Tassels, Thugs, & Scary Scapes

Velcro vs twine ties.

Not entirely sure what Nature Goddess I've pissed off, but her scorched earth policy continues.  I'm trapped indoors for huge blocks of the day, lest I be scorched myself. 

Fortunately, Pissed Off Goddess is kinder to her plant subjects, & they be doing radical thangs without me.





1.  To-mah-toes

Although I don't start my seed germination until April, it doesn't seem to've delayed things with the mater production.

We got babies!

I also found this on the ground one morning.  Pretty much surprised me, as the tomato plants are on a terrace ledge, out of harm's way.  I can't imagine what would be tall enough to knock off a branch, other'n a human. 

Broken.

But I also can't imagine a human in my back garden without the Canine Patrol losing their minds.
However it happened, I've since put the Velcro ties higher up the cages & pruned any errant straggly bits.


2.  Various pepper plants.

My son El Punko's started a tradition where, at Christmas, he gives me a seed kit.  Or two.  Or three.  Usually they're weird & wonderful - I'm currently trying to get olive tree seeds to germinate.

This year, he gave me 6 varieties of chili peppers to go with my garlic crop - I'm a great fan of chili & garlic oil on just about everything, including grilled cheese.

My father excelled at growing both hot & sweet peppers.  He'd pick the hot chilis & pop them in his mouth, seeds & all.  But that was his success below the Mason-Dixon, & this is my 1st try in the British Isles.

Flowers go leor.

So while my to-mah-toes've caught up with the rest of the SoS-ers, my peppers are only at the flowering stage.  I've not seen any flowers turn into baby peppers, so am wondering if this whole experiment is slightly . . . yes, I'm going to say it. 

Fruitless.

Moving quickly along . . .


3.  More babies.

Life isn't worth living without a battalion of Halloween jack-o-lanterns.  We always have at least one vine.  While we save a little fruit for Thanksgiving pies, & some family members love the seeds, for me, it's only about Halloween.

Let it grow!

So when selecting what pumpkins I'll be growing, it's all about carving size & nothing else. 

This year has taught me to be more discerning in future.  These pumpkins are thugs.  Not only are they trying to strangle the corn plants, but the vines themselves stand about 30" or more. 

Thugs

I've never battled my pumpkin vines before, but since about Week 2, I've been cutting & chopping & redirecting to stop the corn from being smothered.

And it's only July.  God help me.


4.  Corn update.

Last week, I lamented the disparity in my 2 types of corn plants.  I reckon word got back to the corn field, because this week, the shorter of the varieties started to tassel.

Shorty gets growing.

That'll teach me to open my gob.


5.  Cutest babies.

This is my first year for cucumelons & they're going for bust up the bed spring trellis.  Their flowers are entirely unimpressive &, from what others say about their taste, I'm not going to relish eating them.

But you got to admit, they take gorgeous baby photos.

Cute-cumelon babies.

Which may or may not be reason enough to grow them again.  I'll get back to you once I bite one of their chillen.


6.  Scapes.

The last bunch of garlic that I left drying out in the shed had about 3 scapes amongst them.  These somehow multiplied during the drying process.  Considerably.

Last of the scapes.

What I didn't have the presence of mind to do, was to photograph them while they were still attached.  Imagine going into your shed & seeing this, only with all the scapes looking out the window.

Decapitated scapes.

Ever so slightly creepy, let me tell you.

Bindweed on the gate.

And that's what's happening this week in my garden.

This blog is part of The Propagator's meme, #SixonSaturday.  Hit the link to see what he's writing about this week (including one fantastic nasturtium I gotta have next year).  In his comment section, you'll find links to bloggers from all over the world highlighting six things you definitely want to see.  For voyeurs like myself, it's great stuff.

Thanks so much for stopping by my patch.  Leave a comment if you've got one, & then do come back next week.

See ya then!