Late August

Fall is just around the corner and I have not done any planting for the fall garden, yet. I finally cleared out the cucumbers and some of the scallop squash plants. I disconnected the long beans from the fence attached them to the other side where the cucumbers used to be. Now, I can actually walk through the back of the garden. The garden is starting to look a lot thinner and maybe even organized.

The tomatoes have been a pain to harvest because it has over-grown so much! I had to cute out some vines just to get to them. I need to do a little more planning next year and leave some more space for exponential growth from the tomatoes. We harvested mostly cherry tomatoes but the hybrids are finally turning red. The sad thing is I am not a big fan of eating raw tomatoes. I usually freeze it and keep it for soups and papaya salad.

The hanging basket plants are blooming like crazy. I just love it! They just brighten my day. I feed them a couple of days ago and look at it now.

Watermelons have been doing so well this year. The biggest one is probably close to 5 lbs. After transpanting mid-summer, I didn't think they were even going to make it. The girls are so excited to pick them. We just have to wait a little longer.

The ornamental gourds are also doing well. They spreading everywhere and it's been difficult trying to keep them within the garden so Jimmy doesn't mow over them. Hopefully, they will be ready in time for Fall.

Watermelons and Other Random Things

Beautiful sunset. I don't have the best camera but I thought this pretty good. I heart sunsets.

I was poking around in the garden yesterday and found a watermelon about the size of a football. I can't wait to pick it but I think it still has a long time from now. I also saw 2 other smaller melons. My girls are going to be so surprise to find them.

My biggest scallop squash so far. The picture doesn't do it justice but it's probably close to 10" in diameter. I should have left to see how big it could grow.

I have seen these bugs all throughout the year and I thought they were ladybugs. Apparently, not! It turns out they are really spotted and striped cucumber beetles. They have been reeking havoc in my garden and I thought they the "good" bugs. I thought ladybugs are suppose to come in all colors. http://www.ladybuglady.com/stripes.htm

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.iowavoice.com/2008/07/27/spotted-cucumber-beetle/ http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/pestinfo/cucumberbeetle.asp

I made this trellis out of drift wood from the Arkansas River. I am going to plant some honeysuckle when I get around to it. One of my favorite summer smells. Nothing like a drive down a country road with the windows rolled down and the faint scent of honeysuckle.

A perfect sunflower. The bugs have not gotten to it, yet.

Early August

The cucumber harvest is slowly dwiddling down. I've been thinking about what to plant in its place. I was going to replace with the gourds growing in the medium bed but it's doing so well there I don't want to disturb it. Starting to think about a fall garden. The sunflowers are experiencing some problems with birds and bugs. They are eating the seeds and petals. I have seen hummingbirds, bumble bees and all kinds of bugs snacking on our sunflowers. Despite all of that, it's still looks beautiful!

Landscaping on a $3 Budget

We have a little area in the backyard that is just outside the dining room window. I have always wanted to do something with it but didn't have any good ideas. I thought we could add some stone pavers and use it as a sitting area. But after much thought, I decided that adding some flowers and a couple of shrubs would really make it more pleasant. Besides, we were already planning on extending the patio to the right side of the yard. So I made a few sketches and decided on a design that would incorporate the flowers and shrubs that we already had in the yard. I was a little hestitant to move them in the middle of summer because of the extreme high temperatures that we're having that month. I laid down the weed fabric and waited over a month. Jimmy was not happy because he had to mow around it and grass was growing up the side of the wall.


Earlier this week, I got a lucky break and it rained like cats and dogs. The temperatures dropped to the 70s with 100% humidity of course. The ground was nice and moist so that made digging so much easier. With the design in hand, I started to move plants from around the yard to fill in the spots.

So it would have cost us a lot more than $3 if I had to buy everything. The brick was free courtesy of a construction site that didn't need it anymore. The mulch, boxwoods, and monkey grass were left overs from a landscaping project of our friend's business. The rocks were relocated from place that won't miss it. I paid $3 for the zinnias, marigolds and begonias from a local nursery. The flowers are the ones that the girls planted in their square foot garden. They had to be moved because the watermelon and gourds were taking over that space.

So here it is---my $3 landscaping project. Next year, I plan to add azaleas, day lilies and a few annuals. I'm just waiting for the plant sale at Walmart's Associate Store next Spring.

Baby Birds

Outside of the girls' bathroom window, a robin had built a nest. You can see in the second picture that there was another nest that has been there for the last few years. As I was watering the garden, I saw these little cuties. They were poking their heads out of the nest to look at their new surroundings. The mother bird was watching my every move from the fence.

