August Straw Bale Garden Update

 

August has already arrived, and is over halfway gone! Can you believe it? As you can see from this panoramic photo, the garden keeps on growing. :)

Here is one morning's haul. :) My kiddos harvested everything here! Included are nine varieties of tomatoes. Those are Yellow Pear, Little Rosey Finch, Red Cherry, Roma, Rio Grande, Wapsipinicon Peach, Pineapple Heirloom, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, and Pink Brandywine. We also have some very small Spaghetti Squash (pictured), Green Bell Peppers, and cucumbers. We have more on the vine, of course, but only two were ready to be harvested this morning.

Our personal favorite tomatoes are the Pink Brandywine. Not only are they absolutely delicious, but they are also massive! These big boys have been on the menu daily here in our home. We have made more BLT sandwiches than you can probably count! This tomato has a rich flavor, is in no way bland, but also isn't terribly acidic. Each slab (lol) of tomato lays like steak, covering the entire slice of bread. Yum! In short, it is the *perfect* sandwich tomato!

Our arches did experience die-off after vine borer moths had their way with our squash and zucchini. There are new vines planted, which are still small yet. To my delight, we still had enough Butternut Squash, cucumbers, and canteloupe still growing that - while visibly thinned out - the arches do not look entirely decimated. :) Even better, they are still laden with goodies!

The littles and I did something new this year. We decided to make support nets for our hanging fruits and vegetables! 

YouTube and Google both brought up options, of course. One can make slings out of old hosiery. (Honestly, do people still wear those things?) That isn't an option for me. For one, ew. Also, I wouldn't even know where to buy them now. 

There is also the option of using old tee shirts cut into strips. Meh. Neither choice seemed inspired. I wanted something made of cotton yarn. I looked for a crochet pattern with no luck. So, we came up with our own! Our garden is now supported by many colorful yarn slings!

Our watermelons had a bit of a flop. First, Shell was adjusting our full-sized melon and accidentally knocked it off of the vine. While light pink, it was in no way ripe. Then, our only other melon stopped growing. While tiny, it had all of the markers of being ripe. It made for a refreshing addition to lunch one afternoon. We currently have one tiny melon growing, and two new vines sprouting. We may see a ripe full-sized melon yet!

I mentioned last month that we would be seeding the second set of squashes and other goodies. We did! Here is a zucchini finally growing vine borer-free! Perhaps next year, I should simply wait until the end of July to sew any of these at all?

We also sewed the next batch of radishes, beets, cabbages, carrots, and additional spaghetti squash. These are in varying stages of sprouting right now. To be honest, I had forgotten about the cabbage. We were delighted when two little heads popped up! :) 

The green peppers continue to put out batch after batch. Unfortunately, bugs are getting to quite a few of them, keeping them small and ugly. No matter - we gather what we can. 

I am sure that I am leaving something out. The raspberry bush is still too young to produce. Strawberries grow well enough but are all stolen by rabbits. My Purple Dragon Carrots have still tucked away under the dirt - no visible shoulders yet. Canning tomatoes are ripening, but are being eaten too fast to can. (ha!)

The potatoes sit quietly in their pot, minding their own business. I do not expect the plant to die for a while, yet. They occasionally get flooded by a good rain.

My's lettuce is finally coming up, now that the intense heat has backed off a bit. I look forward to fresh salads full of home-grown-from-seed goodies!

Our herbs also continue to grow well. Shell asked me why I grow them if I don't use them. I do *intend* to learn how to use them. Does that count? ;) We have enjoyed a lot of fresh food this year, both raw and cooked into dishes like BLT sandwiches, vegetable pizza, roasts and soups, in pasta, etc.

Also, the parsley is there to entice swallowtail butterflies. :) We haven't seen a single one so far. This is the first year that has ever happened. Still, I cling to hope. Swallowtails are my very favorite! The bees came back. Perhaps the butterflies will, as well. Next year, I need to add more flowers to the yard.

I think that about wraps up this update. I have loads of pictures to share, but I think these will do for now. We go out almost every morning, first thing. We bring out our chairs and sit there, relishing in the fresh air. The chirping of birds and buzzing of bees fills the soul.

