The orange bellpeppers are just starting to turn color, as are the habanero chiles. And it looks like I will have some long Anaheims for Michael to make chile relleno with very soon. The soybeans are almost ready also, and I have a ton of them (we made a small appetizer-size batch of edamame yesterday and they were terrific tasting but really a little cumbersome to eat as the beans just weren't plump enough so I really need to wait a bit longer). I also have a 1/2 dozen green bellpeppers on the island of our kitchen waiting to be stuffed - will probably do that for dinner tomorrow.
On Saturday I got around to installing a birdbath (and plants) in the circular bed of our second plot. It looks great! The plants on our trellises that Michael built are also doing well. Here is a before pic (in which I am tieing up plants on the trellis) from a couple weeks ago...and an after pic from yesterday at approximately the same angle:
That's a pumpkin patch on the bottom right in both pics. We now have several small pumpkins that have fruited in our patch. I have begun trimming back the vines so that they plants will focus on a few pumpkins and not dissipate their energy on too many fruits.
Harvested green beans this weekend from the farthest trellis which Aaron ate up like crazy and had a great time splitting in half with his fork to find the teeny beans inside. We also have one watermelon on our counter that fell off the trellis (I forgot to sling it). But I think it is ripening and might be ready in a couple of days, so I am looking forward to opening it and seeing. If not, some newer baby ones are forming (the one that fell was the only one that survived the tieing up as we had let the plants sprawl before we finished the trellis).
Here is a close-up of the birdbath bed:
The aloe vera and the hydrangea on the left are gifts from a fellow gardener, Audie (pronounced just like the car). I'll have to keep the hydrangea trimmed. Aaron picked out almost all the rest of the plants in this bed. My little guy is partial to succulents!
The only gopher damage we have had all summer (!) is an attack on one of the globe artichokes which is in an un-chicken-wired bed. The plant hasn't died yet but is a little sickly looking. Best idea we had was to line those beds in the first plot!
Planning has ensued as to what to try this fall and winter. I will be trying swiss chard, beets, and maybe butternut squash. I am also searching now for a potato seed company that does fall shipments for southwestern gardeners (potatoes are normally planted in spring) My neighboring gardener Carol says I can ignore a lot of conventional rules because of our milder weather. She showed me a beautiful cauliflower and cabbage in her plot, both are normally winter veggies but have done just fine this summer for her.
Meanwhile, I hope the sweetpeas I planted around the teepee to replace the nasturtium take off soon (the nasturtiums fell victim to a black aphid infestation and had to be torn out). I think Aaron will like the sweetpeas a lot better as he enjoyed them in a neighbor's plot, and liked to cut bouquets for his room. Although he doesn't seem to mind the teepee bare either!
