August 20 Garden Check-in

The garden survived the state fair.

That's significant because last year not much of it did. We experienced a freak hailstorm that wrecked all the roofs in the neighborhood and smashed the garden. This year was disaster-free. Little victories.

It's fun to see the amazing stuff the real gardeners bring to the state fair for their blue ribbons:

It's also humbling, but I will try to be inspired rather than demoralized.

In the coming week, we face scorching heat, with temperatures expected to hit 103 (40c). I think the garden is strong enough to face it. 

So, the update. First, the melon garden. It might not look like much - two spindly watermelon plants and two so-far unimpressive cantaloupe vines:

But I prefer to emphasize the positive:

About 3 inches (10c) across now, I expect great things from this little guy.

My carrots are looking good from the surface: 

Assuming they are doing as well under the ground, they will hit the table when it's time to start cooking autumn dinners.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are doing reasonably well.

Had a lovely Cherokee Purple tomato at dinner tonight, as well as a mess of cherry tomatoes to liven up salads.

The miscellaneous garden is producing miscellaneous results. The bush beans in the back are fine, as is the mint and basil:

Two of the 8 cauliflower that I started in the winter indoors survive, and I think they look OK, though they seem to be a long way from producing anything to eat. I’ve never planted it before, so I don’t know if it’s always slow, or if it’s just my crazy gardening skill:

The Okra is disappointing. They are the barely-visible plants in the foreground below. They should be a lot taller and at least flowering by now. Bush beans and pole beans have combined for a few nice dinner servings. I would like more, but they have been not terrible.

I think the squash look OK, but I wish the leaves looked a darker green. They've done so well up to now, it would be perfectly normal a shame if they were to go bad now.

In any case, the squash looks a lot better than it did this time last year, post hailstorm:

I would give the garden an interim grade of "B" so far overall. As most years I end up at D-, that is fine.