Sunflowers

Recently my giant sunflower bloomed in the garden. As I was taking pictures there were a few pollinators (bees) working in the field. You may be able to see one of them in the lower third of the picture.

Fruits (and Vegetables) of our labor

Today was a big day for the garden. The last of the cherry tomatoes were picked and many of the big boy tomatoes were starting to turn red. There are a few small eggplant left (4) and some small bell peppers (6). As the season begins to end, we are seeing less and less produce on the plants that are left. Enjoy it while it lasts cause in January and February you will be hoping for days like these.

Everyone enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

First Eggplant

As the growing season begins to wind down, we are finally seeing our first eggplant. We also pulled some of our first bell peppers (we have ~5) and are starting to see our large tomatoes begin to turn. The sunflower we have also started to bloom and open up within the past few days. A sunflower update is currently in progress.

There are only two things that money can't buy...

...that's true love and homegrown tomatoes. These words spoken by Guy Clark ring true when you bite into these tomatoes. Recently all the cherry tomatoes have been turning which means more tomatoes for salads! I'll just let the words speak for themself.
-------------------------------
Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon and lettuce and homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant 'em in the spring eat 'em in the summer
All winter with out 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' and diggin'
Everytime I go out and pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat and that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat 'em with eggs, eat 'em with gravy
Eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the side, put 'em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
'Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes

The Lone Watermelon

This may be the smallest watermelon known to mankind. After seeing the melon sit on the ground for weeks and not get any bigger we determined it was time to eat it. Though it was small, it was one of the tastiest watermelons I've eaten. The rind wasn't tough and very easy to eat.

Would you like to play squash?

The game is easy. Try to grow the largest squash possible. The squash pictured clocked in at 14.5 inches long and a whopping 2lb 15oz. Sadly this will probably be the last squash this year from the garden. Many of the plants were encroaching the eggplant, peppers, watermelon, and cantaloupe. To allow for more sunlight many of the plants were pulled up. However, the squash blossoms were saved and used to make a delectable lunch.

Tangerine Tree

This is an update of a tangerine tree I've been growing for close to 3 months now. It's the biggest one I have and I hope it continues to grow. Many of the others are much smaller and have fewer leaves. I'm not sure if they have been getting enough natural sunlight. However, I've killed about 5 of them from setting them outside in the sun. Too hot? Too much water? I'm not sure.

I know what you're thinking...

...enough with the garden updates. Sorry, but I'm just a little proud of the garden we have going. It's been doing quite well. This squash I found today while watering and it's almost ready to pick. Happy eating!

Peas

Today I tasted the first fruits of our garden by pulling a sugar pea. It was wonderful. Currently we have some squash, tomatoes, green onions, and pea plants that have fruit. This is a picture of a flower from the pea plants we have.

Did your garden survive the hailstorm?

After yesterdays hailstorm I was concerned how my garden would bounce back. From this picture you can see we still have blooms on our tomato plants and our eggplant, squash, and peppers all appear to be fine. We currently have 2 small tomatoes which is very exciting. Some of the plants lost a few limbs, but we should be fine. I'll continue to update the progress of the garden throughout the summer.