Melon Patch

My melon patch is in the plot I call the back 40. Its 40 feet long and back of the garage. I have four Crimson Sweet watermelon plants.
They are now about volleyball size but will get 25 to 30 pounds.

Four Hale's Best muskmelons plants. Can't get a close-up picture in this jungle of vines.
No weeds in the back 40 yet.

Peppers

This is the first harvest of peppers.
I have the Yolo Wonder variety of bell peppers.
And a couple of Jalapeños.

Still pretty much weed free.

First Tomatoes

The first tomatoes.
They are of the Big Beef variety. Here is one of the two plants I have.
This is two of the four Big Boy plants. They are living up to there name.
These are four La Roma plants, planted in a three foot square. Should have done a six foot square.
This is a grape type tomato that I started from seed years ago and has been volunteering ever since. It produces hundreds of little tomatoes. The bottom of the bucket has been removed.

Green Beans

I've harvested green beans three times now and got a five quart ice cream bucket full each time.

The first planting of green beans did not come up very well do to a cold snap. This 12 foot long row only has 12 plants so 5 quarts of beans is not that bad. I have two more plantings that are doing well and one more still to plant soon.

First Cucumber

The first one is exciting.

But there will be more. I have three plants starting to produce now and three more for later.

Harvest Onions

I have harvested the Walla Walla and the red Mars onions. I planted 24 Mars 128 Walla Walla. The picture only shows some of the best ones. The Mars crop was fair but the Walla Walla crop was poor. In the ten years I've been growing Walla Walla my success rate has been outstanding. I'm blaming it on way too much hot, humid, and wet weather.

My 280 Copra onions are still in the ground and seem to be doing quite well so far.

More Zucchini

Today I harvested six more zucchini.

Then I deposited ten older ones in the compost pile. A revolving door!

Deer Damage

My sweet potatoes are growing quite well but.

It seems like a deer enjoys them as much as me. This has happened a number of times in the past. They also like beets and carrots. I make a repellent that not only works but it is cheap. I store it in pint containers in the freezer and use when it is needed.

Here is the repellent I use:
Blend two eggs and a cup or two of cold water at high speed. Add this mixture to a gallon of water and let it stand for 24 hours. Then spray the mixture on foliage. The egg mixture does not wash off the foliage easily, but re-application two or three times a season may be needed.
This mix is also said to repel rabbits.

One caution is to avoid spraying it too close to harvest, as the raw egg on the vegetables can cause salmonella problems.

Zucchini

These are the second and third zucchini harvested this season. The first one was consumed before I was able to get a photo.

I have these two plants plus two more I just planted last week.

First Potatoes

This is the first two hills of Red Norland potatoes of the season. The plants were still green and growing but we got hungry for new potatoes. So sweet.

Grass Clippings

I mow just over an acre of lawn and put it all in the garden all the time. This is from one mowing.
I then rototill in into the soil immediately.
A view from the other end.

Every time it rains I till it again and after three times its almost gone and ready for more.

Garlic

My garlic is now ready to dig.
I wash it with a garden hose and let it dry for a couple hours in the sun. Try not to spray Eugenia's flower pots!!!

Then 2 weeks to dry in the garage and ready to use.