Monday, July 14, 2008

Back from Vacation!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've arrived safely back in Nashville. My vacation was amazing... The beach was gorgeous, and the boardwalk was so fun. We went to the beach every day, walked everywhere and had tons of seafood! So yum! I'll post pictures as soon as I have time.

The flight home was hectic. I was supposed to arrive home last night, but my flight was canceled because of the weather. So we didn't get a flight until this morning. Then the luggage was lost because Atlanta's airport closed down, and over 500 bags were in limbo. Crazy!

On top of this, my laptop broke yesterday. My sister dropped it, and it broke my screen. It'll be too expensive to fix, so I bought a new one. *sighs* Quite an eventful trip.

The garden is booming! I will share new pictures later this week. Before I left, I noticed that our eggplants had formed! It was exciting! The eggplant is a lovely purple, and it's rather large now. The plant is rather low on the ground, and so I wonder what will happen if the vegetable grows too long for the height?

Below: The eggplant (circa last week)

I'm a little concerned about the zucchini. One of our zucchinis died. And the plant leaves have some strange coloring on them. I wonder what it could be. Anyone have any ideas?

Below: The dead zucchini

Below: The leaves have odd coloring...

Well one good thing about the zucchini plant: there are replacement zucchinis on their way. Hopefully these will grow to full size and make a delicious side dish!

Below: The new female flowers

10 comments:

Dan said...

I'm 90% sure that the white on the zucchini leaves is totally normal, not a disease or fungi's.

The zucchini that is shriveling up in the photo is most likely due to it not being pollinated.

Good to hear you had a good vacation, asides for the flight!

Skeeter said...

Welcome home! I missed your chit chat! I was just wondering today about your garden and how it was fairing while you were away. I was hoping you would come home to some good surprises such as the egg plant but so sorry for your zucchini. Our Zucchini has some white spots on them also but not as badly as yours... I will be anxious to hear what people have to say is the deal....

Glad you had a great trip away but sorry for all the hassles yesterday. As far as the Atlanta air port goes, that is how it is in Atlanta! LOL. Craziest air port around... The only way I can fly home is Via Atlanta and also when we flew back from Germany. Always a stressing time...

Sorry about the lap top but on the bright side, you have a new one! I know it cost money you were not ready to spend. Sorry....

Cant wait to see the pictures...

Skeeter said...

Ah, Dan that is great news about the white coloring of the zukes. Maybe ours will be okay...

Dan said...

hi again, I found the blog that I originally saw the same zucchini leaf pattern:

Link to Zuc Photo

Cindy said...

I'm happy to hear that about the zucchini leaves because mine have that same coloring. I thought it was mildew.
Your eggplant look great. I bet you are looking forward to eating them.

Eve said...

Your eggplant is beautiuful. I had no luck with my squash this year. I had a small first crop and then no more. I'm not sure what happened. There was no sign of disease on the plants or any pests that I could find.
I'm sorry about your laptop. But at least you could afford to replace it right away. That's good.

Dawn said...

Hi dp,
When I first saw your zucchini I thought it looked like blossom rot. Sometimes when the blossom gets a bad opening it can affect the veggies.
Ah, flying---I didn't leave anything up in the sky so I have no reason to go and get it!

tina said...

The white looks like mildew to me too. It usually does not hurt the plant. I have it on mine too this year but am still getting zucchinis. Not sure why yours shriveled up. Welcome back!

DP Nguyen said...

Dan—I’m so glad to hear that the white is normal, or at least it won’t hurt the vegetable. You might be right about the dead zucchini. It was not in a good place for pollination. We have a new fully grown zucchini that grew to be about 7 inches long. It’s delicious! Thanks for the good news!

Also-thanks for the link to the zucchini plant! I’m glad to hear that it is something normal!

Skeeter—Thanks for the homecoming! My garden is doing marvelous! After the slow start, I was concerned. But as the summer is progressing, everything is blooming and fruiting just beautifully!

Yikes! about the Atlanta airport. I’ve never flown out of there, but when I do, I’ll know what to expect. We flew out of Newark, and I’ve never had much luck with the Newark airport. It’s always hectic, and my flights have been delayed and cancelled often. *sighs* I guess that’s what happens when you fly. Expect the unexpected.

Cindy—Wow, so happy to hear that the zucchini leaves coloring is something many people have experienced. I am very excited and am looking forward to harvesting the eggplant and eating it!

Eve—I’m sorry to hear about your squash this year. I hope you have better luck next year. The weather this year has been very hot, and maybe your squash wasn’t getting enough water. Before we set up the watering system, our plants were slow growers. And after the sprinkler was put in, they have started to perk up and grow very quickly and very productively! Thanks for the sympathy on the laptop.

Dawn—Thanks for the comment. I don’t know the reason for the bad zucchini, but the newest grown zucchini grew to 7 inches and it was very tasty! And LoL about the flying!

Tina—Great to hear that your zucchinis are still growing, despite the weird white coloring. Thanks for the welcome back! I’m happy to be home!

Daphne Gould said...

I'm already getting sick of my zucchinis. Your leaves are perfectly normal like Dan said. I have zucchini plants with the exact same leaf pattern. Are you growing Dark Green Zucchini? Thats the one I have. I often hand pollinate my zukes if they aren't getting pollinated. It's really easy and then you can eat the male blossom afterwards. Just rip out the stamen of the male blossom and rub it on the pistil of the female blossom. They always set if you do this. Of course if you are out in the morning and the bees are all over the flowers then you probably want to leave them alone.