Some mornings, we just rest. Other times, I can be out there for around three and a half hours pruning. I like to harvest, but so do the kids. I tend to let them have that pleasure. You are only young once, and I know the intense satisfaction of gleaning from plants you've sewn and tended. I am thrilled for them to have that experience! I even chuckle to myself when they are in the tomatoes fighting over who gets to pluck which one. haha

Before long, autumn will be in the air. We are already starting to witness leaves dancing down to the ground on the breezes. For now, my garden has shed its first life and is sprouting the second round of infant vegetables and fruits. There is a certain contentment in staying so nearly literally grounded. I find immense peace here with my little family. God is good.

"So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Cor 3:7

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." Ecc 3:11

Straw Bale Garden Update July 2020

Are you ready for pictures? :) Here comes the July update on our straw bale garden! :) As you can see, the difference since our last update is pretty clear. :) Plants which were just sprouts or (in some cases) seeds are growing merrily up trellises and over the arches. To say that we are excited would be an understatement. We are completely enthralled!

Shelly can be found in the garden every single day, checking on cantaloupe. :) They grew more slowly than the squash, perhaps, but once they got going, look out! There are presently 13 wee cantaloupes growing on the inside left of this arch! You can see her carefully counting each one, sizing them up, and looking to see how many more might show up soon. 

This same arch also boasts cucumbers, spaghetti squash, and even a random yellow pear tomato plant that my little Pie planted. We started yellow pear seeds after realizing that some of our other varieties may fail. As always, when she helps put in seeds, my youngest always ends up surprising us with plants growing in the 'wrong' places. haha That statement is only half true, however. We like to think that any place a plant comes up happens to be the 'right' place. ;) ;) ;)

Another surprise we encountered in the garden this year came in the form of our zucchini. I was having trouble getting my Black Beauty plant to survive. Desperate to have zucchini to share with "the neighbors in the grey house" (who really, REALLY love the stuff) after two bad years in a row, I had Hubs pick up some zucchini plants at the store. Wouldn't you know, these warty looking yellow guys showed up! haha Those are apparently called "yellow crookneck squash". They are a type of vegetable that is something of zucchini or summer squash. I hear that they are tasty. We shall see! :) 

As you can also see in the picture above, we have another summer squash. This one was intentional. Ha! This is our spaghetti squash. We have three really big guys. I am sorry the picture to the right is so dark. I had Shelly put her hands on each end to try to get an idea of how big it is. They are every bit the size a spaghetti squash should be, and have only to ripen. :) These will keep well through the fall, too. :) The squash plants have fallen victim to vine borer bugs. Boo! However, we knew to plan for this. I have retained some seeds. We will be laying in a second crop. They will have plenty of time to grow and 'bear fruit' by season's end. 

The green peppers are both flowering and producing. The peppers we planted in the bales came from the store. They are only about half the size of the plants that came from my very own seeds. :) Those plants are the ones I referred to a month ago in the last update. We had given up on their seeds germinating and dumped the dirt into a planter. Since then, they've grown quite tall! They are just now bringing forth little peppers. As to the smaller plants in the bale, all in a row, every plant there has at least one pepper. :)

Here is a peek at my admittedly small potato plant. Lacking in size though it may be, it still brings me great joy! Again I cite the difficulty I had even finding seed potatoes. The one time I thought I found Yukon Gold seed potatoes and made my purchase, instead of a 'shipped' notification from the vendor, I received a notice of order cancellation and refund. *That* is how hard it was! Thank God one of my store-bought potatoes (for eating) sprouted! :) We cannot wait to see how well it yields later in the year. 

To the left is a picture of a small, happy little watermelon. :) I had seeds for 'Sugar Baby' and 'icebox', so we planted both. It was only recently that I learned that the Sugar Baby variety of watermelon is considered an 'icebox' watermelon because it can fit into the refrigerator. haha So much for having two varieties! Ah, well. We tried! 

