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.

The bees have hatched

These bees were laid in the spring. There are a few cells that have the seals broken, because the bees have hatched. (not sure if hatched is the right word) Click on the image to make it large you can really see the cells.

There are only a couple of corn cobs that will be edible this year. I planted them in the new garden area that had a deck over it for years. The soil is not in great shape. I'm going to add some compost and a cover crop to that area this winter in hopes to improve the quality.


The pumpkin is getting pretty big now. I hope it will produce at least one pumpkin before it gets too cold.

Purple silk & orange ball


This is a strawberry flower blooming off of a runner.

The corn didn't grow very tall, but but it looks like we should have a few ears. I've been hand pollinating the silks being they all seem to be maturing at different times.

This is my first hand-full of green beans. Variety is Blue Lake Pole. I ate them raw in a couple of minutes. mmmmm...

The dogs got a new toy today. It's an orange ball made by West Paw Design, the Huck. It's made from 10% post-industrial waste and the manufacturer will recycle it when the dogs are done with it. Plus, if the dogs destroy it, they will replace it for free. That's a challenge that Button likes. :) Tomorrow I'll post photos of the dogs playing with it.