We have growth!

Melon update …

Last week my first watermelon was about 4 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. ↓

It’s growing!

Now, a mere week later, it is about 8 inches long and 4 inches in diameter. ↓

See how big it is in comparison to the Black Eyed Susan bloom, which, let’s face it, is on its last leg.

Why, you might ask, is this such a big deal to me? Well, there were two other baby melons on the vine last week as well but mid-week some kind of spidery-grasshoppery-looking insect just sucked the life juice right out of both of them. First, they withered, then they turned black on the bottom, and before I knew what was happening they died.

(The funeral was yesterday. So sorry if you missed it. The wake was great fun. We had helium balloons and everything!)

Good news!

Yep, folks, we have a new addition to the melon family — another baby! ↓

It’s tiny, only about two inches long and one inch in diameter. (They sure are fuzzy little scamps at this stage.)

The challenge will, of course, be to keep evil spidery-grasshopper-looking bugger away from the new arrival.

A gardener’s work is just never done.

Sigh.

😉

My first baby …

Posted by goodoldgirl

… watermelon!

See it? Over there, on the right?

It’s about 4 inches long. So cool! Like all proud moms, I’ll keep you updated on its progress. There are two more of them, but they’re not as big yet. One is only about as long as my little finger.

Squash update!

I’ve picked about a dozen so far and there are at least that many more on the vine. I just love squash.

Gardening is such a joy. If you haven’t given it a try then you’re just missing out on a rewarding experience.

This is my garden. It is very small.

Oh heck, who am I kidding, it’s tiny! But, it’s all mine and I like it.

Actually, I have another flower bed on the opposite side of the patio, next to my townhouse, that had Impatiens in it. But, the gutters are stopped up and I’m having a bit of trouble getting the condo board to send someone over to clean them out.

I keep getting the run-around about hail damage insurance claims and not enough units need their gutters cleaned out to make it worth it to hire someone to clean mine. In the meantime, my little flower bed of Impatiens that, in May, looked like this, →

now looks like this. ↓

So sad. (Yes, I know my landscape lighting needs an update. In time, folks, In time.) Anyhoo, back to my gardening epistle.

I grew up on a farm where gardening was a requirement. I hated it! There really aren’t words for how much I hated working in a garden back then.

In all fairness, let’s put that in context. I was 10 through 17 years old, stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a quarter-acre garden and only my mom, my brother, and my sister and I to manage it. Do you have any idea what a quarter-acre garden looks like? It’s huge and way too much work for one grown up and three kids.

What were they (my parents) thinking? Okay, so my father would plow it in the spring, but then, it was up to us to plant and weed, and hoe, and water, and hoe some more. Exhausting work and for what? Okra? Lima beans? Spinach? Yuck. It was all food that I mostly couldn’t stand to eat back then. (Yep, I was an idiot but I still don’t like spinach, if it’s cooked. There’s a whole other story about me and spinach but let’s save that for another time.)

The point …

Gardening is an acquired taste. Not everyone likes to spend time digging in the dirt but, for those of us who do, it is a very rewarding experience.

A few more pics of my tiny garden …

Until next time, happy summer everybody!

Psst, one of these days, I’ll learn how to crop pictures evenly, but don’t hold your breath waiting for me to get around to it. 🙂

. . . how does your garden grow?

Posted by goodoldgirl

Gardening is a joyous activity.

It doesn’t make any difference whether its flowers or a veggie patch, planting seeds and watching them grow is rewarding in many, many ways.

I usually plant only flowers in my small patio garden but this year I planted a squash and a watermelon as well.

So far, I’ve harvested one batch of squash and have about a dozen more that will be ready to pick by the end of the week. I also have three tiny watermelons that are about the size of my pinky finger. I can’t wait for them to get big enough to harvest.

I think that next year, instead of morning glory, I’ll plant pole beans on my trellis.

Hmmmm, next year’s garden will have squash, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelon. All I’ll need to add is cornbread and iced tea for the perfect Southern meal.