My Summer Harvest

Some of you know I decided to grow a watermelon vine on my back patio this summer - right next to the mixed summer squash. Somehow I missed the memo that the vines would encompass my entire backyard (I have a townhouse!).

The summer squash vine grew over into our neighbor's yard - who is a really great sport. We kept finding these on our back wall.

 They are some kind of summer squash and tasted kind of like spaghetti squash.

Here's the watermelon that survived (sort of).

 This thing was SO heavy!! This heirloom variety, Moon & Stars, 

will grow to between 25 and 40 lbs. 

It is also beautiful with white and yellow "stars" on a field of green.

I also grew chard all summer (so yummy!) and easy stuff like mint. It was just so hot this summer I couldn't bring myself to do much in the garden. Watermelon lessons: They need lots of room (either a 15'X15' patch or a fence where you can train them and remember to support the fruit) and good fertilizer (like fish emulsion) every few weeks. Ripeness: watch for the yellow patch on the bottom and don't wait for the little stem to turn brown (this advice was everywhere on the internet and in my books). This one never did - after months (!) - and it cracked in the last big storm, rendering it inedible. According to advice my farm girl mom gave me years ago, the huge yellow spot it had means it would have had great flavor and sugar content. Of course, I didn't see it because I was waiting for the stem to turn brown. Oh well.

Now the weather is great and I'm off to help put in a garden this morning. This week, I'll post pics of my large raised garden and the one I've been working on with my sister-in-law. Hopefully they'll inspire you to grow your own!