Zucchini 2, Cucumbers 9

So I came back from my week-long trip to find nine cucumbers on two of the three vines, and two zucchini, one of them absolutely enormous:


This just shows how dangerous zucchini can be.

I think there are about nine more cucumbers that may be ready to go when I get back from this trip.

Vegetable Update

As of mid-July:
Watermelon is no longer tiny:


The chickpeas have pods (they are still fairly empty pods, though):

The cucumber and zucchini vines have made good progress:


The tomatoes are coming! These are Sweet 100's.

Hey! Hay! Hooray!

The hay in the back 10 acres was finally cut last week. Here's what they did:

1. Cut the grass and let it dry for a day:


2. Push the hay into long rows:


3. Use the special hay-rolling machine to roll up the hay like a newspaper:


4. The machine binds the hay with twine, and then opens up and lets it roll onto the ground like a giant cylindrical egg:




They made about 35 of these giant hayrolls. The hay and some of the equipment is still sitting in the field. But, I can get to the barn now much more easily.

ooh no... bunny invasion

Baby bunny outside the lettuce patch.

Four types of lettuce

I'm growing four types of lettuce. These are all from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange:

Sweet Valentine Lettuce. The seedlings were pale green until I put them out in the garden. They quickly turned a deep red color in the sun. Took a while to get started, but they are looking good. I am sorry to say that the groundhog seems to especially like this variety :(


Oakleaf Lettuce. According to the Southern Exposure website, this variety was introduced about 1771! I was skeptical about what lettuce shaped like oak leaves would taste like, but it does seem to be resistant to bitterness and shows no sign of bolting. Great in salads.



Anuenue Lettuce. Developed in Hawaii. Also drought-resistant and bolt-resistant. Seeds are said to be able to germinate above 80F. I just started some in the sunroom, with temperatures up to 78F during the day.



And finally the cuteTom Thumb Lettuce. Little crumply leaves are tasty, but it's a little difficult to get all of the dirt out of the crinkles. Starting to bolt a little.

No gold here

But a full rainbow over the house after the storm on Sunday:



I haven't had to water the garden in at least a week because of the storms every other day.

Tiny watermelon, etc.

This is the tiniest watermelon I've ever seen:

I am hopeful my viney plants (watermelon, muskmelon, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber) will get a boost from the nice warm weather we've been having since my return. The ones planted outside in May suffered from mildewy stuntedness. I had some growing in little pots on the porch while I was gone, and at least the watermelon and muskmelon seemed to do well there.



The eggplant suffered from small black beetles boring holes in the leaves, but the store-bought one now has a nice purple blossom.

I find the chickpeas hard to photograph. The ones I planted in April are starting to flower:

They seem impervious to just about everything. I bought a $1 bag of garbanzo beans at Walmart and just stuck them in the ground, and they haven't had any pests and survived the cold, wet spring and the sudden 100-degree heat wave with no problem.