State of the Garden 7/28/10 part 2

I had the wrong lens on the camera to get a good wide angle shot of the garden.  For the end of July, it is looking better than I would have expected.  All of my mulch is paying off this year.  With the exception of around the new fence, I am winning the war of the weeds.  On the far right is what I would like to title "my big ole mistake squash and melon bed."  When planting, I blatantly disregarded the "plant 6' apart" advise on the seed pack because even though my space is nearly as big as our entire backyard was in Frisco, it is not 6' apart large.  Well, this is looking to be my learning curve lesson of the season!  Winter squash, watermelon and cantaloupe vines are mixed up all over the place and looking to expand further.

Malabar spinach that has self seeded from last year.  I attempted to transplant one to the fence to help bring a little beauty to the very large fence, but the little transplant was not happy about being moved on a 100 degree day.  I think I will try again, but rather than transplanting in the morning, I will move it in the evening and give it a chance to settle in overnight when the temps are cooler.

 

There aren't too many tomatoes growing in the garden right now.  Of my hybrid plants, Early Girl has been my most successful plant to set tomatoes.  My hope was that by growing small fruited varieties this year, they would set fruit even when the heat set in.  Maybe it was the early onset of 100 degree days or the fact that many of the varieties went in late, but for two years now Early Girl is my only variety that takes the heat in stride.  Even the Heatwave variety I tried this year that was supposed to continue producing in the heat has failed me.  I will continue in my quest to find a successful heirloom variety that can produce well in Texas, but my garden will likely always feature at least one Early Girl.

The other tomato that continues to set fruit is my volunteer plant from last year.  I wish I had some idea as to what kind it is.  The fruit is little bigger than a cherry but it has been incredibly productive.

This is my chocolate cherry tomato that I grew from seed.  I am so hopeful that it is the same tomato that I sampled from the farmer's market when visiting my sister in Oregon!!  Those little tomatoes were like nothing I have ever eaten before!!  I have several plants in, but I think this is the only one that has actually set fruit.

A tomato what not to do!  This is my little experiment row of tomatoes.  They were leftover seedlings that I couldn't bear to toss in the compost pile, so they are are growing in bags of soil.  I simply cut a rectangle out of the top side of the bag, poked holes in the bottom side and then stuck my plants in there.  I did not expect them to do this well and did not have plans in place to stake up the tomatoes.  I keep meaning to run by Home Depot and pick up some bamboo to stake them, but it hasn't happened yet. 

This tomato is at the end of my experiment row and is the only one that got a cage.  As you can see in comparison to the previous picture, it is doing much better!  Note to self, go and buy those poles before it is too late.

I think this is the last of the tomato pictures.  I haven't counted how many tomatoes I am growing this year, but it is an insane amount.  Should my plan to keep them alive for fall actually come to fruition, I will be learning all about preserving tomatoes!  Mixed in this tomato branch is a self seeded basil plant.  Every Texas gardener should plant basil and lots of it!  Not only is it wonderful to use in the kitchen, but it helps deter bugs in the garden.  It is a natural companion of tomatoes both in the garden on and served up on the plate!  Basil takes almost no effort to grow, and I need as many of those kind of plants as possible to keep me from giving up!  I did plant a few new varieties of basil this year, but most everything that is growing is self seeded and they are the healthiest, largest basil plants I have ever had!