You can see that this little guy is tucked into a sling. I saw videos online about using pantyhose or tee-shirts to support heavy produce growing vertically. I thought, "I can do the exact same thing using cotton yarn and crochet!" So I did. Or rather, *we* did! Both Pie and Shelly have been crocheting slings with me! :)

In this next picture we have a cucumber. :) I think I will end on this photo today, actually. There are more things to show, but these updates get so very long! haha I probably should break them into parts more often. These cucumbers are growing very well. We have some growing up the right side of either arch. While not my favorite cukes of all time, I am pleased with the output. :) 

So, anyhow, there we are for today's update. I will show up again later on and we will talk tomatoes. ;) In the meantime, happy gardening to all! Be blessed. <3

Straw Bale Garden June 2020 Update

                               

My lovey new arches!

I suppose you can already tell that I could not decide which picture to use, hm? lol The garden is off and growing well for the 2020 season. As you can see, we have made some changes. :) In previous years, we have trellised just the back strip of bales. I have long wished to add a panel up the right side. We finally did! Also, Hubs and Shelly installed two lovely arches! Those, like the trellis sets, are simply made using 't' posts and 16' cattle panels. 

Straw Bale Garden 2018 Pics

I am going to add these and run through them as quickly as possible. :) These  pictures show the progression of our plants for this year's garden. 

May 23rd was one year from the day my dad passed away in 2017. I so terribly wanted some good to come from that horrible date. It was important for me to focus on life and not death. I think this would be important to my dad, too. He wanted us all to know that the day he passed would be the best day of his life... the day when he got to meet the Lord he has been loving and talking about for such a long, long time. I didn't get to it until that night before bed, but we seeded plants into fifty little pods.

Three days later, on the 26th, we got a phone call telling us that dad's ashes were ready for pickup. He had donated his body to science the day he passed. We were told to expect this phone call at the end of May or perhaps early in June. Needless to say, receiving this call on the 26th of March was quite a shock! I do not have a picture, but that same day our very first plants sprouted! We find that comforting.

I moved the sprouts as quickly as I could (seen above and to the left) into trays. I was hopeful not to have to thin out so many plants this year. I wanted everything to have its very best chance to grow. :) It was a real joy watching them stretch upwards toward the grow light. <3

Grow, they did! In what seemed like no time at all, the sprouts became seedlings. Now we had true plant starts. We also added a second grow light to our home. We had gone from packets of seeds to nearly 200 plants! We felt so blessed by this wealth of little garden starts. <3 

The plants continued to grow and thrive throughout the month of April. May rolled around and I was in full swing, moving plants out of trays and into 3" and 4" cups. A week ago, we moved some of those outside to harden off. We are tremendously pleased with these little guys! :) 

In the week since, I began to plant some of our little guys, as well. I have two buckets that are presently growing varieties lettuce. I set out some tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, zucchini, two types of cucumber, some of the 18 varieties of tomatoes we are growing, cantaloupe, and I forget what all else. They are all very small yet, but the garden as truly begun! 

Because he knows and loves me so well, my husband gave me the gift of my favorite kind of potting soil as well as 8 beautiful new bales of straw to add to the fourteen we already have. I don't know what everyone else gets for Mother's Day, but I call that true love! <3 :) You can tell the new straw compared to the darker, already conditioned bales. Aren't they lovely?

Hubs also took the time this past weekend to cut down the pine tree which has grown to take up so much space in our yard. You can see where some of it was, by the absence of grass at the left of the bales. My yard now looks larger, and I have more space for gardening! What a win that is! I love this man so very much! <3 <3 <3 Our garden has gotten bigger every year. Yay! I cannot wait to see these overrun with plants!

Straw Bale Garden Update: July 21, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are hitting a very productive time of year with our straw bale garden! :) <3 I am bummed that I do not have pictures to show you! My tablet kicked the bucket a few days ago. I have taken photos on the digital camera but I haven't downloaded them yet. Here is a (hopefully quick) description of what where we are in the gardening process. :)

Zucchini
We have been in the "great zucchini boom of 2017" for quite a while now. In spite of the fact that we have known squash borers in our yard, they have continued to do fabulously! We only had one plant last year, which bloomed and died quickly. I was determined to out-zucchini the squash bugs this year. That apparently worked! lol The plants we raised from seeds are massive! I mean it, truly ginormous! 