July Harvest

Here are some pictures of the harvest in July. We had a lot more hot chili peppers but I didn't get picutres of all of them.

July Garden Overview

Just some shots of the whole garden. A little piece of heaven. It's been such a peaceful and relaxing spot in our backyard. I love spending time there even just pulling weeds.

Late July Update II

The tomatoes have taken over the medium garden bed. You can barely see the watermelon on the bottom. We are going to have a lot of tomatoes but so far only the cherry tomatoes have ripen.

After spraying with some Garden Safe insecticide, the scallop summer squash are doing better. We had problems with vine borers getting in the squash and zucchinis. They ate away the stems and base of the plants and leave this nasty, smelly "poop" (as my kids call it). I found some info on this website to help get rid of them.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1209.html

I found this cute little jar and basket at a garage sale and thought it would be a perfect addition to my garden decor. I planted marigolds and another flower in them. It's doing so well in the hanging baskets and jar. I will have to use it again next year. I just love the tiny little flowers with all kinds of different colors. NTS: Don't throw away the plant tags until you have written down the name of the plant. You won't remember it!

My beautiful flower garden. Sunflowers, cosmos, and zinnias! The sweet allysums and marigolds that I planted from seed are also coming in. You can see them in the flower bed near the base of the sunflowers. I can't believe how tall the sunflowers could grow. They are taller than the fence so they are probably close to 7 feet tall.

Late July Update I

I have been searching for shepherd hooks for a while but didn't want to spend a lot of money on new ones because they were going to be outside, exposed to all the elements anyways. We were on our way to the splash park and I happened to glance at a thrift shop along the way. I found both of these heavy duty shepherd hooks for $10. They normally sale for over $20 a piece so I was really excited for this find. Also, I found some hanging baskets on sale at Walmart's end of the summer sale. NTS (note to self): Wait until the end of the summer to buy gardening supplies so you can get it on clearance. Plan ahead for next year.

The aphids and ants are taking over the long beans. It happens every year but it doesn't seem to affect the yield of the beans so I just left them alone. I will only spray as a last resort. We have way more beans than we can eat. I have thought about freezing it but after freezing almost 12 bags of green beans; I don't know if I want to go there.


The day lilies made a comeback after a couple weeks of scorching hot weather. I didn't think they would make it. I removed all the withered and dead leaves and added plant food with plenty of water.

The cucumbers are still going strong. I found these growing together. I will try to group the cucumbers closer to plants that need a lot of water. The zucchinis in front of the cucumbers were getting more water than they needed.

I tried three times to grow some cilantro from seed but nothing came of it. The seeds were given to me a long time ago and it was no longer viable. I bought some seeds from the store and tried again. About a week later, I see this. Hooray! We use cilantro on a weekly basis so this was really good news.

NTS: Do A Germination Test Before Planting Old Seeds. I found this article online.

If you have some leftover or older seeds and wonder whether or not they are viable and will still germinate and grow, you can find out for sure with a germination test. It’s better to test your seeds before planting than to waste time and effort planting seed that is no longer viable – and why purchase more seeds if those you already have are still good?

How to Set Up Easy Seed Germination Test
Take a small sample of your seeds to test, maybe ten seeds or so from each batch. Slightly dampen a paper towel and place the sample seeds on it. Fold the barely damp paper towel it in half over the seeds. Enclose in plastic wrap or place inside a sealed plastic bag so it will stay damp. Label the package with seed name and date. Set the package in a relatively warm place (70 to 75 degrees) such as the top of your refrigerator or on a high shelf. Do not put it in direct sun. (Direct sun could cause it to overheat.)

How Long to Wait: Check Seeds Often
The seeds should absorb water and swell. Check daily for germination and to make sure the paper towel is still just barely moist. Mist it lightly if it begins to dry out.
Depending on which specific plant you are testing, the seeds may begin to sprout in a day or two or may take several weeks to begin. Usually the majority will sprout within a few days of each other. When germination stops and no more seeds have sprouted for several days, you will know what approximate germination rate to expect from that batch of seeds. Read more: http://flowergardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_test_seed_viability#ixzz0OCip6RO7

My mom gave me some green onions from her garden and planted it in my garden but it would not come up. She told me to snip the roots and green top off and then stick it in the ground. A little of the green grew back but then it withered and died. I kept it in the ground anyways hoping that once the weather cools down, it would come back. In the meanwhile, I bought some green onions from the store and snipped off the top and planted in these cute little containers I found at a garage sale. I put pebbles on the bottom, soil in the middle and pebbles on top. Green onions will grow in water alone but they will get a little stinky after a while so I came up with this. After two weeks, the greens are about 2 inches tall. Just enough for our little family.