Cucumber solution??

My research suggests that my cucumbers are in need of Nitrogen--so I got some fertilizer and fed flowers and veggies today. Hopefully that will help--I'll keep you posted!

Veggie Update July 28 & 29

Starting off with the sad news...though the tomatoes & broccoli are yummy, sadly the cauliflower is not. I'm thinking it was just too darn hot, but the florets really separated and there was a purple cast to it. When I tasted it the aftertaste was just killer--burned like a shot of Tequila (which as with the cauliflower, I only needed to try once!)

So now that I've taken most of the cauliflower out, we can see that I DO still have jalapenos! And I guarantee that mine are salmonella free! :-)
So here's the exciting news for the day--I have FIVE artichokes growing! WOW!!! I didn't notice the smaller ones until today. The big one is getting to be a nice size and really stands out. The big one is probably about 4 inches tall so far.

Broccoli is continuing to look great and I've been clipping just what I need every day--I've got several nice sized heads of broccoli!

My very first "dinner plate dahlia" bloom is still opening up. They just have grown so tall that I got some help tying them up a bit. 

Ok, but I need to enlist a little help as well. I'm noticing that my cucumber plants are not looking so great...Some of the cukes are starting to have very odd shapes, and lots of the leaves are turning yellow, then brown--especially around the center or base of the plants. Thoughts??

Sam and Ed stopped by the other day and Sam said it was like visiting a farmer's market--she got to take a little of everything :-)
  

Veggie Update July 23...PART 2

Ok, seriously, it wasn't DARK outside...whatever. I got a shot from the back, stooped over so that you can see that the jalepenos are indeed still there--cramped between the cauliflower on the left and the OUT OF CONTROL tomatoes on the right! (Good thing the peas are gone)
I got a shot of what's left of my spinach here to the right of the broccoli. I left three plants to "bolt" and go to seed. I was mostly just curious, but also thought it might be nice for them to re-seed themselves...we'll see.
How many cucumbers do you see? :-) I've been enjoying them on my sandwich, in my salad, and I have really enjoyed sharing them!

Just wanted to show off my newest rose bush--I shared a picture of it when I planted it. Now it has over 20 blooms on it! I have a small bud vase on my desk at work with a red rose, a yellow rose and a pink rose--so pretty!
The flowers in my pot have also grown--aren't those red ones gorgeous? You can also see my new grill in the background! 

Tonight was such a nice evening--the heat finally broke. We've been in the high 90's and even hit 100 earlier this week. So far they say that we are on track to see one of the driest years on record if we don't hurry up and get some rain. We had a few sprinkles tonight and the breeze kicked up. I've even got the windows open and the A/C turned off tonight! 
  

Veggie Update July 23

I'm going to do this in a couple parts tonight...just couldn't choose only 5!

I know it was getting a little bit dark when I took these, so they are not the very best. Here's a wide-view of my garden. Some of the tomatoes are nearly as tall as me! 
Zooming in...
These are my "tomatoes gone wild!" My artichoke is nearly getting "choked" out!
Ok, not the best picture of my cauliflower--it is white, not yellowed. I think it has separated some due to the heat. I'm thinking I'll need to harvest it in a few days--but you get a sense of how big it is!
Ok, I was hoping you could see that there is another crown of broccoli at the top, but it's tough to see. But hello!! I've got a whole head of broccoli--and a BUNCH more growing!!
  

Veggie Update July 18

ARTICHOKE!!! Who knew that little-bitty scrawny plant I put in the ground was actually going to create an ARTICHOKE!!!

Cauliflower is getting pretty big--just waiting patiently--I can't wait to taste it!

Broccoli actually looks like BROCCOLI! (I know I'm such a dork...)
Tomatoes gone WILD!!!
Little butterfly bushes are working hard on covering up those ugly boxes in the back corner of the yard--and they smell so good!

I've been finishing up my snap peas, and enjoying the first of my cucumbers and tomatoes. Such a YUMMY summer!

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Veggie Update July 11

BROCCOLI!!!!

So it's only about the size of a marble so far--but it's there!!

Cauliflower is getting bigger every day--this is the biggest one but I have several growing!

The sugar snap peas were done. I harvested the remaining peas and pulled out the plants. So I learned how to blanch & freeze my peas, and put the remainder of the plants in the compost pile. But YIKES! Those tomatoes have gotten HUGE--they are just going NUTS! 

Here's my cucumber (see below). I've got several growing--so if you like cucumbers, let me know! I think I'm going to learn how to make pickles this year! How fun! 

Here's today's harvest--the remaining peas, my first cucumber, my first tomato and my first jalepenos!! Yum!
 

Veggie Update July 7

Here's the garden today--so overgrown now that I have a hard time finding individual plants! Ok, so maybe I planted too much in this box. Possibly. But it didn't seem like it at the time--check out my post at the end of May! 

Jalepenos are looking pretty good--I think I could probably harvest these guys any day now.

Here's the BIG NEWS of the week!! I have CAULIFLOWER!! I still don't see any broccoli so far...but how exciting!

Boy, remember when I was so excited about those two little leaves that were coming up from seed? 

My first cucumber!! I think I'm going to have a lot of them--so if you are a big cucumber fan, please let me know! I'm thinking I might look into how to make pickles too! ;-)

Stop by sometime and visit!!

 

July 4th

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

It was great to have mom, Sam & Ed over for the 4th...I was unfortunately sick nearly the entire time. We had fun though--we got to go see the fireworks in Broomfield, and I don't think I've EVER sat so close! We were out in the field, just FEET away from where they were being set off. WOW!! 

As I was showing off my garden we noticed some unwelcome visitors--APHIDS! On my cucumbers AND my roses! OH NO!! 

I didn't mind spraying down my roses with some bug-killing spray, but I really would rather not spray my vegetables...regardless of how safe they claim it is. So LADY BUGS to the RESCUE! 

I got some live lady bugs at Home Depot--and introduced them to the BUFFET! 

Once I opened the bag they were all over the place--so cool!

I noticed a reduction in the aphids by the next day and by today there aren't too many left. I've been spraying them down with water as well. There are still several ladies out there working--but many have flown away...alas.

Addison & Winnie enjoyed their visit. Addy needed to be on a leash for this shot--Ed was repairing my fence where Winnie again chewed through it. I was so glad to have Addy over for the 4th as I think she really helped Winnie relax a little. Addy doesn't seem bothered by the fireworks unlike my poor anxious pooch. Winnie hid in the bathroom when he heard fireworks--and Addy went in the bathroom and stayed with him. So sweet. 

Mom got in the action--harvesting snap peas for dinner--YUMMY!

Good visit!

 

Veggie Update : July 1

Spinach is just about done--I think it is starting to "bolt" (a bud is starting to form in the center which means it's about to go to seed). So I'm going to plant some more spinach seeds and will hopefully have time for another crop--the spinach seems to like the shade provided by the big broccoli leaves!
Here's a close-up of the baby cucumbers! They look like "teensy weensy" pickles! :-) 
Cucumbers, cucumbers, EVERYWHERE!!
Lots and Lots of sugar snap peas--
Beginnings of a harvest just in time for 4th of July dinner! I'm way excited to be hosting the 4th holiday at my house this year--if you are in the area please stop by!