This Week's Harvest

I'm participating in the Nashville 48-Hour Film Project this weekend, so I don't have much time to post or comment on friendly blogs. Anyway, I wanted to show you my vegetable harvest for this week! It's been very fruitful week! The harvest is plentiful and everything is delicious!

Apples, green beans, cucumbers and eggplant!








I'm participating in the Nashville 48-Hour Film Project this weekend, so I don't have much time to post or comment on friendly blogs. Anyway, I wanted to show you my vegetable harvest for this week! It's been very fruitful week! The harvest is plentiful and everything is delicious!

Watermelon... Only a Few Weeks Longer!

Remember the cute little watermelon of last week? The ones that were growing at a rapid pace, and I was excited about?

Here's a reminder!

Well no more! These tiny little suckers have grown into very large and nice size melons. It is still too early for me to harvest anything... Though I do have a desire to slice them all open! (lol).

Below: This is what I found growing in my garden when I returned from vacation...




There are several watermelons that are very large, and one that is medium size. I don't know what variety they are, but I'm sure excited about them. Only a few weeks left to go and I can have some fresh watermelon from my garden!

How much longer do you think I'll have to wait?

The cucumber... My first plentiful harvest!

Last week, I had only faint signs of potential cucumbers. The female flowers had begun to make their appearance, and I was excited about the possibilities. Happily for me, when I came back from vacation, I found not one or two, but at least five large cucumbers growing in the garden. They were all a good size, and because I can't eat them all at once, I picked two of the largest cucumbers.

Below: This week's cucumber harvest

The cucumbers are a nice size, very long in length. I think the size is comparable to what you would find in the stores. But the taste is fresh and very strong. It has that cucumber taste from my childhood.

The cucumbers from the supermarkets taste watered down to me. Have any of you tasted the difference in fresh produce now (2008) compared to 10 years ago? I think I've tasted a big difference. Over time, I haven't noticed. It was only this summer, when I tasted my own vegetables, have a noticed the huge difference in flavor! Craziness, I tell ya!

Below: The many, many cucumbers that are growing at a rapid pace in my garden!







Below: The only stubbly cucumber I have... A different variety and growing rather slow. It's the only one of its kind, so far!

To accommodate the growth of these 'cukes, I've been eating cucumbers with every meal. I've been adding them to salads and just eating cucumber slices by the slice. And on top of that, I've been eating them with white rice and stir-fry. They feel so fresh and delicious! Anyone want one? :-)

Eggplants in the making

In the garden, we have two eggplants in the making. They are beautiful and growing strong. No sign of bug infestations or anything like that. Now the question is, when are eggplants ready for harvest?

Below: This eggplant looks ready, but when we picked it and cut it open, it was not ready and had no seeds.

Below: Here is a newly formed eggplant that I found when I came back from my vacay. In about a week, it will be the same size as the above.

For those who know, in the future, how long should I wait before I pick? Cucumber update on the way tomorrow.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- July 2008

Thank you Carol at May Dream Gardens for hosting such a cool event. I've never participated in anything like this, but there's a beginning for everything. What an exciting day to unite with other garden bloggers participating in this event.

Welcome to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July 2008 at Square Foot Gardening in Nashville. Although my garden is not a flower garden, my vegetables and fruit are full of beautiful blooms. It's July, and the harvest season has begun in the garden. The flowers are numerous and continue to bud and bloom every day.

I have one almost-fully grown eggplant, and the flowers on the Ichabod eggplants show promise of more vegetables to come.

Below: Ichabod eggplant flowers

I love the purple color of the flowers. The eggplants are the only non-yellow or white fruiting flowers that are growing in the garden.

Below: The tomato flowers are numerous and many. After I stopped pruning, all of the tomato plants have come alive and new flowers form and bloom each day. (Not to mention fruit!)

The cucumbers are also growing strong. Harvest time is about to begin. The cucumber flowers are also a bright yellow, similar to the tomatoes. Both the males and female flowers are yellow, and they brighten my day every time I go and take a peek.

Below: The cucumbers are in full bloom

The watermelon is growing strong, and the actual melon is HUGE! It's grown 75 percent bigger since I saw it last week. (Photos coming up later this week). Its flowers are lovely when they are completely open. The female flower isn't as magnificent, but it's still pretty.

Below: Watermelon flowers
And now finally, some white in the garden. The flowers on the beans are in bloom. It is a white color, and the blooms are rather small in size. Some baby beans have started to appear out of the older blooms.

Below: Flowers on green beans

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