hello to those who read this blog...

sorry i didn't put an update on here this weekend. it was a little crazy around here. we had an insurance person here as well as an electrician (the house inspector said we have too little amps coming into the house normally for a house this size.)

well, most things around here are growing well, and some are not.

my biggest worry are the heirloom tomatoes. after pulling out and carefully inspecting the amish paste plant, i am seeing one, possibly two others that are showing the same traits. i am hoping it is not a spreading disease...this weekend, i seriously have to buy one of those soil tester kits and see what maybe wrong with it. if its nothing, it must be some kind of pest-related disease. maybe tomatoes are just one plant that i have to do without. :-/

my own tomato plant that i grew from seed is doing rather well (knock on wood), and so are the sweet 100 tomatoes in the left garden. maybe its just the heirloom variety?

other plants that are showing stress are the bush beans that i planted in the left garden. too much sun? too little water? the leaves are all lime-colored. i saw some new leaves growing on some of the bush beans in the left garden and they seem promising, but i still don't know what caused such a crazy reaction.

well, im happy to state that, that wraps up what is looking depressing in my garden. on to the good stuff...

with the zucchini plants, it seems like i'm harvesting zucchini every other day. just this weekend i gave out 8 zucchini and 8 cucumbers. some of those people gave me stuff in return (which i don't expect) - one person gave me some plums, and another gave me some oranges fresh from her tree. i just wonder if there will be an end to the zucchini forest madness...?

the japanese cucumbers are growing really well. i also find that if the cucumbers are hanging instead of lying on the ground, they tend to grow straight instead of curled.

the soybeans are showing a lot of young soybeans. its so exciting! i can't wait to start harvesting and eating them. i have started a few more soybean seeds in hopes of getting more out of this summer season. oh, and i also planted more bush bean seeds last weekend. a week later and they have all sprouted with their first set of leaves!

the jalapeno plant is really taking off. it has gotten really bushy and it is covered with small jalapeno peppers! i have to look for recipes that i can make with these hot peppers.

talking about peppers, the bell pepper plants that i planted in the left garden are hanging in there. the dark green color has returned and now i see some flower buds coming up. for these plants it seems that i need to continue and fertilize and add compost to it every few weeks or so to keep up the growth. i believe i also water it less - maybe these tactics will also help the bush beans on this side.

oohhh...the watermelon and the sweet potato plants are growing bigger and really starting to branch out more. no flowers yet on the watermelon, but it is still kinda small.

the bush beans in the top and right gardens are growing very well. they have surpassed the size of the bush bean plants planted in the left garden and the leaves are much bigger too.

i will try to get to taking pictures of them during the week, but i can't promise this. school starts tomorrow and i have to teach 2 classes this time. im a little worried about it, but they are both classes that i've taught before. if i can't do any pictures of the plants during the week, i will definitely make it a point to take some on the weekend.