Garden Update May 24

Two empty rows to the left of that pole were the tater beds.
The pole is actually a raised sprinkler to get above the corn.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record when I talk about no rain.  Actually I feel bad for moaning about it when I see flooding happening along the Mississippi River.  We've totaled about a 1/2 inch of rain in the last 10 weeks.  Dry.  On top of that the last three days have been over 100 degrees too.  Sandspurs love no rain and 100 degree days.  Other stuff.....not so much.  I've been letting the water sprinklers rip though.  That's kept everything steady.  We are actually harvesting things now and the results are pretty decent!  So far we've put up 10 quarts of snapbeans, given away about five more and eaten some as well.  The squash are putting off like gangbusters.  I knew they would.  I believe you could make squash in bed of shattered glass.  The tomatoes are doing decent but these last few days have been tough on them.  Of the 72 plants we set, only 5 have died so far. Not too bad.  All of the plants have fruit, so as long as nothing funky happens we'll be picking maters soon too.  About half of the corn is tassling and it looks pretty decent too.  Sweet potatoes are looking healthy and starting to drop and run.  The sugarcane is struggling bad.  No water.  Gotta have water to make cane.  Same with the watermelons, though they aren't too terrible.  Just not as healthy as I'd like right now.  There is still time before the 4th of July though :)  The cucumbers are struggling as well.  They are the biggest mystery to me.  The first year I planted a garden I made bunches of cukes.  The last three years have been absolutely paltry.  The only think I can guess is that they loved the area where the sandspurs were.  If nothing comes this year, I'll plant them in that spot again next year and just pick carefully.  There is one about three inches on the vine.  I'm nursing that so that I can have at least one this year.

This weekend was spent digging potatoes.  What a crop!  I estimated that we ended up with around 160-170 pounds.  I filled my storage rack and still had an entire queen sized bed sheet full to give away to friends, neighbors and coworkers.  Taters for all!  I hope the sweet potatoes do that well.

From the opposite end.  Freshly hoed tomato plants

What made really made the day special was to work in the garden with the boys.  Despite the heat they were there with me.  We had a great system in which my five-year-old would pull the plant, I would dig and my two-year-old would pile them in the middle of the rows.  Keep in mind now.......this wasn't my plan....it was their plan.  On top of that, the two-year-old had a fit to make sure that every one was in a container of some sort be it a plastic bag, bucket, box or even his pants pockets.  It was interesting that they never once complained that it was too hot.  It was bright and 101 degrees at the peak.  I made sure that they had plenty of water and sunscreen (wish I had put sunscreen on myself...ouch) but they never once complained about any discomfort.  They were out there working because it was an opportunity to hang with Dad.  I'm sure being able to root around in the dirt had something to do with it too, but they were as well behaved and attentive as I've ever seen them.  They were happy.  Despite being hot, nasty and tired they were happy.  I could learn a lot from that...........

Y'all take it easy,

Alex