Overachieving

Overachieving on No. 39: Grow a Vegetable.



Overachieving might be an exaggeration but the crops are ready for harvest.
I counted potatoes as the qualifying vegetable for No. 39. But there are still some veggie plants doing their thing.

And by crops I mean three tomatoes, a couple of jalapeños and some habanero peppers.

 The plants are pitiful but look at that little tomato.

 A tomato in the hand is one less tomato for the birds.

There's still a couple more waiting to ripen.

Vine ripened tomatoes, at least for as long as I could stand it. Little mice run through the garden. Birds fly around the cages. Squirrels frolic. So many perils await my little red babies.  They are finishing off on the kitchen windowsill.

No pictures of the peppers since green on green really doesn't photograph. No idea what will become of them once they are ready since three (or 5 or 8) tiny peppers probably aren't enough for pepper jelly.

But in the surprise category we have a volunteer. Literally.

I noticed some squash looking leaves out in the middle of the yard. A week later, those squash leaves had doubled in quantity.

The plant that ate the cabin...

But surprisingly the deer have totally left the plant alone. 

 Then the bright yellow flowers started poking through the huge leaves.
Yesterday I noticed little ...whats? I don't know. Gourds? Squash? Probably squash is the best guess.
Maybe pumpkin?  I know the kids threw the Halloween pumpkin seeds out in the yard last year.
Whatever they are, they are growing fast.  Wonder if I will get to find out before the first freeze?

What are those little yellow things? 

They look like yellow pumpkins.  Maybe.

Anyway, while I haven't been so great at completing many of my other tasks, the plants are certainly pulling their weight. Thank goodness.

(And for you serious gardeners, I know this is just a hoot that I think I have "crops". But we all have to start somewhere and this Colorado gardening is so different than what I grew up with in Texas. I'm learning and experimenting which I believe is the whole idea behind my 60x60 list. Doing my best.   So there.....)

No. 39: Grow a vegetable

No. 39: Grow a vegetable.


Haha! I thought I had this one nailed.

Right before I left for Texas I had two tomato plants covered in blooms. I had enlisted the neighbors to water them and hug them and kiss them while I was gone.  I KNEW I was going to have tomatoes when I returned.

The afternoon we left Colorado there was a huge thunderstorm. Hail. Rain. More hail.

I got a message that my plants were shattered. Broken. Crushed.

BUT!

I had put some potato starts in the ground back in April. And then I pretty much forgot about them. I watered the plants and they grew but still...no way to know what was going on underground.

Two little rows of new potato plants. 

Somehow I hoped that something would work. It's hard to grow plants when you are moving back and forth between two states with two different climates.

So...potatoes, tomatoes.

Upon my return, I realized the tomatoes weren't a total loss.   A couple of blooms hung on. My neighbor brought over another tomato along with some peppers. A friend brought me one of those upside-down tomato planters. Something had to work.

At this point I have three tomatoes on two of the plants.

Not red yet, but getting there. 

The upside down planter has a tiny tomato and a couple of blooms too. 

Unexciting picture.

This is my first experience with one of these planters. 

So far, so good. 

The peppers are out in the back bed and I didn't get a pic of them before the rain started tonight. But there are two habanero plants and one jalapeño and they all have blooms and peppers.  They seem to be holding up to my sporadic watering so I'm expecting results in a few more weeks. 

And the potatoes? Well, they are the reason I am counting No. 39 complete. 

I noticed the plants were dying even though I was watering them daily. What the....??   Then I remembered my friend, Cherrilla, telling my that the potatoes would be ready when the plants started to wither. 

This morning I went out and dug.

It was just like Easter morning.  

Potatoes!!  

Potato size ranges from grape to cherry tomato size to normal new potato size. 

We will eat them all.

In this case, size does not matter. 

Tiny new potatoes. About enough for one meal for two people. Bunny will be back in Colorado this weekend. Guess what is on the menu? 

No. 39 has been grown. 

Happy Thursday

T.G.I.T.
Thank Goodness it's Thursday.

I confess. I got nothing. At least nothing new.

My challenges are getting to be more of a ...challenge.   They are time specific or place specific. And I'm not in the right time or place! 

But.
I do have a garden update.

It's starting to bloom!

Daffodils near the drive.  Sorry- didn't realize this pic was a bit blurred.

 Goodness. I thought I looked at these when I took them. Must not have had my glasses on.

Anyway, more daffs in the zoo/garden.

 Johnny Jump Ups!! Particularly exciting because there are a bunch of them and we didn't plant them.

Left over from the previous owner and they must have appreciated the fertilizer that was sprinkled about last fall.

 Even the Allium is trying to get in on the action.

Tulips and Grape Hyacinths.

The Grape Hyacinths are also volunteers. 

I wish I had seen these beds when the original owners were here.

I bet they were lovely.

However, those pesky vegetable seeds I planted aren't doing much. That would be No. 39: Grow a Vegetable.  Apparently I planted the most under achieving seeds ever. Especially those tomatoes. The green peppers are at least making an effort...

And outside the sugar snap peas have sprouted and totally surpassed the inside sprouts.

The slacker tomatoes. 

Honestly. They are no larger than they were a month ago.

The green peppers at least look more robust.

Still. Not much of a showing.

Another thing that I have been working on is No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance. I have always had a thing for gardenias. Ask anyone who knew me in Mexico- there was a gardenia lotion available only there that I lived in.  And while since then I have never considered myself a "floral"scent person, guess what I realize I've been attracted to? Yep. Florals. 

This morning I read two different blogs that were espousing grown up versions of gardenia perfumes. Off to "The Perfumed Court" website and decants are on their way to me. Yay! It's an early Mother's Day present to myself. Maybe one of these will be "the one". Or at least "the one for right now".

(What did I order? Arquiste Boutonniere and Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion. I'll let you know…)

And Thursday is the last day to get in on the double give-away for a blanket from my new venture, Cherry Creek Co.  That's No. 10: Start a business.    Click here to enter. Or go here if you just want to see the lovelies and buy one flat out.  That's okay with me, too.

Have  a great weekend.  After this week, I need a break!