The end...?

Happy Halloween!

I made this jack-o-lantern from my first pumpkin from the garden!

This is the last post of the gardening season. I dismantled my garden box and pulled out the plants. I will be back next spring, I may post a few seasonal photos of the park during the winter... keeping an eye on the spring flooding!

See you in the Spring!
comicbooklady

bonanza!

Isn't this great?! I harvested 4 of my pumpkins, I thought I should do it before they are stolen! One of my pumpkins was half eaten on the vine, so I threw it into the compost, but I did find two more green ones...so hopefully they will survive. I figure that's not bad for the 2 seeds I planted! I thought I should take the eggplant and another zuchinni! So it is ratatouille tonight!

And on the pumpkin theme I found this Pumpkin Ale from the Great Lakes Brewing Company at the LCBO. Can't wait to try it... I thought I better buy it when I see it, because with these local breweries you see them once and then never again in the liquor store...I tried a nice beer from Railway City Brewery in St Thomas, ON called Spike Amber....mmm good beer, never to be seen again at the Liquor store...not fair.

Pumpkin's Progress

I keep checking and I still have 5 pumpkins growing in my plot. 2 of them are starting to turn orange!

Well, the beans are done, the peas are done, all that is left in my garden is pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant and some basil. I picked a zucchini for dinner tonight and I was invited to pick the corn in the children's garden! We had that for dinner as well, was it ever delicious!!

Hatching an Eggplant!

From flower to fruit:

Cool Pics!

Last weekend at the garden I got lots of great flower pics! The bees were lovin' it!

The plot next to mine has some lovely Cosmos!


These are happy sunflowers!

OH! and a real flower on my eggplant! I spotted at least 3 flowers in bloom, could actual fruit be far behind?

And the best for last, these are two of my entries into the First Annual Green Thumb Shutterbug Photo contest. I won 2 gift certificates for VanHorik's Greenhouse!

This was chosen in the Wild Side category (Common Burdock):

and this was chosen in the Bountiful Harvest category:

I didn't plant this cabbage, I saw this cabbage in Nik's garden, "beautiful plumage" wouldn't you say?!

RIP Tomato Plants...

How sad and pathetic is this?

To the landfill to help old computers, tv's, vcr players, 8 track players, etc decompose...

All that is left are these 2 markers...not so "Bonnie" after all...:(

More on the blight

Well it appears this Late Blight is very widespread and is taking out farmers' crops as well. The green tomatoes that had no spots, that I took home, are now getting brown spots on them and they are not turning red at all. Some research has shown that this year's blight has come from varieties sold at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. I bought my tomato plants from Home Depot. Next year I am going to raise my plants from seeds.

Check out this New York Times article here and another article from Pennsylvania here.

I guess I will be ripping out my tomato plants. sigh.

Blight!

I think this is what they call "blight", at least that's what I would call blight :( I've cut off about 5 tomatoes that are turning brown. I cut off some green tomatoes and brought them home to see if they will turn red, before they too start to turn brown. I am so sad.

On a happier note, I did harvest some carrots! Not bad I think, some were still small, but you can't tell until you pick them.

Size matters!

OK these were just funny looking!

And my pumpkin continues to grow. :)

It's going to be the Great Pumpkin!

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." ......Linus, from It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

It's not Sassafras!

OMG! What are these huge plants growing along the river, they are over 6 feet tall and have these unusual large 3 lobed leaves? I am searching all my field guides and the only 3 lobed plant I could find was Sassafras, I thought cool!

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!it's Giant Ragweed!!!!!!!!

I've managed somehow to outgrow almost all of my childhood allergies except hayfever! Great. I can't wait for them to flower! ugh.

Pumkin plants are taking over!

My gosh! My 2 little pumpkin plants are taking over my garden! They are huge! The photo above was from last week and it is even bigger now! Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time trying to trim it back...it is creeping into the neighbouring plot and over running my beans! Lots of flowers and buds on it though. Here is a photo of one of the flowers below, if you look carefully there is a bee in there too on the left side of the stamen (?)

Someone's corn has grown taller than me! The rumour in the garden is that it is decorative corn not edible corn.

my small harvest last week, yesterday I had 6 beans. obviously my onions and carrots are not ready yet, but the tomatoes, beans, and cukes are crowding out the onions and carrots. I have to say my beans are a mess! I had to cut out a pumpkin tendril out of them too. I have learned many lessons for next year! radishes, onions, carrots are getting their own box next year.

aha! I managed to catch this American goldfinch clinging upside down on this beet(?) plant. I see them all the time down at the garden but they do not stay still for long!

June 7 to July 18

I've shown the progress of other people's garden, so I thought I would show you how far I've come since June 7!

June 20
July 18

Here is a flower on my eggplant!

BBQ and Photo Contest!!!

The London Community Resource Centre is having their annual picnic on Aug 15, 2009
at Gibbon's Park starting at 1PM. So all you plot holders are invited!

Also they are having their 1st Annual Green Thumb Shutterbug Community Photo Contest! How cool is that?! Details of the contest can be found on the LCRC website. There are four categories in which to enter:
Down and Dirty- images of people working in their gardens
The Wild Side- images of nature, insects, animals, natural beauty in and around the garden
Camaraderie- images of people, friends and families enjoying their garden plots
Bountiful Harvest- How green is your garden, how does your garden grow, images of the pride and joy that is your garden

Contest runs from July 13 to August 15.

Free Fruit?

This tree is dripping with berries! I am not sure what kind it is and if anyone knows, just leave a comment below! I don't know if it is edible. Marco has shown me where to find the Mulberries, and they are edible, though! but watch out purple fingers! Spent time in the garden with Jennifer, Mike and Keely this morning and boy the radishes are good! Lots of purple finches today and American Goldfinches, can't get close enough to take a photo and my zoom is not good enough.

Somebody's broccoli is ready! Note to self broccoli takes up a lot of room! It spans almost 2 feet and is over 2 feet high! Monster plants!

Thorny Thistles among the thorny Black Locust sprouts. Watch your fingers! I really love the way they've let these patches of native plants grow along the fence of the Prevost.

And finally, another before and after photo...I don't know whose garden this is but it has an angel watching over it :) this photo taken June 6:

And this taken a month later, July 7, just from a different angle:


A lady in walking her dog in the park commented to us that she feels a lot safer in the park with the garden here, she says there is always someone busy in the garden when she walks her dog.

On a sadder note, the reports of thievery is on the increase, ornaments are being taken from gardens, plants are being trod on, and tools are being taken. I know it is a pain, but try not to leave anything you don't want stolen there....It's such a shame.

Lots of rain makes for a green garden!

Someone has planted corn! They look great! I hope it is not too wet for them.

I thought this was a neat idea. Someone used some very twiggy branches to keep the creatures away, from...I think it is cucumber....

Ok so now my carrots tops are looking more like carrot tops...and actually they are bigger now, the photo is at least a week old, growing some great marigolds, though :P...I have been still harvesting radishes, growing to like eating them too!

Check out those tomatoes, eh?!


last count 6! removed a caterpiller from the leaf...gotta keep an eye on that.

20 Days

This post is for Liliana and Marco. The first photo was taken of their plot on June 6 and the 2nd photo was taken on June 26. What progress!! One zucchini has already been harvested!

My First!