When it was time to harden off and plant the zucchini, we were careful to plant them deep inside the straw bales. This was an attempt to protect their young necks/stems from the bugs. (I had read online that this may help keep borers away from the tender young stems.) We did the same with the single zucchini plant we brought home from the farmer's market. The payoff has been an abundance of zucchini, which we eagerly share with anyone who will take them. :)

There is one small thing... due to the size of the plants (and the tangle of other surrounding plants), we do not always find the zucchini in time. Add to that the fact that some of them grow *into* the straw bales and we keep ending up with huge zucchini! We are regularly pulling zucchini that are around 16" long and four pounds. Our largest (before today) was 4.5 pounds. Today, we pulled an 8.8 pound zucchini and one that is 7 pounds on the dot. Holy cow! lol

Spaghetti Squash
Our spaghetti squash are going crazy! The vines are winding around the tomatoes, over bales they aren't planted it, and even up my porch! haha We have one off of the vine already. The rest are fat, long, and ghostly white! :) <3 We will be cooking and buttering these babies in no time! 

Tomatoes
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!! We are eating tomatoes of many colors! Everything is growing! We have burgundy and green chocolate cherries, red and yellow sunrise bumblebee (also a variety of cherry), and large red and yellow big rainbow tomatoes. There are bright yellow tomatoes, deep orange tomatoes, plain ole' red tomatoes, and tomatoes which will eventually ripen and turn pink. (Those are my brandywine!) 

Right now we are in the beginning stages of the season. There are ripe tomatoes every day but they are mostly the different cherry and early girl varieties. Aka, small tomatoes. ;) We have brought in large tomatoes only twice, so far. Those are not ripening every single day yet. Even so, the vines are heavily laden! 

Oh, I am beside myself with joy!!! My dad would be *so* proud! I can picture him walking through this year's garden, harvesting and crunching on fresh veggies to his heart's content! I miss him *so* much! :') :') :') I will always treasure the memories of him walking through the garden last year. I will always wish to God that he were present to walk with us still.

Herbs 
Today, I clipped off more green basil, purple basil, and some parsley. Giraffe was beside herself when I found a black swallowtail caterpillar munching on the parsley. These are among our very favorite butterflies! She has brought him inside to continue his life cycle. We are all very eager to see him wrap himself in a chrysalis and then turn into a butterfly! Don't worry! We've brought him in plenty more parsley plants to eat!

Green Beans
We are just now beginning to harvest green beans! :) So far, we've brought in just a handful (since we're really busy this weekend) but there are more out there waiting to come inside. :) We learned today that Pomeranians are *huge* fans of fresh snapping beans! lol

Others
Okay, so I am completely running out of time here! haha The celery is growing well. Lettuce varieties are doing well. I am going to start another seeding of both lettuce and radishes in the next week. My cabbages are lovely! I have three beautiful purple heads that are growing well! <3 The green cabbage hasn't taken off well. That is on me. I planted them so late. Carrots continue to grow. It will be quite a while before we are snacking on them. (Another really late planting!) Green, red, and yellow peppers are flowering and growing wee little peppers. I adore my little peppers just as I do my children. (Not kidding!) These fat little pepper babies bring me such delight! 

Potatoes are growing but haven't flowered yet. Pumpkins are growing. We will be trimming down the plant soon so that all resources go to just two pumpkins. The butternut squash we planted in honor of my dad is vining but hasn't produced yet. (That was also planted weeks later than the rest.) 

Giraffe's cantaloup are still growing and flowering but no pollination has occurred yet. She will be quite upset if they don't begin to grow soon. She did a phenomenal job growing them last year. Our pollinators have really fallen away. This is a concern and an inconvenience to the life of our garden. :( 

I have a vine growing that could be either cukamelon or watermelon. Time will tell, on that one! My cucumbers did poorly this year. I will rethink their placement next year and put the time and effort into them that they deserve. I have greatly missed having fresh sliced cucumbers every day. 

Strawberries are growing and fruiting. Those were an incredibly last-minute addition not long ago. We are just waiting for them to ripen. The lilac  starts and other flowers are growing in different places in the yard. They are all very welcome additions. 

