Gardening Gone Wild October Photo Contest.

Heads up everyone: Gardening Gone Wild's photo competition for October is one that you can start on now--it's all about creating a photo by putting things on your scanner bed and then scanning them to make a picture. YEAH...they explain it much better on their website here: http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=12809

Maintenance

I pulled out 5 of the 8 tomato plants (the Lemon Boy, Green Zebras, and one of the cherry tomatoes had to go). They were looking mighty sorry and the leaf footed bugs and stink bugs were going after all the fruit--the tomato plants that are staying look pretty healthy and only had 1 tomato between the three of them, a tomato which I went and picked today even though it's not completely ripe yet--I just couldn't bear to let the stink bugs get the ONLY Ananas Noire tomato I had.

I was going to plant the other green zebra and Ananas Noire cutting I had in their place, but now I'm re-thinking it. I'll probably still plant the Ananas Noire because I have it, but I will just give the rest of the green zebras away.

Instead I think I'll plant the ancient zucchini and yellow squash seeds I have--if they don't come up, not that big of a deal since I wasn't planning on planting summer squash, and if they do then maybe we'll have some summer squash.

Yellow Garden Spider Updated photo

Here's a photo taken maybe three days later. I swear she's gotten bigger. I've already posted this same picture and gave a small write up on my normal blog here

Flowers

This is the first time the society garlic has flowered since the spring. I like it!

Wordless Wednesdays: Yellow Spider Edition

Weather Forecast: It's Hot.

It's hot outside. my tomatoes are under attack of the dreaded Stink Bugs. I'll be ripping them out soon--the plants look too far gone to try to save for the fall (except for the Ananas Noir and Purple Cherokee...this could be because they have produced naught but one tomato between the two of them). Instead I'll be planting some transplants, probably a green zebra and a cutting from the Ananas Noir.

Otherwise everything is doing okay. The eggplant is good, the squash are good, the parsley and lemon balm are great. I started some broccoli and cauliflower for the fall but the seedlings were attacked by snails or something so I don't know if any will pull through.

The society garlic and rock rose seem to love this weather (of course they also get afternoon shade), both turk's cap plants in the back are blooming, and I've discovered that in addition to moving one of the passionvines this fall, I'll also have to switch the cast iron plant and the giant petunias--the cast iron is in a spot that I was sure got shade but apparently is actually quite sunny (don't get me wrong, they're doing well there, it's just that the petunias would probably benefit more from the sun than the cast iron plant). The butterflyweed is a breeding ground for aphids...but I did see my first monarch on the plant the other day (it was either male, or it's not breeding season yet).

Worldless Wednesdays: Spikey Edition