallest cucumber ever

Well it isn't really a cucumber yet, it's just a female flower. This is a Mexican Sour Gherkin cucumber. I've been trying to grow them for 3 years now with no success. They are really small plants and usually get destroyed by snails and slugs. I was able to keep this one alive all season long, but it just started to flower. The flowers are so small I don't know if any bees can find them to pollinate them. I don't think there are any male flowers blooming at the same time as the females. Therefore, no cucumbers. Maybe next year I will have more success. To get a sense of how small it is I put an ant on the flower. Enlarge to see the details.


Rouge Vif d' Etampes a couple of days later. I put a nickel next to the pumpkin to help with scale.


Today's harvest of raspberries. I think this will be the last week for raspberries this season.

Pumpkin

I'm amazed at how quickly the pumpkins are growing. On the packet for the pumpkins, it says it will take about 95 days to grow to maturity. I planted them about 60 days ago, so they should be ready just in time for Halloween.

Bees and Pumpkins

Ever wonder how bees transfer pollen from flower to flower? Take a close look at the bee in this photo. It is covered in pollen from head to stinger.


It looks like it is snowing pollen. This is a male Rouge Vif d' Etampes flower.


Here are the pumpkins they pollinated already. I might have helped out too. I did take a Q-tip to them one day.


The second Rouge Vif d' Etampes. I think there about 5 pumpkins growing now. I'm not sure if the season is going to be long enough for them to ripen. They are currently 3-4 inches in diameter.