I just brought in my first harvest of non-cherry tomatoes. I have Ananas Noire, Happy Jack, Peron's Sprayless, Anna Russian, and Cherokee Purple. Most have to ripen a bit more on the counter. The singular ripe Happy Jack had been so thoroughly eaten by bugs that I just harvested seed for next year. There are many H.J. fruits yet to ripen, so I'll get some eventually.

By August some of my family members give up on the garden, nyuk, it's too hot and weed city by now. Not me, still hard at it, in fact I'll be planting the fall crops in about 3 weeks. For now corn plot #3 is ready to harvest, the watermelons and cantaloupes are starting to come in big time, and the early tomato plants are slowing down but still more than enough are coming in, while 6 late tomato plants are just starting to bloom. Also picking banana peppers and eggplants while the sweet potatoes are swelling up the ground.

One of my pear trees lost a few upper limbs during a recent storm and dumped over 100 pears on the ground. I could not reach them to thin out last Spring so it was just a matter of time, but still 100's are left to pick later this month. The cukes are almost done now, some were very bitter this year for reasons unknown, we needed to taste them while slicing up. Some figs are now ripe, still 90% are green. The persimmons are looking good, but the pomegranate bush did not start to bloom until last week so it is doubtful they'll ripen before winter. Got 1 inch of rain last night, soil moisture has been excellent this season.

Looks like we could be getting some serious t-storms this evening. We need the rain but not the "serious" part.

We got a surprise of 1" this morning, it was not expected but welcome. Any more rain any my melons may start to split.

They canceled our rain for tonight, but tomorrow might bring some.

Harvested two day ago, Ambrosia. Delicious.

This morning's photo round-up (not the herbicide ;o)

The melon plot I covered with pine needles seemed to work well holding down weeds.

Close up of the cantaloupes...

Made a little shade for one big Crenshaw....

more in next posts....

My 2 cheatin' tomato plants are close to cashing in...

Hard to see but 6 new tomato plants just now blooming...

Corn plots # 3 & 4....

Ended up with a little over a half inch of rain overnight.

More expected today around dinner time. Today's storms today could be severe.

And last night we received 1.5" of rain. Two inches of rain in two days. Can't complain.

We are good to go.

Last nite's storm outbreak missed us, the front broke into 2 pieces and out flanked us. Zero rain here but it wasn't needed and neither was the surrounding storm damage.

I pulled out the bean plants on Monday. They have produced well this year but weren’t doing much anymore, so it was time.

I have picked the first of the melons. Three watermelon and two cantaloupe so far. I have identified 14 more watermelon coming along. Too many cantaloupe to count, but here’s a pic of 7 or 8 that are gaining in size and are nicely netted. I allowed 3 plants each of watermelon and cantaloupe. It’s pretty crowded in there!

Very Nice itsmce! What varierty of cantaloupe are you growing? I'm growing Ambrosia and a new one called Sugar Cube, so far the Sugar Cube is not so sweet and too crisp, one was even sour, won't try it again next year.

Vgkg - My ’loupe is Ambrosia too! Over the years I have had SO many people tell me that the cantaloupe I gave them was the best cantaloupe they’ve ever had! My family is spoiled/ruined…they don’t eat cantaloupe unless it’s from my garden. I flagged 2 more watermelon tonight.

We received about 1.4” of rain overnight. Very welcome. About 4or 5 days ago we got about an inch. I think most of the cracks in the ground are mostly closed up. Yay!

We are having a shower move through right now. Wasn't on the forecast or prediction. Nothing significant.

Last year was a peach year here. This year ...not a single blossom/ This year is an apple year. I have never seen such a crop of apples and they are quite clear and unblemished...never seen the like.

Now you melon growers that have no wilt or disease problems...?? !!...

Congrats on the bumper apple crop Wayne! No apples here, got 3 trees but with cedar trees all around they almost always get cedar rust. One apple tree was really hard hit this year and lost 100% of its leaves. I thought it was dead until a few days ago when it starting sprouting new leaves and even some blossoms, weird.

Pears are the bumper crop here this season, and they are getting huge in size, lost some branches but that hardly put a dent in the pears. We just ate some Gold Strike watermelon for lunch, a fantastic melon, too bad Wilhite isn't selling it any longer, can't find the seed anywhere :-(

Wayne - It seems some years I get bacterial wilt in the lopes and some years not. So far, so good this year. Anytime I see a cucumber beetle, I smush it! My understanding is that they are what carries/transfers the disease.

Vgkg - Is Gold Strike a yellow watermelon? I’m not sure a non-red watermelon would ”taste” right! My go-to is Crimson Sweet. Developed by Kansas State University, I believe. It usually does well for me. I do help mother nature along a bit and do some hand pollinating, especially early in the season.

It’s been so hot here for the last 2-3 weeks that I don't have many new tomatoes set on. I may start pulling those plants that don’t have new tomatoes set soon.

Cindy - Any good veggie / seafood swaps lately?

Itsmce Gold Strike is good as gold, a very vivid orange, so sweet, juicy, and perfect flesh that melts in your mouth. The most productive melon I've ever grown too. Here's a pic...

...and no funny taste either, vine ripened it's like sugar water. Like my neighbor says, "just close your eyes and it'll be the best tasting imaginary red melon in the world ;-)

Gold melons do have some different taste...not necessarily bad...I prefer 80% red.

