We’re a few weeks into the monsoon season, but that doesn’t mean we’re free of heat waves. Highs of a hundred degrees or more are back with a vengeance this week, and the squash plants are feeling it. Hang in there, guys, this too shall pass.
Reacquainting /
Returning /
After a few fabulous days with friends in Colorado, I’m homeward bound this evening. Can’t wait to see how far my baby melon has come while I was away.
Arriving /
Goodbye garden, hello Denver!
Departing /
Summer means traveling out of state to visit friends and family over the next couple weeks! And that means leaving my garden for days at a time. Lucky for me and our family of plants, they’ll be in good watering hands each time I’m away. Farewell, little ones! Fare well!
Diverging /
There are two pumpkins growing side by side in the garden now... I think. Actually, I don’t know what they are anymore. Let’s play it safe and say there are two cucurbits growing side by side.
Both fruits are on the pumpkin plants, so they’re definitely siblings. They share a pumpkin mother. They started out looking identical, but as they’ve grown their shapes and textures have diverged so significantly that it’s become clear those maternal pumpkin blossoms were pollinated by bees fresh off blossoms of different plants. They’re half-siblings, then: they have different absentee fathers.
One looks more like its dad could’ve been a blossom from my nearby cushaw plant, or maybe the squash my neighbors are growing—butternut, perhaps. The other looks more like it’s pure pumpkin. Who knows how big they’ll each get, what shape they’ll take, what colors they’ll ripen to! This is the sort of accidental hybridization I’d try to avoid if I were hoping to grow a single uniform crop or preserve a specific variety of seeds for next year. As it is, I’m happy to let nature get a little promiscuous and see what comes of it.
Emerging /
Well, that tangle of squash plants is determined to take over the world, and the race is on. In comparison, the garden’s sole melon plant seems so timid and delicate. Different natures, I suppose. While the squash is pouring all its energy into exploratory vines, the melon is quietly at work setting its first fruit, and in that sense already a big step ahead. Look at those tiny little flowers, and the tiny little melon that emerged over the weekend!
Escaping /
Once you’ve reached far enough and grasped hard enough, no simple garden fence can keep you in. The world is yours for the taking.
Grasping /
If you keep reaching longer and farther, eventually you may just make contact...
Reaching /
I guess the only thing to do when you’re crowded out is to keep reaching further into the void.