My garden, including zuchetta rampicante

[wildeyed]

We are doing well this summer. Got a bit of a late start, but made up time quickly since it was a warm and rainy spring. Really hot now, and little rain, but I have been keeping up with watering chores, so everything is looking good.

Zuchetta rampicante that we were talking about in another thread. This is my all time favorite summer squash. It is an heirloom that is very vigorous and a huge producer. Don't plant it next to anything delicate or small, it will overrun. I put it in a bed with bush bean, figuring that they would be done by the time rampicante really got going and I could let it take over the rest of the bed. Also using a support to grow it on this year. In the past, I have let it sprawl too much. It is a plant that need some direction and discipline, but will reward you richly if you provide that and a few basics.



Here are my chickens on bug patrol.



Close-up of German Johnson tomatoes. Can't wait for those to ripen up. Yum!



Misc. bed of melons, squash and beans. Got all the melon and squash plants as a pass along from a neighbor who didn't plant them all, so they are a bit late and scrawny. Hopefully they will ripen in time for the end of theseason.

[bvar22]

1. Thats inspiring.

I see zuchetta rampicante in my future.

What kind of chicken is that with the Blue/Black body and Gold neck feathers?
She/He is beautiful.

[wildeyed]

2. Lisbeth is a black sex-link.

Prettier chicken than I was expecting. Should be a fantastic layer once she gets started.

[noamnety]

3. The squash looks great

The comment about overrunning the bush beans made me sad, though. I had radishes planted among my bush beans. I finally pulled most of the radishes a few days ago, thinking the beans were starting to blossom, I should clear out the bed for them, give them sun. When I was done, instead of the radish jungle with beans struggling for light, it was a tidy bed, beans all exposed.

I came out the next morning and something had broken into my garden and ate all the tops off the bean plants.

[hippywife]

4. Great pics!

Love your chickens! However do you keep them from eating the plants? Ours will eat anything green within their reach, so we had to ban them from the garden last year except end of season for clean-up duty.

Hope everything grows really well for you. :hi:

[wildeyed]

5. They are still young and not too disruptive to the garden plants.

I have to keep an eye on them. They like the pepper blossoms and the brand new asparagus I planted last month, but leave the other plants alone. I suspect that once they mature a bit more, they will need to be fenced out.

The garden has been doing well, but it is soooo hot here. Everything is wilty and sad looking by the end of the day, no matter how much I water. Hope it cools down and rains soon. :hi: