Gourds, Peas, and One Giant Spider

The gourds did a good job of taking over most of the garden. The harvest however was meager. My mother-in-law came and harvested most of it. My plan was to use it for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations but she cooked most of it. The gourds were bitter and tasted horrible. Next year, I think we will probably do pumpkins.

Sugar-snap peas are yummy but they have not been producing as much as I had expected. My girls eat them like candy. Next year, I will try to grow more and maybe add more fertilizer. More research to come on how to help them produce more peas.

Finally, we found a BIG surprise next to the peach tree on a lovely summer day. This huge spider was building a giant web from the peach tree to our clothes line. I didn't know if it was friendly or venomous so I killed it. After doing some researching online I found that it's called an Orb Weaver. They are not suppose to be aggressive but I was not taking any chances.

Watermelon

We harvested one of the smaller watermelons because the bottom was starting to rot and turn black. I haven't found out what was causing it. The watermelon was not too sweet but still very good. We continued to harvest the rest of the watermelons each week. The biggest melon was excellent. My youngest loves watermelon. Watermelons take a long time to grow and the harvest is not as good as other vegetables but it was worth it to see how big the watermelons can grow.

Stinkbugs and Aphids

I can't believe how much the stinkbugs have multiplied. They are all over the tomatoes. I thought they would die out with the cooler weather. I have been trying so hard to keep my garden as pesticide-free as possible but I am not winning this war against bugs! I found another great website for gardeners and they recommended that I spray with insectide. Since it's so late in the season, I'll just let the stinkbugs live for now. http://garden.org/pestlibrary/bugs.php?q=show&id=1636

There are only a few hybrid tomatoes left but the cherry tomatoes are still going strong. I harvested a bowl full of cherry tomatoes and a couple of hybrids the other day.

Suprisingly, the chili peppers plants are still producing. I picked enough to fill a quart size bag. They have black spots on some of them but I have not figured out what is causing it yet. They have not affected the taste though. It's still HOT!!!

Now, for my dilemna with the aphids. They just love the long beans. I have tried insectide and hosing them down but nothing. It's only a temporary solution. They just keep coming back. I am tired of dealing with it so I'm just letting them have the beans! I'll have to try something different next year. http://garden.org/pestlibrary/bugs.php?q=show&id=1586

Brick patio

The patio in our backyard is pretty tiny. We wanted to expand the patio for a long time but was waiting for the right time. During the summer, we picked up some free brick from a construction site. I spent a lot of time researching online and home improvement books on the right way to lay down the bricks for the patio. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of all the steps but you can find it online from any home improvement site. Lowe's and youtube has some pretty good videos on how to do it.
I love the way it looks. It was back breaking and a very slow process. I just wished that it could somehow blend it with the existing concrete patio but it doesn't. It still looks pretty neat though. I also added a flower bed along the side to add some color. I planted some marigolds, mums, butterfly weeds and a Rose-of-Sharon shrub.


Lovely butterfly weeds. Hopefully, we'll see some butterflies in the spring.





Beautiful mums!

Front Yard Landscaping

There was plant sale at Walmart's Associate Store so I decided to extend the flower bed of the front yard. I was going to wait until the spring but it was hard to turn down the deals. It's half of the Walmart price so that's hard to beat. I bought mums, coneflowers, lilies, butterfly weeds, hibiscus and rose of sharon.

The hardest part of landscaping is the digging. We have Bermuda grass which is like pulling teeth. Jimmy has been so busy that I had to do most of the work myself. It was hard work but I enjoy the exercise and love the results!