Have I forgotten something? Hmm... Oh! My cauliflower plants are being insane! They are all three growing really well, with huge leaves. That said, there is not one cauliflower head among them! I've never grown these before so perhaps this is normal. Maybe not, though. I need to invest some time and research into this.

The broccoli is not being so snooty. We've been using it for a week or so already. The last head I brought in was our biggest. :) No surprise, it is a favorite of caterpillars. We have found an abundance of caterpillars and slugs this year. They have done plenty of damage but nothing we cannot handle. :) In all, we seem to be keeping ahead of them enough to enjoy plenty of produce.

Anyway, I cannot remember if I have forgotten more. I am sure there are other things growing out there that I cannot recall right this moment. lol I am in quite the hurry and have to run! This will do for now. :) We are having a booming year in the straw bale garden, in spite of the immense lack of effort once we planted them all. Yaaay!!! I haven't even broken out the diatomaceous earth yet. Gracious! We've only fertilized once. (Ooops!) You can see that this is such an easy method of gardening that even a complete dummy can manage it. ;) :) 

I will do better, soon! I promise! lol

Straw Bale Garden - June 27th

Good day! I took some pics this morning so here is a quick update. :)

My huge mess of a garden is continuing to grow! (At least we finally mowed the lawn, am I right?!?!?!) You can see that the tomatoes are growing up the trellis to the right, falling into the lawn in the middle, and that zucchini, squash, and cantaloupe are taking over the right side of the trellis.

I should note that we did tie up the fallen tomatoes in the middle shortly after I took this picture. 

I'm not sure whether you can tell or not, but you can see a couple of the random "accidental" plants growing in this picture. Those are the plants that came up from the seeds my little Koala dropped around the place. Especially visible is the zucchini in the middle of my yard just above the cabbage in the center of the picture. 

There are also bean plants growing to the bottom right of those center tomato plants. She dropped those on the ground in front of the tomato bales. Apparently, those seeds like it there. ;)

Here are some of the plants from the right side of the garden. There is no trellis here. Maybe next year!

Spaghetti squash is across the back. Carrot seeds are to the front left. Bush beans (long green snapping beans) are center front, and the leaves of my broccoli plant are visible to the right. Not pictured are the potatoes which live deep inside the back of these bales. This is my first time planting potatoes. They have not come up yet. Fingers crossed!!

This looks like absolutely nothing, am I right? We mowed over several of the zucchini plants growing up out of the yard. Two are left. This is the second. There are also baby tomato plants in there. Can you see them? Those are probably also going to get mowed over. For now, they were gone around carefully with a weed-eater. 

My bell pepper plants (emerald and also california wonder) are finally growing for real. They seemed to struggle this entire spring. I have not yet figured out what to place in the bale beside them. I am looking for a good companion plant. (Hopefully something that will do well but will not vine off into my neighbor's yard!) 

You can also see that the different varieties of spinach are growing well in the foreground. ;) Giraffe planted those herself! They are in the planter we first grew tomatoes in on the small deck of our second story apartment. :)

My herbs are doing alright. The basil bolted, of course. Then a heavy rain came through and knocked it over sideways. :/ 

There is another plant growing in that straw between the green basil and the purple basil. It looks like a straight stick with greenish-reddish leaves. I have no clue what it is. I should probably pull it but I am curious to see what it grows into.

This is my Giraffe's tomato plant. She planted it in this bale away from the trellis. It got quite tall and heavy. now it has slumped forward down onto the lawn. I really need to get on it and stake the poor thing up somehow.

I didn't take a lot of pictures this morning. The strawberry is doing well. We planted it over by our lilac starts (which are also doing well). 

The lettuce varieties are all continuing to produce delicious treats. 

The celery continues to grow, unmolested and with little attention paid. We water and fertilize but otherwise leave it alone. 

Cabbages are doing great. The pumpkin and watermelon (or is it cucamelon) are growing. 

Cucumbers continue to disappoint. The vine is still single and the produce has been quite small. I need to seed in more of these little guys. Last year, we were up to our eyeballs in cukes. 

