Gardening

Passionfruit is flowering

 

Finally able to do some work on the patio project. Jim resigned from his County job last month and is so happy to have time and energy now to work on the property. We made headway the last few days. Actually able to plant a few things in finished areas. It's been raining so much lately, it's hard to find a few days when the ground is dry enough to do boulder work. But here it is in progress so far.

 

That looks great Marsha , glad you are able to get outside and get stuck into it, hope the rain stay away

 

Patio project official finished today! The last thing was to seed buffalo grass in the construction area. In a month or so when the new plants settle in it should look more naturalized. Second photo shows the hole we dug for the pot reservoir.
Squash is blooming and I'm harvesting onions. Yard long beans are climbing their twine. A couple of chili peppers almost ready to pick. I was late planting a lot of things because it was so rainy and cool.
Killed two rattlesnakes in two days. One on the porch and one in the rocks--the chickens alerted us to the one in the rocks. Zero tolerance for venomous snakes here. Have not seen our "pet" for a few days but another golf ball disappeared. The last time we saw him, he was coiled in the dash of the golf cart and just about gave my husband a heart attack.

 

That looks wonderful, absolutely love the little seat

Glad you got to the snake before it got to your chickens !

 

Yard long green beans are coming in well and yellow squash are starting to come well. No sign of squash bugs yet. Since the onions are harvested I set out some tomatoes and planted some okra in those areas. Bumper crop of apples beginning to ripen. The balloon flowers are coming on for their second bloom--one of my favorites. I've had to repot the hanging petunias and periwinkle so they should be looking good for my garden club, which meets at my house in August.

 

Ive got lemons, blood Oranges and the passionfruit are growing nicely

 

That sounds so exotic to this prairie girl.

 

I picked a few of these blood Oranges before I went on vacation. They were not ready at the time. Now they look amazing

Not as sweet as a standard Orange , they taste a little more like a grapefruit.

 

The blood orange doesn't look anything like I thought it would.

 

Me either , Last year my tree only produced the one. I obviously picked it far too early, you could only see a little red color starting to come thru the flesh.

 

How did everyones gardens end up this year ? Im about to start getting my veggie garden ready for planting

 

Ive planted my beds out. I have zucchinis, cuccumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes, snow peas and sugar snap peas. Ive planted herbs into pots- Basil, Thai basil, Vietnamese mint, Oregano, Sage, Rosemary, Coriander.

It got to 40 (104) here yesterday , so everything struggled a little.

 

That seems warm for early in the season. Hopefully you will get plenty of rain this year. We had a very early hard freeze. Much earlier than normal. I tried some fall lettuce, but none came up. Don't think I will bother with any kale this winter. I'm going to do some work in my tire beds next spring, so I'll just let them rest. Will need to prune the new peach tree this winter; it grew so nicely. Good luck with all your produce!

 

Thanks Marsha. It has been really hot here, much earlier than normal. So many fires already its scary. I replaced a couple of fruit trees that have never fruited and have really struggled. One nectarine I replaced and planted in a different position. I originally had a dwarf one in the same spot until my SIL accidentally ran over it last year. I replaced it with a full size tree , so Its clearly visible. I have an Orange and also a mandarin tree ready to plant this weekend.

 

I had to replace a peach. I gave it about 4 years, and it was a dud. It fruited, but the fruit was mealy and tasteless. The new one is doing very well; it's a shame to waste so many years on a dud. Do you have a well?

 

One of the trees I am doing away with completely is a peach tree, It has never fruited at all. I have a bore as my property used to be a market garden before we purchased it. Only thing I have found is the water is quite salty. I use it to top up the lake when the water drops in summer. It is a shame to waste so many years on a dud. I thought about replacing them a couple of years ago, just never got round to it.

 

Marsha how did your cherries and apples end up this year. ?

 

Have heaps of snow peas, beans, sugar snap peas & zucchinis , little pumpkins are starting to grow and there is plenty of flowers on my tomatoes