(Green and lemon cucumbers rising to the occasion)
Because we grow in raised beds and also because we are trying to grow a bit of pasture and run space for the kids, I am growing our vine crops skyward to keep them off the ground. I have read that this encourages higher production and better fruits/veggies because they do not mold on the ground.
(infant cuke)
What it means in a practical sense is that I am doing bonsai veggies.
(rising spaghetti squash)
I am not doing any pruning but a lot of tying and coddling and massaging, etc. Rather intensive and good more me because its a small garden but this would be tedious if you had a larger thing going on.
(Massive squash)
This enormous squash is growing TONS of base leaves and amassing quite a few proto-runners but has yet to send out a vine I can attach to the trellis. This plant seems poised to simply explode with vines. I feel like I need to almost check it several times a day in case it gets ahead of me!
Who knew there could be so much excitement in a garden. Makes me feel a bit silly, but what are you gonna do.
The young kohlrabis are coming along and I do not find the beetles most times when I go out. I got this notion that these plants must smell irresistible to the beetles because they seem to find them so easily. Because of this crazy idea, I decided to sprinkle the leaves with some cinnamon. I hope this will change the “flavor profile” to one the beetles find either confusing or revolting and I hope not delicious.
Finally, here is a shot of some of the beds, just to give a sense for how some of the garden grows.
[...] a result of the daily weeding and now the daily tending of my high rise cucumbers, spaghetti squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and watermelons, I have come to feel rather maternal towards these plants. As they shift from the growing phase to [...]