Bean problems

Some of the beans are having problems.  There's definite discoloration in the leaves.  It's very possible that it's due to all the rain we've had lately, just as the tomatoes are suffering.  It could also be a nutrient deficiency.  I need to read about this.

I've also noticed that there's a distinct lack of flowers on both the scarlet runners and the pole beans.  It's easy to see where the flowers should be, but aren't.

I've found a lot of flowers on the ground and on the Adirondack chair.  Considering we have had a fair amount of tree limbs down in the area, my guess is that this is from the wind and rain.  There are also darker-colored flowers on the ground next to the chair indicating that this has happened on multiple occasions.

What I don't know is if this will have any long-term effect on bean development.

Plot progress - Melons, okra, cucumbers, beans

After a lot of rain last night, I decided to see how the garden stood up.

Some of the tomatoes aren't especially happy with all the water they've received lately.

We have our first baby okra.

The first melon is growing nicely and is now accompanied by a half dozen siblings.

It's too early to tell for sure, but we may also have our first baby cucumber.

I picked quite a bit of decent-sized kale and a ton of beans.

Plot Progress - new veggies, bean plantings

Another day, more watering.

Upon our return, I made it back to the plot to water and apply dust.  I was also happy to see that the garden has been growing in my absence. 

We now have baby peppers!

The baby beans have also grown quite a bit over the last few days.

I turned over the two garlic boxes and planted new beans in there.

The cucumbers have grown quite a bit over the last few days.

The best bit of news, though, is that we have a baby melon on the vine!  Extraordinary!

There are many pretty flowers in the plot

There are many pretty flowers out in the plot this year.  Borage, Cosmos, and even a unknown blue flower that I added in a mixed flower bed.  That's not including the bean flowers or marigolds.

Plot progress - new beans, cucumbers, watermelons

We made it out to the plot today to water and check on progress prior to heading out of town for the weekend.

I'm happy to see that the new box of beans that I planted are growing nicely.

The runner beans are all growing rapidly and have even reached the far end of the arbor.

The cucumbers and watermelons are all around 2' tall.

The tomatoes appear to want to begin ripening.

Our first raspberries!

I got home from work today to have The Boy meet me at the door and proudly show me that our first raspberries are about ready for picking.  I'd been watching them slowly get a bit of a blush on them, but the two berries he found had been hidden behind some leaves.  I'm going to give them one more day, but tomorrow we'll each have a berry.

I think this is pretty exciting.  Since we started our gardening a few years ago, I've always wanted to grow fruit.  That's why I tried the ground cherry experiment last year and strawberries in the first plot back in 2009.  To have a potted raspberry plant on our front porch seems somehow extravagant.

I'll see if I can transplant a few of the runners into another pot to double our yield next year.  Need to research when is the best time of year to do that, though.

And the plants, they are agrowin'

Bob Dylan references aside, it's getting to the most fun part of gardening: picking time!

I made it to the plot today for an hour to apply bug dust (we had a lot of rain last night) and reroute bean runners.  Also, the runner bean tendrils have stretched 3/4 of the way across the arbor.  Still trying to engineer their expansion to provide some decent shade under the arbor.  Most notably we have a few tiny runner beans on the vine!  They're approx 1" long, but are a great start.

I turned over the southern-most shallot box and planted a new crop of beans in there.  Once the garlic is all harvested from their two beds, I'll do the same with them.  Also worth noting is that we've had green bean flowers for about a week.  I finally managed a good picture, too.

I was happy to see that the watermelons are growing up their trellis nicely.  I still think it's too early to see if their predator has come out of the ground, yet.  I'll be watching the ground under/inside their collars for indications of activity.

Nearby, the cucumbers are also growing.  It's exciting to see a bunch of flowers on them, too!  I didn't see any cucumber flowers last year until late August or so.  Perhaps I did the right thing by planting them earlier this year.

I turned over the other shallot box, too, and planted a second patch of tomatoes in their place.

The older tomato plants are generally looking well, too.  That's somewhat surprising considering we've had bouts of heavy rain and wind a few times in the last month.  Although I prefer the San Marzanos, Old Virginia tomatoes are also growing nicely.  These are about 1.5" across.