End of July - Where Did It Go?

I've been extremely thankful for the garden this year despite any issues I have faced.  This past week we have begun harvesting thing such as cantaloupe, which have been the best!!  Super sweet and flavorful!  This is seed I saved from some starts I purchased from Azure Standard in 2022.

We have been able to harvest a few winter squash, though most end up having bugs in them.  This one started rotting and I had to process it yesterday.  After all the waste from trimming, I had six quarts.  I am pretty close to saying I won't grow squash any longer, but we shall see.  

The paste tomatoes are loaded, but I have been struggling with blossom end rot.  All of my tomatoes are rotting.  I had to add calcium, but I don't know how many more will be ruined before the soil is corrected.  The tromboncino squash continue to get out of control and I am not sure it is worth allowing them to wreak any more havoc on my tomato plants. 

 

The purple Murasaki sweet potatoes are doing well.  I go out every few days to trim back the excess foliage to encourage the energy to the sweet potatoes. 

Our popcorn has started to tassel and I have some small ears forming.  I will need to spray with BT soon to make sure those pesky worms stay away.

This bed of green beans has shot up since pulling out all of the cucumber vines.  They now have sunlight with no competition.

The other bed has already produced some green beans for us, but not enough to can.  There are a few Chinese long beans planted here as well.  They just started producing beans for us.

The cherry tomatoes are growing so tall!  I know I planted them so close together, but they are at least producing.  So far, our favorite in flavor have been the Barry's Brazen Crazy Cherry.  Unfortunately, the plant is being smothered and the tomatoes are being nibbled by bugs. 

Peppers are doing phenomenally!  I am so thrilled to think I will have plenty of peppers and while it isn't enough to put away for chili pepper, I at least have plenty to snack on or preserve in some way or another.  I tried to ferment some banana peppers, but they just didn't smell right, so I dumped them.  So far, the top producer is the Jimmy Nardello.

And finally!! We harvested our first few watermelon and it was so worth the wait!  These Royal Golden watermelon have taken the difficulty out of knowing just when to harvest!  Wow!  The skin turns gold and the tendril across from the melon dries out and there you have it!  For years, I have had dried tendrils and nasty watermelon. 

In other news:

Dad and Mom have officially sold their house in Kentucky and are on their way to Arizona.  They should arrive tomorrow early in the afternoon.

Andrew was in a car accident last Saturday.  His car was considered "totaled" by the insurance company. We are truly blessed that the timing through the intersection was as it happened.  Yah is good!  

Leandra informed me today she was hired at a "higher end" restaurant in Panama City.  She will be doing either prep work in the kitchen, or be pastry/dessert chef.  

Al made our yearly hay purchase today.  He put 32 large round bales under the awning.