Margi - No veggie swaps so far this season. Having some medical issues that I hope to have cleared up in a week or two. Plus, my tomato plants are really late this year due to the unseasonably cold month of May. Have only harvested a few so far.

Was just able to harvest a dozen tomatoes. A few tomatoes have ripened over the past two weeks but this is a largest haul so far this season.

We ended up getting just over a 10th of an inch of rain overnight. More rain expected today.

Harvested the last plot of Ambrosia corn this morning, will miss it. Also pulled up a few spent tomato plants and will start the fall crops next week (cabbages, carrots, collards, and turnips). Will be skipping the beets and broccoli since we had a good supply of those last Spring. Watermelons and Cantaloupes are coming in steady, giving many away now, Figs too (done with jamming) and Pears to follow. Will be digging up the first Sweet Potatoes by the end of the month. It has been a very good growing season, still getting plenty of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. It's a bit hot to start the Fall garden but hopefully it will cool off next week. Need some rain now.

How’s this for a big melon? Biggest so far this year at almost 37 pounds.

I have picked 11 so far. This morning I picked one that was just shy of 34 pounds.

We got a nice full 1 inch of rain this morning which was needed since we're about 4" behind. Perfect timing as yesterday I planted the carrots, turnips (seeds), and cabbage transplants. I had to cage in the cabbages since there is one hungry rabbit out there. Will pick more melons today that are ripe, esp since more rain is expected over the next few days, plus possibly more rain later in the week via a tropical storm coming up the coast. The temps have cooled off too, no 90's this coming week which is also good for the fall crops. Hope to plant the collard seeds later today.

Hi This is John Duda's wife, Lori, Not sure if am posting on site that John posted on. John last posted on August 4th. He was in Hospice at home since July 28th. John passed away on August 14th from acute end stage heart failure. I know he enjoyed these discussions. He loved gardening and grafting to his fruit trees. I told him that he will have a garden in Heaven that will produce the best vegetables and fruit . Not sure if I'll be able to find this site again, I know he posted often and wanted all of you to know

Deepest condolences. I am wishing comfort for you and yours.

Martha

Thank you Martha. Lori

So very sorry Lori for your sad loss, John will be greatly missed but you are right that he is now busy tending the ultimate garden of all gardens. May we all meet up again some day.

Thank you

I am so very sorry for your loss, Lori. We truly enjoyed "talking" with John. He will be greatly missed by so many of us. Cindy

Prayers.

Thank you Cindy.

Lori, there are no words for such a sad time, my condolences to you and your family. As I was tilling a small part of my garden today I thought about John. I'm glad that he was able to garden until very recently. I smiled when I saw his post in March that his "tomatoes [seeds] stuck their elbows up out of the potting soil". I'll miss his gardening observations and projects. Lea

Thank you Lea. He's probably seeing everyone's responses and smiling!

Lori, I am so sorry for your loss and wish you nothing but the best in all your future endeavors. John was one of a kind-always had something nice and supporting to say to everyone. He will be sorely missed and I am sending you all the positive vibes I can muster.

Thank you I appreciate your kind words.

Lori, thank you for sharing with us. I am sorry for your loss. I enjoyed reading John's posts a lot. He had such passion for his tomatoes and for fruit grafting and it came through in his posts. He also put up quite the fight to keep the critters from his crops and gave me ideas to try in my garden. Wishing peace and comfort to you.

Thank you so much. So glad he had all of you to "talk" to. John had to give up his landscaping business in 2010 after diagnosed with lupus. Then diagnosed with cardiomyopathy few years later. Started to enlarge his garden and grafting. With his fatigue he would work and take breaks on his garden chair. I won't be able to keep up the big garden but will keep up the smaller one and he has the fruit tree grafts labeled. My daughter in law will keep a lot of this favorite heirloom tomatoes going. He did get to eat one of his tomatoes a week before he passed.

Greetings from the Northwest! My bride and I just returned from San Diego (together with a side trip to Tijuana for dental work). As usual after a trip the garden was a jungle but things mostly did well. After a long dry spell is starting to rain a bit here which is welcome and more like usual.

There is about 35 lb of tomatoes in the freezer harvested while we were gone, mostly from the hoop house. Like Cindy my outside tomatoes are just beginning to bear. The peppers are amazing! Plants are covered and we will be making salsa this week. Beans are late too, we have been eating the bush beans as fast as they grow. I pulled those when we got back and the pole beans on the trellises are just forming the first beans now.

So far I have two nice Cinderella pumpkins. The one sitting on the gray board is up on top of a Laurel hedge, where the pumpkin vine just grew up through the hedge and spread out on top. Sadly I lost all of my favorite winter squash, although we have plenty of trombocino and can let some of them stay on to become winter squash.

Lori - I am so sorry to hear the sad news of John’s passing. As others have said, I enjoyed reading his posts. I am remembering his description of the hot box for starting seeds. I wish I had all his knowledge of fruit trees. Early this spring I think he wrote of grafting 3 or 4 different varieties of apple on root stock.

-Margi (itsmce)

Thank you Margi . From what i see his graftings are doing good. He got a pear on the pear tree that he grafted to. And the beginning of August a deer stood on hind legs and got it. On same tree ate on of the new grafts that was doing good. And he has a fence around it. Guess not high enough. At least he got to see the pear while still on tree!

Is there a September page?

Yep

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6398446/veggie-tales-sept-2023#n=3