And the heat wave breaks!

Old Farmer's Almanac Ripeness Guide available online

Jesse found this Web site, Old Farmer's Almanac Ripeness Guide (clickable link), and I thought it was very useful and we should share. It's a long list of veggies and fruits, with clues so you can tell when they're ready to pick -- or even ready to buy. Very informative.

It looked so small and innocent!

So, we have this monstrous watermelon plant in our plot -- an unplanned endeavor! When we started our cucumber plants, we bought a flat of seedlings.

And lo and behold, one of the plants was not trailing gently along the ground, and started getting monstrous 18-inch wide leaves. We didn't know what it was, but it was clear it definitely was not a cucumber plant. Right now this plant has a rather large watermelon under it; only, we don't really know how large it's supposed to get. Hence, the guide.

It's growing more fruit, too -- can't wait to see what happens!

Please keep after the bugs ... I am dreaming about these beetles

Show no mercy -- they have none!

Don't forget to keep checking any cucurbits for our nasty friends, the cucumber beetles. If left alone, they will spread between neighbors, and they can kill your plants.

Neem oil and soap sprays are very helpful, but can also deter the good bugs. The most effective method of battle is to squish all the beetles you can find, and check all the undersides of your leaves for eggs, and squish those.

I am not a fan of squishing -- I am always afraid I haven't squished enough -- so I carry a little plastic salad dressing-size container in my garden basket, filled with soapy water (about 1/3 dish soap). I scoop up all the beetles and eggs, and put them in there, throw the lid back on, and take it home for the trash. (Never, ever just dispose of eggs in the compost or in the meadow -- they will just return.)

One of the many varieties of stink bug
(sometimes called "squash bug").
The eggs of all of these beetles look
like this -- they can be yellow
or golden brown.

Another benefit of the soapy water is that they kill stink bugs in less than 10 seconds -- and they don't make that awful stink.

Stink bugs are harmful, too, and should be squished.

Vacation time

If you're away on vacation, it's good to have someone come look after your plot, if you can. If you can't find someone, please ask Jesse and I and we'll try to look after things for you, to make sure your plants make it through your absence.