Garden Notes

Well, things are really exploding out there. The volunteer squash plant that came up in April is e-freakin'-normous. It has run all over the back garden with vines going out in several different directions. I've pulled off two butternut squash so far and it's got several more ready or almost ready. The okra is producing nicely, as well, and I think the cucumbers are getting ready to kick into high gear. Yesterday I pulled my first Amish paste tomato (huge!) and several smaller Golden Queens. Also a bunch of cherries, large and the Mexican Midget variety, and the first (and likely only!) Eight Ball zucchini. Pulled up all the radish pods to dry for seed which cleared out that area nicely - seeding radishes are ridiculous! I will definitely use some sort of staking or caging method if I do that again.

Yesterday I also made a half-assed attempt to turn the compost pile. It seems that when I added the charcoal it really did the trick... all of the leafy and green mass has melted down leaving a pile of smallish sticks I had difficulty "turning." It went from 3 1/2 feet to less than 1 in 3 weeks? Wow. Science is scary!

I also top-dressed the cukes, remaining zuke, burgundy okra, which is still looking spindly compared to its green brethren, and my lovely winter squashes which are looking great. The Jumbo pink banana looks the best, very full and opening blossoms now (planted May 31). The Chicago Warted Hubbard and Black Futsu are both still putting on leaf growth and size but look nice.

For some reason the potatoes haven't given up the ghost yet! They still look strong and healthy despite the high temps. I was under the impression that potatoes are usually harvested when the foliage dies back, typically June in Oklahoma (right?). I grew potatoes twice previously, just a tiny little crop, and it worked on that timeline. Well, these still look great! So until the foliage dies back, they'll be in the corner of my garden, sitting in a giant black tub. I added more soil and compost yesterday to encourage more of those tubers!

I also ordered garlic from Territorial Seeds. I got the Bavarian Purple garlic and the Ontario Purple Trillium garlic, both hardneck varieties. Softneck supposedly stores longer but the Bavarian stores 9 months to a year, so I'm not worried.

Pictures to follow soon!