Most folks in my area are done with planting this time of the year-unless they are planting a fall garden. I want to plant a fall garden-but wanting and doing is two different things.
Although I’ve been sad about the condition of our corn and main bean crop-I have been happy with the production of our other plants.
Our watermelons are totally thriving! We planted Mountain Sweet Yellow from Sow True Seed and an unknown heirloom variety given to us by a gentleman who lives down the road. He said his grandpa grew the watemelons and saved the seed-and he’s been doing the same since he started gardening.
The Mountain Sweet is a small yellow fleshed watermelon-it is really tasty. The unknown heirloom is a large light pink fleshed watermelon. The first time I cut one of them open I thought it wasn’t ripe-but even though it was such a light pink color it was still ripe and tasty.
I’ve tried for years to grow cantaloupes with no success. This year I’ve got cantaloupes everywhere! I have 2 varieties. One came from heirloom seeds given to me by the same man who shared his watermelon seeds.
The other came from a local school that was giving away plants at the end of the school year back in May. As you can see one is rough while the other is smoother.
Our tomatoes just keep keeping on. For the last few years I’ve grown Brandywines-both the yellow and pink variety-but I’m thinking I won’t grow them anymore. They never produce for us like the Cherokee Purple and Mountain Princess. The Black Cherry Heirloom variety from Sow True Seed has been a pleasant discovery this year-I’m positive we will grow it forevermore.
Our pepper plants have produced well this year and are still going strong. We’re still getting squash and zucchini too.
I’m hoping at least some of our watermelons and cantaloupes turn out well. I’ve heard folks saying the outside of their fruit looks great-but the inside is mushy or tasteless from too much water.
Tipper
It’s been a strange summer in NC, lovely but strange, and hard, I fear, on farmers and people who depend upon their gardens for food.
Praying for them all.
God bless.
RB
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Tim Mc-I think Tipper painted a punkin!
“With eyes bugged out” Is that a Bell pepper? Wow,, that thing must be some kinda Texas variety.. never seen one that big, that’s a Blue Ribbon at the County Fair,, if there ever was one…
I love the green pepper plant. It is so gorgeous. I also like the Cherokee tomatoes the best. I didn’t grow tomatoes this year. and I had to screen in the peppers because the critters were eating the flowers and cutting down on my production. Your pictures are great.
Tipper,
Looks like you’re having lots of
success in your garden. All my
peppers (sweet and hot) just went
away with all the rain. The corn,
squash, cucumbers and taters seem
OK, but I lost the beans. And I’ve
yet to get a red tomato, got lots
of beautiful big green ‘uns tho.
…Ken
looks like you beat out rain pretty well — those look delicious. The very best cantaloupe I ever ate was a Rocky Ford melon from Colorado – so sweet and juicy – but, alas, they don’t travel well so we never get them in FL.
What a bountiful crop! We here in FL are preparing our ground for planting in the fall.
For a fall gardener who wants to grow garlic, a few tips:
*Don’t plant garlic you buy at the grocery store. Most of this comes from California or warmer climes than the mountains and does not do well here. Instead, buy bulbs/cloves from stocks grown in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and other, colder environments. These are readily available on the web.
*Get your cloves, dusted with phosphorus, in the ground by Oct. 15, so they will grow over the winter and be ready by early July.