Spaghetti squash is off and running, with many little guys growing on the vine. The squash borers have already gotten to this vine. :( :( :( I'm hoping that it can put down additional roots in the grass and save itself. I am not sure that it can. :( 

Butternut squash has been planted for my Dad/in his memory. We have four wee plants setting root into bales right now.

I have yet to see the carrots sprout but I am sincerely hoping that they will. If not, I may have to give up on them for the year. I do know that bird are *really* fond of carrot sprouts. It is entirely possible that they are getting to my carrots before I am out to see if they've sprouted. I haven't been able to get a mesh plant cover yet. I really need to.

Anyway, that's what is growing in our neck of the woods. :) I have long since quit naming each variety of every plant that we have. If you are curious you can always check that link here. 

Happy summer, everyone! :)

My Big, Fat, Sloppy Garden - June 19th, 2017

I'm going to jump right in, okay? I planted my garden this year, in part to assuage some of the intense grief I have been experiencing. That same grief has made me lazy about doing what I need to make it a beautiful garden. For instance, there are posts and trellises which still aren't up. I need a new soaker hose installed and have yet to buy one. I need to tie tomatoes to the existing frame so they grow upward, rather than fall on the ground. 

Additionally, I sort of know where my plants are and sort of don't. The kids put them in so only the tomatoes are 'where they belong'. lol Add to the grief the fact that my blood sugar is wildly off. I have been crazy-dizzy and sleepy trying to bring it back down. There is a lot of work to be done and I have not had the oomph to do anything but let the dern thing grow! Hence the title, "My Big, Fat, Sloppy Garden". It is just that! Yikes! See for yourself!

A view from the front reveals tomato plants simultaneously growing up and falling over. Yipes! You can see that giraffe's zucchini (in the back bales) is massive. The spaghetti squash are growing down the side of the bales. Yes, even the lawn needs mowed! I couldn't afford it two weeks ago. I hope to this weekend but that is iffy.

This side is Koala's. She has cucumber, watermelon or cucamelon (we're not sure which is growing, since only one plant showed up), cucumber, zucchini, and beans. Giraffe's pumpkin is growing out to the rear right of the pine tree. That tree was tiny when we first moved in! I've been dropping our produce scraps under it every garden year. You can see it has taken off!

This is a rear view of my messy yard and garden. :) There are more tomatoes, zucchini, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe, zucchini, pumpkin... a variety, basically. I do not come down the hill at all. Giraffe 'owns' this entire side of the garden. :) She is quite proud of her work. Really, who can blame her? We started nearly all of this from seeds!

Our herbs continue to grow... even if our basil has completely bolted. You can see here that Giraffe's wild flowers are growing, as well. There are too many in the pot but they are pretty to look at, even so.

My cauliflower is pretty much covering everything small that I would show you in this photo. You can see that we have been hit with cabbage moths, butterflies, and worms. They are full-on happy to be living in our yard, let me tell you!

To the left is a green bucket full of lettuce. They are all up by the house because they need shade. Our sun is relentless from sunup to sundown. 

In front are two smaller buckets. The gray holds green romaine lettuce. The blue (under the cauliflower leaves) holds celery. I also have a tub full of radishes growing around the cauliflower plants.

This bucket was only supposed to hold my green acre and red acre cabbage. However, it is fairly obvious that my little Koala saw fit to tuck tomato seeds in there! I keep telling myself that I will murder this tomato plant and get it out of there! Then I take a look at the stellar thick stems and I lose heart. How can one murder such a strong plant? 

My three red acre cabbages all have these beautiful little heads now. They are (in my opinion) the most beautiful members of my garden!! 

The green acre cabbage is just now growing. I fear they will not have a good chance to really take root. The cabbage bugs have been brutal. Also, this morning when we were seeding carrots into an empty bale, I saw my little pie sneak a few into this container! CHILD!!! lol

You can see that my planter of spinach has really boomed over the last week. They so enjoyed the rain! I am clipping them off as I need them. I truly love baby spinach! 

You can barely peep my pepper plants in the bale behind the spinach. They are finally growing better. Fx'd!

I am including a couple of photos of my basil. yes, I know that it has bolted. Even so, you can see that a fuzzy bumble bee is happily pollinating each flower. 







