Re: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #381 an update from your PumpkinWitch

Hi guys:
I'm doing pretty well, except that I still tire easily, especially with this heat.
My garden is doing reasonably well, especially since I planted so late. I had some friends help prepare the garden which was s plot of grassy ground that had not been tended in 30 years. We
triple tilled it & then added horse manure & tilled it again. then we planted & mulched everything, even the paths between. Since the plot (almost an acre) was on a hill & had a slight slope to
it, I terraced it, making short walls by raking all the stones from the garden into long piles, about 9"  or so. Then I planted  pretty flowering annuals atop the walls (blue ageratum, marigolds,
salvia, portulaca & zinnias. here & there, for variety I interspersed some Okra or a watermelon vine. I utilized shade trees wherever possible, for the more tender varieties that were heat
sensitive. I had reasonable success with the corn, although the horses got in once & decimated the Silver Queen. the eggplants did well. I am deluged with yellow squash & zucchini. The carrots
were late but good & very sweet. the rotating crops of radishes were all as big as golf balls, & great tasting. the lettuce was wonderful, crisp & sweet.

The canteloupes are the most incredibly sweet flavor I have ever tasted, & I am loaded (picked 11 yesterday). there are at least another 30 still ripening. The watermelons are just starting to
ripen, but there are over 30 of them. The honeydews are not doing quite as well. there are only about 20 of them, but they should start to ripen within the next week.
The sugar shap peas were unbleievable. I had loads just to snack on & tons to freeze. Thje beans are still bearing prolifically & the lima beans will be ready within the next week. the tomatoes
have been bearing so fast I cannot keep up with them, & I get over 2 gallons of cherry tomatoes per day. I get 5-10 gallons or big tomatoes per day. The herbs I planted for natural pest control
have worked well except for the brocolli & cauliflower. these were non-producers this year.

And now for the biggie:
my pumpkin, planted too late to give any of you any competition is still alive & well. the little angel is now only 40 ft in diameter (the plant, not any single pumpkin; no such luck). there are
several pumpkins on it, spaced well as per advice from the list. I have blanketed the ground under my lovely, with a thick carpet of mulch. I have a ram pump that fills the cistern at the old hog
house, & we have dug a new fawcet just above the garden, so I have easy access to water.

The largest pumpkin is pale yellow, & bigger than my 17" computer monitor. I have 3 others that are about half that size..
the leaves are so large & tall on lovely thick stems, that they easily & thoroughly shade the pumpkins. I know my pumpkin won't be ready for any weigh off, but I am so enjoying  it & the rest of
my garden. it has been wonderful therapy & has helped me through all the pain & healing.
By the way, the      big one is COMPUPUMP, in honor of Barb,  & the other 3 are Giant Jack (after Jack Breckenridge), Jolly Joe, after ZooDoo Joe Mills & Beths Bounty (after Beth Rado) Many
thanks to these who formed a sort of support group to help keep me going when things got extra rough. & also to those others of you who corresponded & helped me along.

TerryLynn, PumpkinWitch

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index