FruitasticHarvest Mondays To Come!!!

Don't they look just scrumptious already?

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Off With Their Heads!

It only took four tries, but thar be cabbages in the garden! Last fall I had the four pound monster, but the worms ate more of it than I could, so in the garbage it went. Now, these small Gonzalez cabbages look fantastic and these two, at least, don't seem to have suffered much damage.
These cabbages are supposed to be small and perfect for intensive gardening which is why I tried them. We harvested the one on the left for last night's dinner and it was just the perfect size for us. I sauteed it up with some garlic, butter, onion flakes and salt and it was stellar. I was surprised that, like garden broccoli, it had a hint of sweetness to it that you don't get out of store broccoli or cabbage. I wonder if that's because of the size and variety or because it's not commercially grown.

Either way I did it, and I'm as happy as a clam.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Moth Man Commeth

I have no idea what this little doo-jobie is, but he and a buddy were hanging around under my garlic leaves. They were very complacent and sat right there as I picked them up. They were all white except for a brown spot on the undersides of their heads.
I picked both of them off and sent them on their way....to the neighbor's yard. I'm sure they'll have the chance to come back, but I didn't want to kill them if I didn't know what they were.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Mega Blooms, Regular Blooms and Tomatoes!

I think one of the things I like best about gardening is that it's never the same year after year. There's always new vegetables to grow, new pests or diseases to fight and just plain garden oddities that throw you for a loop.

I was astonished a few days ago to see several tomato plants laden with monster flowers that you've helped me to understand are called "mega blooms." I couldn't believe it when you said that both types of flowers could happen on one plant and lo and behold look what I found today:
The monster bloom is closing, but look at the other regular blooms surrounding it. Very cool. Then, on the Cherokee Purple plant next to it, I've got the makings of three very small tomatoes. I can't wait. These are my first tomato plants from seeds and I'm very proud of them.

Then, as she does so well, Mother Nature throws a bomb. Here's one of my Big Momma tomato plants. The camera wouldn't focus on the black part, but that's where a stem used to be. The stem was limp and there was this black spot in the juncture of it and the main stem.

There wasn't any worm or insect that I could find that could have caused it.

Any ideas?

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

I pulled one of those bean plants from yesterday's post and the roots seemed fine, so I'm back to square one. My game plan now is to just prune off the affected leaves and go with the flow. The pole beans are about to start vining. I can't wait!

The potatoes are flowering also. What cute things they are. I suppose I now need to read up on potato harvesting. I have no idea when to do it.

Speaking of flowering, I posted a few days ago about Dan's beautiful Cherokee Purple tomato seeds he sent. I started them and a few others and it looks like I made a mistake because if both of these plants are supposed to be Cherokee Purple...and they are by the way I labeled them....one of these things is not like the other.....

Looks like I've got a mystery on my hands. I'm thinking the second is the Cherokee Purple, so the first could be either a Black Cherry or a Beefsteak. Looks like I've got a mystery on my hands!

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

The Bean Leaves - The Picture Edition

Thank you for all of your advice about my bean leaf problems. I can't help but think it's some crazy insect sucking the life out of the leaves, but I can't find a single insect or insect egg around them. They're in a fresh, new bed and honestly, the same thing happened to my beans last year and I couldn't pinpoint a solution.

Here's what the leaves look like at first. You can see the one in the foreground and then the one on the left that's in the beginning stage of whatever-it-is.
Then, as it progresses, the entire leaf just goes limp like this:

It's just down right odd if I can say. Do the pictures help anyone any?

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

The Bean Leaves

I left the camera at my mother's last night, so I can't get a picture, but my bean leaves are darkening and curling in (more like wasting away) from the edges towards the center until the entire leaf is utterly lifeless and limp. Last year I tried to thwart its spread by cutting off the affected leaves, but it didn't slow the progress. I do have aphids that have attacked the eggplants in the bed next to them, but I haven't seen any of them on the beans.

Any idea what it is/how to stop it? I want beans.

Any good aphid advice, either? Hand squishing them is getting tedious, but the insecticidal soap I sprayed on them yesterday only seemed to act as a multiplying catalyst.