Friday, July 9, 2010

The Toasty July Garden

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It's been hot hot hot. Some veggies are loving it; others are not. Here's a quick update on what's going on right now:

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The peas are toast (and hung over). I can't complain. They've given it their all and then some. Thanks ol' friend. Now I must rip you from my life.

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Isn't this flower pretty?! They are being pumped out by my Calabash gourd, an edible Asian variety. Unfortunately, half of the plant (the part hanging on my garden fence) is now in the belly of the grumpy groundhog that lives underneath our shed. Judging by the rather large size of its leaves and vines, I'm sure the plant will recover...

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On a side note, its tendrils are as tough as nails...

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I guess I only have myself to blame. The rather obese groundhog has up until this point largely ignored my fenced-in garden, that is until I let one of my long Asian cukes wander past the green zone. Not only did he consume this one but also managed to reach into the fence and devour another. Now we see him propped on his hind legs pulling at the fence like a crazed crack addict. I'm sorry but I have to cut you off now! Better a fence than a shotgun (which I'm not ruling out)!

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You would think that with all of the hot weather we've been getting, these tomatoes would be a different color now. Not! I have started to give them regular foliar feedings of seaweed emulsion now - something I've been neglecting. Hopefully that will give them the kick in the backside that they need to reach for the moon. Not that they need too much help. They are already over 6 feet tall!

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Ohhhhh, how you torment me so.

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Finally, the peppers seem to be loving the heat. This guy is coming along nicely.

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One of my pepperoncino plants is fruiting like crazy. It's nice to know that the aphids didn't hinder their growth too much.

As you can probably tell, I'm sort of on the warpath today. I must be ready for the weekend.

15 comments:

  1. Those groundhogs are very hard to trap. I tried to trap one last year....with no success (I can't shoot here) I have yet to see him this year though. Saying that, I better go out and tuck my cucumbers inside the fence as well.

    I am drooling over your pepperoncinos....my husband made a new sauce a couple of months ago with them....and I am hooked. I didn't plant any. It was too late...so, I will have to look at yours

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  2. Everything looks great. Good luck with the groundhog. A .22 works wonders.

    I'm jealous of everyone who's tomatoes plants are towering. Mine is bearing fruit, but is only a foot tall!!

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  3. Hope you have a great weekend! :)

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  4. Your tomatoes look perfect; they just need to change color.
    My biggest problem now in the garden is weeds - there will be no resting for me this weekend.

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  5. Your tomatoes look very healthy! I wouldn't give them too much fertilizer or it will inhibit their setting fruits. Patience for color, they look good! The groundhog on crack... too funny! I love seeing new parts of your garden, this time the rolling pastures beyond, it looks like you live in a very pretty area!

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  6. I found out we have groundhogs living under the neighbors shed. It has chomped on my butternut squash plants, but hasn't eaten too much. I obviously need a good fence around the garden area. That wall garden will never get fenced, but the part that isn't in yet will.

    I'm surprised too that we don't have early tomatoes this year. But we don't. I've got nothing turning yet. Last year my first tomato was July 14th (cherry) and my first large one was August 10th. Surely I'll beat August 10th.

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  7. Your tomatoes look great! None of mine are turning color yet, either. Just a couple of the cherry type.

    I'm so glad I don't have cute, furry animals eating my garden. There's no way I could kill one, and I'm not sure I'd even want a garden if I had to surround it with a fortress. However, most of the Arizona gardens I've seen are in actual chicken wire rooms, all four sides and the top completely enclosed.

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  8. After reading your post I am so very happy I don't have a cucumber addicted groundhog under my shed.

    My tomatoes have not grown so much as an inch in the past week or so, not even a smidgen...pathetic. No fruit set either. My Juliets and Sungolds are the only color out there at the moment, but some stripes are appearing on Green Zebra.

    (As a side note, you must read "The $64 Tomato", Mr. Alexander and his groundhog woes were quite entertaining.)

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  9. Wow! Look at those peppers. Just fantastic. I love the image of the crack addict rodent. I can just see it!

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  10. I second Kelly's comment, you should read it! It's one of my favorite books and is the whole reason for my Brandywine heirloom obsession! Funny stuff

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  11. Your peas look just like mine at the moment. They still are putting out blooms though so maybe I'll leave them in. The gourd flower is very nice! All the warm season crops are doing well too. I'm still waiting on peppers and 90% of the tomatoes.

    I totally neglected to get your seeds out last week. They are all packed up now though and will go out Monday. Sorry about my procrastination.... :-)

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  12. being a great lover of garden art, I enjoyed going through your blog. Keep on posting.

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  13. Thomas, that flower is so delicate and ethereal for a vegetable. I'm going to have to add that to my wish list!

    As for the ground hog, you made me laugh with the image of him rattling the bars to try and get his fix. Dangerous, to let him get a taste of the good stuff. We've had our own groundhog issues (altho around here people call them woodchucks, huh), and I hope you're able to keep him at bay. :)

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  14. Wow. Those vegetables are definitely perfect ingredients for a fresh soup for a cold rainy night! Thanks for sharing these photos. Now, I am really envious of this one.

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  15. Great post! Your veggies are so healthy. The tomatoes are really big can't wait to see them ripe. My peppers and tomatoes really love the heat of the summer. They also grow enormously and healthy. I already harvest them last week but I didn't know yet what recipe to cook with them.

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