Such a happy little guy, no? :)

This pic is a closer look at my red acre cabbage. Can you see the beautiful baby head? :) I have three total. They bring me *such* joy! The dirt in these planters were dead when I got them. I prayed for them to revive as I tenderly fertilized and worked the soil in each. My heart blooms like the plants each holds. I'm so glad that I could use them! I love you, Dad! I miss you! <3 

I know that I did not cover all of the varieties of veggies and fruit again. Let's be honest; that's not going to happen! lol Maybe I will get the energy (or stop being so dizzy) and go out to hit you with one plant at a time later. At this rate, I doubt it. My garden this year has a mind of its own. The plants are mixing and intertwining. Their only thought is to grow. Who am I to interfere with that? 

I'll leave you with this. It is the picture of only one of the zucchini plants growing 'wildly' in my yard. By wild, I mean that they do not belong there. haha My little Koala helped seed directly into bales after we had placed our other starts out there. Both zucchini and tomato plants are now adorning my lawn here and there. What did I expect to happen from one so small? Yes, my garden this year has a mind of its own. I am 100% okay with that. :) <3 :) <3 :) <3 :) <3 :) <3 

What We've Planted (Updated)

I am just going to copy/paste the list of what we intended to plant and mark where we are on each item. :) That will be the easiest way to let you know what is in my garden. 


Tomato Varieties
Early Girl                                                                            _ MANY! :)
Steakhouse                                                                         _ Several!! :)
Big Rainbow                                                                        _ Several!
Sunrise Bumblebee                                                              _ Several@
Mirabelle Blanche                                                                 _ One... but iffy
Red Cherry                                                                          _Several!
Brandywine                                                                         _Yes, YUM!!
Beefsteak                                                                            _ At least one
Abe Lincoln                                                                         _ Many
Chocolate Cherry - - NEW ADDITION to this list!     _ One :)
White Cherry  -  - - NEW ADDITION!                      _ One :)   


Squash
Spaghetti Squash                                                                 _Needs resewn
Dark Green Zucchini Squash                                                 _ Three kinds!
"Big Max" Pumpkin (supposedly huge *and* edible)                _ One
Small Sugar Pumpkin                                                            _None yet

Melons
Congo Watermelon (Supposed to be huge!)                            _Need resewn
Hales Best Cantaloupe                                                           _Growing very well!      

Cruciferous Veggies
Snow Crown Cauliflower                                                        _ Yes! :)
Waltham Broccoli                                                                  _ Yes!!
Cherry Belle Radish                                                 _ On our 2nd sewing!
Golden Acre Cabbage                                                            _ Not yet
Red Acre Cabbage                                                                 _ Yes, yay! 

Carrots
Tendersweet                                                                         _ Sewing soon!

Peppers
Sweet Emerald Giant (green bell pepper)                                _ Yes!
Sweet California Wonder (mixed colors)                                  _ Yes! Doing well!

Cucumbers
Tendergreen                                                                         _ Yes!
Muncher                                                                               _ Yes!
Straight Eight                                                                       _ Yes!
Slicing                                                                 _ Yes!
Beans
Top Crop Bush Beans (long green beans for snapping)             _Germinating

Lettuce
Black Seeded Simpson                                                          _Yes!
Ariana                                                                                 _ Yes!
Summer Bibb                                                                       _ Yes!
Red Romaine                                                                       _ Yes, yay!!
Romaine (green) - - NEW ADDITION!                                     _ Yes!

Spinach
Bloomsdale                                                                          _ Yes!
Giant Noble                                                                          _ Yes!!
New Zealand                                                                        _ Yes!

Basil
Sweet (green)                                                                       _ Yes!
Purple                                                                                   _ Yes!

Parsley
Curly Leaf                                                                            _ Yes!! :) 

Celery
Tango (green stalk)                                                                _ Yes!!

There you have it! Somewhere around 40 types of veggies and fruits are or will be in my bales and buckets, so far! :) I still have around half of the bales empty and waiting for me to add to them! Woooo hooooo!!! :) I am praying *so* hard for a great bounty from all of this love and effort! :) :)