It's been so hot here that my lettuce is starting to bolt; I've been giving it away to neighbors left and right, because I won't be able to eat it in time.  3 of my 4 tomato plants have been growing like crazy, and 1 has tomatoes on it (I got 3 different kinds because they all had different maturity dates); the fourth one is a cherry tomato plant and it hasn't been growing much at all - I think the drip system is missing it, so I moved one of the hoses.  My beans are happy and growing well; my snap peas have latched onto the fence (right where I wanted them) and are covered in flowers.  My squash and cucumber vines are growing happily into the spaces where the lettuces have been picked from, and I decided it was time to put the bird netting up on the raspberry bushes.  I waited too long to plant the second crop of radishes, so I don't have but a few random ones right now, and the carrots were squeezed out by the lettuce, so I had to plant more seeds - but I should have some carrots in about a month.

Its been cold at night the last three nights. My collards are being attacked by something. I went and poured soapy water over them. We ate one of my tomatoes on the 4th and it was so good. They're not large tomatoes, they're small but next year I hope they'll be larger because of my compost that I'm creating this year. They're small but they taste sooo good, so rich and delicious. I noticed that some of my tomatoes don't even have fruits on them, the hanging ones, I may change their location. They may be in shade most of the time. I started them before the ones in the ground and they're green but aren't producing hardly at all, so maybe that'll work.

I do not have a garden this year, I am going to give it a try next year. The only thing i remember about a garden is my grandparents having one but that was 25 years ago. As a 10 year old i rember digging up potatoes, but that's it. Any advice on how to have a garden will be greatly appreciated. This year I am going to contribute to my local farmers to show them support.

Bless you All,

Lynn

 I'm starting to get tomatoes!!!  A few of them are up to a couple of inches in diameter... I can't wait!

 picked bush cherrys and made 12 jars of cherry jelly. PIcked pint of red raspberries and pint of black raspberries. Should have more of all three ripe in the next few days. Babs

Lynn, you can still plant something in pots, its not too late to start. I grew tomatoes in pots last year until mid November. So, try it out and use this year to learn. Look up things about it and try things in pots while you're still going to the farmers market and learn what you want to grow vs. what you don't and the conditions of the soil and how you want to fertilize it etc.

I am getting more tomatoes too...I have one red right now though, the rest are still growing, in just a few weeks they should be producing more regularly. And I sure wish I had cherries to grow or any type of fruit. The mulberry tree has some but I can't reach it right now. Some that fall I give to the chickens and they love it.

babs:

Should have more of all three ripe in the next few days.

Babs,

I find I am picking three times per day, not many berries each picking, but if they are left overnight, the next day all the juice has been sucked out of them.  I always leave some for the critters though.  For now, my black raspberries are in the freezer until I can work with them.  They seem to spoil quite easily.  I always say I can sit on the porch glider and hear them ripening.  :-)

As to our regular garden that the ladies and I have planted, squash is doing great; cabbage and tomatoes are growing.  There has been so much rain, I fear we should have had a rice paddy instead of corn.  Only 3 plants survived there.  It's supposed to be knee high by the fourth of July and just isn't! 

All of your gardens seem to be doing great!  Mine is doing pretty well too, though we've had some losses . . .

Lost a few pepper plants and a few melon plants to the snails who ate them seemingly overnight before we took control!

Tomatoes are doing GREAT.  Have picked at least 3 pints of grape tomatoes so far and very much enjoyed them in our salads.  Our large tomatoes (we have regular and heirloom varieties) are doing pretty well too-should have some to pick in the next week or so.  Actually, one will be ready in the next day or two but none after that for a week or so.

The peppers and melons we retained plus the squash are growing well-have been enjoying our jalapenos and sweet cherry peppers already.  Leaving the bells on the plants to turn red.

Have never grown watermelons before and the vines have grown so fast!  Thought there wasn't any fruit but DH showed them to me-they're so tiny!  So cute!  We'll have lots on watermelon later on once they develop!

The beans and winter squash plants are growing but no flowers or anything yet.  I may have planted them too late.

This has been so fun-my first really successful venture in vegetable gardening.  I have never had the time to devote previously.  But I'm very proud of these-and enjoying them alot!  I've already been thinking about what I am going to grow in the Fall!

Happy gardening everyone!

I just went out and with the rain hopefully in the past, things are growing very well. I have alot more tomatoes growing than I thought though some still aren't producing. I have a container where I pour my coffee grinds and old coffee and started using that to water them with, I think its working because within two days I had green beans ready to pick. My squash/zucchini is taking over everything. I might have to rescue my green beans, cucumbers and green peppers from the raised garden before it squashes out the light. I'm also expanding my garden, the in-ground one so that I can put the winter items into the ground-we're doing all that tomorrow.

what kind of soil do melons like? My watermelon and cantaloupe are doing next to nothing. I've never been able to grow good melons since we've lived here. At our other house they did great.