Garden update: Corn, Watermelons, Tomatoes and MORE Cucumbers

Fresh picked produce

Tomato nearly ready

Marigolds to keep the rabbits away.

Sweet corn

Baby watermelon

Banana pepper

Basil

Nearly ripe cherry tomatoes

Green tomatoes on the vine

This week I harvested corn from my little plot of land. My father-in-law helped me pick 105 ears of corn from five short rows!! Yes, I did say 105 ears of corn! Jessica helped me freeze it all, and we ended up with 48 quart bags. I’m excited for all the delicious winter meals with freezer corn.

While Jeff was out checking on the readiness of the corn, he saw something else exciting. You see… on a whim I bought a late season purchase for my garden, a watermelon plant. I stuck it in the corner and forgot about it. And that’s where Jeff made the discovery…two watermelons! They weren’t tiny either. They were HUGE! I’d been told that watermelons won’t like my soil, hard clay. But this plant sure did.

And then much to my dismay, what did I find? More CUCUMBERS! I’m sick of cucumbers, but I picked them and brought the little buggers inside like the good gardener I pretend to be. Fortunately the vines were dying, so I was able to pull the plants out.

I also have tons of tomatoes. I’m not sure what’s going on, but they are all tiny. I wonder if my plants were labeled wrong, or if they grew oddly because of the weather. I bought regular sized tomato plants. Yes, I did buy some cherry tomato plants, but these are different. They are bigger than cherry, but way smaller than normal ones. I’m confounded. I’m happy to see that the two volunteer plants from last year that are starting to produce normal sized tomatoes.

My tomatoes have another problem. The plants are too big and keep falling over. I finally made it out there this week and find a makeshift fix. I used the the stakes from the cucumbers garden stakes to add support to the tomato cages. Next year, I need to find a better solution.

I still have banana peppers and green peppers growning. My kitten, Mo, has decided he likes banana peppers…as a toy. Enjoy this picture of him trying to act innocent.

“I’m not playing with this banana pepper. It jumped off the counter all by itself.” -Mo

Until next week, may your heart be full of joy and your belly full of veggies.

Beth