Monday, June 2, 2008

Replaced Cucumbers, Growing Bell Peppers, and Updated SFG Boxes Photos

Thank you to everyone who commented and gave me advice about the cucumber and squash dilemma. Eleutheros mentioned I should wait a week or so to see if the plants continue to grow. I was planning to listen to his advice… until this afternoon.

Cam and I had business lunch near Mt. Juliet, and Cam suggested we visit some of the nurseries afterwards. So we did, and we ended up doing more than just “looking.”

Above photo: We ended up buying way too much, but we couldn't help ourselves! It's so addicting!

We had never been to any of the fabulous nurseries in Mt. Juliet (a suburb of Nashville), and boy was I shocked at the awesome merchandise and healthy plants we found. I’ll go into more detail about all we bought in a post later this week. But for now, I’m going to focus on the cucumbers that we bought.

We found a package of small cucumber plants that were flowering. They looked so much healthier than the cucumbers we had planted, and I highly doubt our old cucumbers would have ever flowered like the new plants.

Below: The new cucumber plants



I am positive that we will have new cucumbers in the coming weeks (or at least healthy plants that don’t look diseased). I followed my father’s advice and planted the roots deeper than I did last time. After watering, the cucumber plants looked perky and happy. Not like last time when they just flopped over… and stayed flopped over until I decided to pull them all out.


Above: A close-up of the new cucumber plants

I'm pleased to announce that the bell peppers in the SFG boxes are still doing well. I was concerned this weekend because it didn't seem like they were perky, but now that the sunshine is back, they look better than ever! I don't think they're a fan of the cloudy and windy weather. They looked just awful yesterday... The flowers were so droopy; the plant looked sad.

But today, the sun was out and the bell peppers were back in the swing of new growth!

Below: the yellow bell pepper is in the beginning stages of fruiting. Look at the teenie baby bell pepper that's forming!


Below: The green and red bell peppers in the back are also in the midst of flowering and giving birth to tiny peppers. It's really pretty to look at the flower blooms.



Over the weekend, I was getting a little concerned about the purple bell pepper. It was starting to change color on me. Notice the dark spots on the green pepper below.


I had never heard of purple bell pepper before, but I know that with the red bell pepper, it becomes a large green bell pepper before it ever ripens and turns red. I was concerned with this purple bell because it's still somewhat small in size. It's not tiny, but not as large as some of the bell peppers you see at the store. But I guess the purple bell grows differently. It still looks healthy, so I'm not going to be too worried yet. I can't wait to see how it looks as it continues to grow in size.


The front bell pepper is still growing strong. I'm disappointed that it's an only child because the plant isn't flowering and has no hope of flowering.

Below: Front bell pepper (variety: red bell)

The pepper is getting so large that it's making the plant tip over, so I straightened it with a little stick. Hopefully that will keep the plant from falling over into the soil. It also makes the plant look more aesthetically pleasing.


On a final note, I thought I'd post individual photos of each square foot garden box in the back. Each box is growing very nicely and filling out. Cam and I are in talks to build 3 more. I know it's getting late in the summer to continue buying and planting new plants, but it's our first time, and we're experimenting!


10 comments:

tina said...

It's not too late to plant. I JUST planted cucumber and gourd seeds yesterday. I am late. But fortunately we have a long growing season here (until about 15 October).

Gail said...

It sure looks good! I love how the flowers develop into the fruit. you're geting to see the whole process unfold before you.

Dr. White said...

I'm a fellow SFG fan! Loved seeing your gardens and your verticle supports. For some reason, the verticle supports have given me fits...probably because I didn't follow Mel's directions and decided to make them out of wood. While it is more aesthetically pleasing, it's flimsy. We just purchased electrical conduit yesterday to build new supports following Mel's recommendations.

Also, I agreee with Tina...it's NEVER too late to build new beds! If all else fails, you can plant root veggies in the fall and some sugar snaps! :-)

Shala said...

This is our first year of gardening and we too have lost some plants. We just replanted squash, cucumber and okra from seed yesterday so I don't think its too late. Experimenting is all the fun!

Daphne Gould said...

I don't think any gardener can go into a nursery and come home with nothing. It is just not done.

Lets Plant said...

I can't go to a nursery without leaving with way more than I intended either. Everything looks very good!

Aimee said...

I'm responding to your comment on my blog: I read somewhere that all the corn should be planted together so that's why I have a whole box of 'em. Besides, I do love my corn! yummy. I'd forgotten all about pruning the tomato plants until you reminded me here on your blog. I went dashing outside to make sure to prune IMMEDIATELY! hahah. Thankfully, they weren't out of control yet. =)

Mick said...

I go into my small garden centre here in town for a packet of seeds and invariably can't resist a few impulse purchases.

Those boxes of yours look very impressive and extremely healthy. I'm sure your going to get some tasty returns from your labours.

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen said...

Your boxes look terrific - and your pepper looks very tasty. I am wanting more boxes too - but probably won't get them for a bit - it's never too late to plant though :)
~plantgirl of
Square Foot Garden Blog