Sometimes I complain about my garden. *ahem* Like last week for instance. I lodged a complaint on Oct. 1st and here only 5 days later the garden answers me. How cool is that? It’s like having my own personal live complaint department – with Tech support. HA!
Some plants are still agonizingly slow or stopped all together, but other have answered my call. I have 2 cantaloupe set. They are baseball and softball size now. I was worried they wouldn’t grow. I had nearly a dozen that pollinated but almost none of them grew. Most of the ones that didn’t grow are still on the plant so tonight I’m taking them off. The 2 that did well and are growing, I raised them onto bricks hoping to keep the snails away. The slugs seem to go for the baits but the snails don’t. Go figure.
The pumpkin I pollinated 5 days ago has tripled in size so looking good there. Double is about as much as I have gotten until now. There was another fruit ready to set, but I didn’t get home in time yesterday to do it. Praying for a lone bee to happen by and pollinate it for me, but that is one fat chance. S’okay though. I have one on and it is enough to thrill the kids and there is hope that one more might set within a week before I pinch it back. Not much time now until the girls birthday and I’d like the pumpkin to be looking good by then. 4 weeks so maybe - just maybe it will be(starting to?)turning orange by then!
I’ve got a couple cukes each day and yesterday I ate the first cherry tomato. Ate it before rinsing it, and it never even touched the gathering bowl. LOL. It wasn’t all that wonderful, but you talk about an explosion! That thing had a gallon of water in it. LOL
Hubby brought up to me an idea that he has come up with for my birthday. He is getting me more fruit trees, and wants to include a small bed around each one for more garden space, too! So I’m off to do some research and see what I can find out and pick a couple of things to try. Got to be OK in a freeze, and not require much in the way of chill hours at the same time. Wish me luck! OH – and if you have any recommendations please tell me. I’m curious as to combinations too – like what can go together well. Strawberries under a peach tree- blueberries under an avocado? Who knows what the combinations will be.
‘Til next time!
Barbie~
Glad you've had some good luck. It's the small victories that count and keep you hungry for more.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb, Have you tried hand pollinating your pumpkins? It's easy. I have a post about it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://bigoaksfarm.blogspot.com/2008/10/pollinating-pumpkins.html
About the fruit trees, I would start with a fig, if you like figs. We have Brown Turkey figs. I don't know what would grow well under it though. It may not like having competition for fertilizer. Also, they suffer from nematodes, so you'd have to plant something that doesn't attract them - like no okra or tomatoes.
Oh, I Do! I hand pollinate anything and everything that can be. LOL. I try with the cucumbers and Canteloupe as well even though the flower parts are so teeytiny. :-) The problem is actually that the wall of our house is cooking them, and as I found out recently with the moth invasion some of the female flowers are getting eaten into by mothcats so they never even open to pollinate. Even if they did the damage is already done and it couldn't grow.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not I'v enever had a fresh fig so I don't even know if I like them!