Got a great harvest out of the garden. Tomatoes, zucchini, jalepeno peppers, green peppers. Everything that is established is growing and growing well. I am especially interested to see how the heirloom tomatoes will turn out. I also saw females on the butternut squash! Much excitement reigns over Jessamine Gardens.
The bad.
Houston has been having a pretty good dry spell. My preschooler is having a good stubborn spell. This has not been good for getting work done out in the garden. As a result, the massive planting I did of okra has not had good germination. I am hoping to correct that here quickly and putting on Dora for a few minutes has allowed me to sneak out and water correctly, so I'm hoping bad will turn good and we are up to our ears in okra this summer. They are such pretty plants too. (If you didn't know, they are actually related to the hibiscus).
The UGLY!
I knew I was taking a calculated risk growing squash. I knew the scourge known as the squash vine borer existed in the South. I thought what every gardener thinks...that I am above all pests...Sadly, this is not the case. The Three Sisters bed has become infested.
SVB damage
I did what every gardener/plant momma does. I grabbed the paring knife out of the kitchen, asked my summer squash plants to forgive me, and began to make a little slit in the stem near the damage. I increased the slit until I found the horrible nasty little grub then pulled it out with the tip of the paring knife and gave it a gruesome death. I did this with every plant in that bed and then sealed them back up with floral tape. But I am happy to report that the garden has rebounded and looked like this when I took the photo this afternoon.
Nobody eats my zucchini but me!
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