of limas, melons, and the garden in general

Hi Nesa and everyone,

I don't have any experience with growing lima beans. I don't think you eat 
the pods, but I should leave that response to someone mroe knowledgable. I 
had to give up on trying to grow beans here. They are a magnet for deer, 
who then eat other things as well.
As for the rest of my garden --
Melon update : While my french melons were not a huge success (I do believe 
they were intended for a different climate), I did manage to get just 
enought for me to eat. It was a long time before I could test some of the 
responses that I got on the list about harvesting, since in the earlier 
stages some earlier rain caused some of the melons to overgrow and split on 
the vine, so I had to harvest them at that point. While a couple were just 
slightly underripe, they were still quite good. Finally, with a very dry 
August, I could test the various theories of ripeness. Thumping melons is 
not one of my talents. I was unable to determine any stage of ripeness 
doing that. The best test  for me turned out to be the dried tendril (the 
curly-q closed to the melon). Also, after having harvested a few, I began 
to notice a very subtle difference in color in the riper ones.
The cucumber plants are giving up the ghost. There are still some small 
cucumbers ripening, but there are no new flowers and the vines are 
beginning to die back. That's already much better than I did last year with 
a different variety which gave up in July!
Tomatoes slowed down during a very hot spell but are having a second surge 
at the moment. With colder nights predicted for later this week, I imagine 
they will also be dwindling soon.
Chard continues to produce, and fall lettuce is beginning to sprout as I 
gather seed from some of the spring lettuce.
I wanted to have some kohlrabi this fall, but I haven't planted yet.. I 
hope I'm not too late.
Well, I'd better go and harvest my tomatoes now.

Happy gardening!
Pat
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