GardenTalk

Farmstand Pumpkin with Neighbor Puppy

 This is a shot from last year with a healthy looking farmstand pumpkin. My pumpkin is about this size but as cute as this neighbor pup is, I wouldn't be happy to have my stem chewed! My pumpkin is going in a trophy case!

The Pumpkin Is Growing, But Will That Continue?

The pumpkin vine snakes a dozen feet back from the pumpkin and at the other end it looks like it has rotted and separated from the rotted-out root. That may mean time to pick this pumpkin! 

Just in case there is still hope of more growth, there is now some fancy dirt on the severed place. The color is truly great:.Bright orange and reddish.

Remember the size of this pumpkin in August? 

From bowling bowl to basketball, from dull yellow to burnt orange. Many thanks to the golden New Jersey sun and the bountiful rain.

But, what's this? A blossom on another long, streched branch of the pumpkin vine has started to turn into a baby gourd. Now that we've spotted another future Halloween pumpkin, we will be checking back in the backyard with high hopes.

Pumpkin Patch -- Countdown To Harvest

The pumpkin vine started in a cup-size container and kept growing after we transplanted it in the backyard. The orange blossoms started a few weeks ago. Several blooms peek through the plate-size green leaves. In the place of one blossom, we now have a pumpkin. As July ended, the color matched the midday sun, the size will not get us into the record books, but our pumpkin is starting to take on very distinct pumpkin characteristics.

More rain today keeps us indoors, but should propel more pumpkin growth. We can watch from our window, hope for more of a harvest, and look forward to a homegrown Halloween celebration.

Tomatoes and Potatoes

Just when thought I could stand back and admire my tomatoes ripening on the vine I read this in The Times about a fungus called late blight.  

How Can I Prune My Huge Magnolia Tree?

Our NJ home has an enormous Magnolia tree just south of our house. The tree has been pruned poorly and branches are wrapped around each other and up tickling my gutters. All my on-line reading tells me that the time to prune Magnolia Trees is never.

Stay fit in the garden, save fuel on the road

Working in the garden means fresh dirt, fresh air and often a good workout. Energy Matters explains that a good workout means staying fit and that means getting better fuel efficiency. Why? Every extra 100 pounds in a vehicle reduces fuel efficiency by one mile a gallon.

Sun power and pollution

A garden turns solar power into blossoms. Solar panels can turn that power into electricity, but Energy Matters warns that it is important to research how those panels are made, too.

One more week

One week until Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Edible Gaden for your Front Lawn

This video might inspire  you to dig up your lawn and plant a more environmentally friendly edible garden.Treehugger.com once again gives us information and tips for keeping our world safe and clean. H.C. Flores gives detailed information on growing an edible garden in the book. Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden And Your Neighborhood into a Community. You grow girl reviews Ken Ferns book Plants For A Future: Edible & Useful Plants For A Healthier World. Here is a site full of more reading on edible gardens.

How does your luck grow?

We have patches of clover, but what do we do if we want to make sure we have a carpet of four-leaf clover? Is it possible?