It's not that I am a lazy or neglectful garden blogger, it's just that container gardening is pretty low maintenance and there just is not much to report right now.
So here is a picture report card of what is going lately.
The Tomato Hornworms have arrived. If you look closely, you can see the disgusting thing in the dead center of this picture. I try to find them and pick them off before they get this big. But the little buggers have perfect camouflage and I miss some.
The hanging tomatoes are hanging in there. The cherries (the two on the right) are doing fine, but the Early Girl is struggling to set fruit in the heat.
The two non-hanging tomatoes(not pictured) seem to be doing well despite the heat and bugs.
The four varieties of melons are developing nicely. I think that Honeydew in the background is going to go on the Father's Day dinner table tonight.
The Bush Star in the foreground has a way to go.
Cantaloupes are looking good.
Sugar Baby Watermelons are coming along nicely. Only two developed fully though, a few others that started to develop became stunted and eventually shriveled up. I have no clue why.
The Dusky Eggplant is loaded with fruit.
We've eaten a few and they are so delicious grilled or roasted in the oven.
A typical harvest.
The Lemon Cucumbers are a disappointment. The skin is thick and they are very seedy. Picking them small helps but not enough to justify keeping them. I am going to pull them out and plant something else in their container.
Beets, baby carrots and some monster zucchinis. That is lettuce and swiss chard greens soaking in the bowl. I sprinkle new lettuce seeds every two weeks or so for a constant supply. It does fine in filtered shade as long it doesn't dry out.
I don't have the huge glut of tomatoes that I used to get but there is enough for fresh tomatoes just about everyday.
One of my favorite ways to serve tomatoes is to slice them, put fresh mozzarella in between the layers and drizzle them with vinaigrette. Add a few greens and it is a perfect salad.
Happy Fathers Day!
That is one Ugly Hornworm. So far this year I have not found any on my tomatoes. I was curious about the hanging plants - do they have to be watered more than the regular potted ones? I was very skeptical about them.
ReplyDeleteSyble, I guess it would depend on the size of the containers. Mine are 5 gallon buckets. I have a drip line running through mine that waters three times a day (it's very hot here).
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