End of June Update

Taz testing "his" path

Our back yard garden continues to thrive. Taz is enjoying it as much as we are. Here he is walking along the  planter wall, a path he considers his right of way regardless of what might be planted there.

All the sunflower plants are in bloom, even the largest ones. They extend 4-5 feet above the top of the block wall now.

Curious hummingbird

John was surprised by a hummingbird as he was taking photos of the sunflowers. He managed to get this shot before the hummer zoomed away.

Each green bean plant is heavy with ripe green beans ready for picking. We are now giving them to the neighbors since we can't keep up!

Bowl of corn ready to cook

As well as the corn did, we noticed that recently the ears of corn were starting to get a little chewy. Suspecting that the triple-digit temperatures we're experiencing were a contributing factor, we decided to pick all the edible ears of corn and bring them in out of the heat.

This morning John went ahead and pulled up the corn stalks. He'll plant another crop of corn this fall once it's cooled down a little.

Mid-June

The corn is doing well. We hadn't expected the stalks to stop growing, but there are plenty of ears ready to be picked and eaten, even if some of them are rather small.

Earlier this week, we decided to pick two of the largest ears and also a bowlful of green beans. We cooked them up for dinner and they were very tasty.

Here's Taz exploring the back yard near the corn stalks.

John ordered some "cages" for the cherry tomato plants and they arrived this week. I helped him put them in place Thursday evening. The great thing about these cages is that they fold flat for storage.

Here's a closeup of the cherry tomatoes that are beginning to appear.

John captured this photo of me while I was photographing the sunflowers.

June Update

John standing beside the sunflower plants

In just two weeks' time, all the plants are continuing to thrive. (Well, except for those sugar snap peas that never really got going.) As you can see from the above photo, the tallest sunflowers are well above the block fence now and still growing, although they are yet to bloom.

Fortunately, some of the smaller sunflower plants, like this one, have started blooming.

And we were very surprised to discover that we somehow got a couple of red sunflower plants mixed in with the seeds John planted. Here's one that just bloomed. It's so dark that it almost looks black in the bright Arizona sunlight.

This yellow sunflower plant has multiple blooms, with new ones opening every day. The flowers seem to be of the smaller variety.

The bush beans are also doing very well, and we have several beans that appear to be full sized, like the one above.

Last night John decided to sample one green bean and one ear of corn to test their ripeness.

He reported that the green bean tasted as though it wasn't quite ripe enough. We'll let them grow a few days longer and then pick and cook a few of them.

Here's John holding the ear of corn right before he cooked it for several minutes in the microwave with a damp paper towel wrapped around it. We both tasted it and the verdict was that it was delicious!  As you can see, these ears may end up being a little small, but we'll have plenty of corn to eat in the next few weeks... as well as (hopefully) green beans!

Garden on Memorial Day

Here is a photo of John standing in his corn circle. I can hardly believe that the corn is  now taller than he is!

This closeup shows the corn silk. Yesterday afternoon we counted 50 potential ears of corn as indicated by these patches of silk which must be pollinated by the tassels atop each stalk of corn. It's been windy lately, so we're hoping that the pollination process has been successful.

The sunflowers are doing well too. The tallest ones have reached the top of the block wall.

On close inspection, we can see that several of the sunflowers, like this one, are beginning to show signs of the flowers forming.

The cherry tomatoes (foreground) are looking good too. John is trying to decide whether to stake them as they get taller, or let them grow over the edge of the planter.

We're also watching the bush beans carefully since we noticed the small white flowers that began blooming on each plant. Hopefully, we'll soon see signs of green beans forming.

Here is Taz showing off his sleek summer coat. He had a trim at Hot Dogs and Cool Cats this past Saturday.

May Update

I returned from my trip to find that John's garden had really taken off. Plants that were little more than tiny sprouts when I left are now really flourishing! Here is an overall view showing the corn (foreground), bush beans (middle) and sunflowers (against the wall).

As you can see, the corn on the north side of the ring is nearly twice as tall as that on the south side. The amount of sunshine should be the same for the entire circle, so we're not sure why this is happening, unless the north side is getting more water. John "weeded out" the smaller, less thriving corn plants while I was gone, so that the remaining plants had a better chance of growing to their optimum size.

This is a better view of the green beans (bush beans) taken from ground level.

And here is a view of the sunflowers, which are also growing extremely well. All that Arizona sunshine certainly helps!

John also planted some sugar snap peas (shown here). However, after this photo was taken, he began to notice that the leaves were showing signs of being eaten, so he will have to watch these extra carefully to discover what is finding them so tasty.

The cherry tomato plants, which were planted much later, seem to be off to a good start.

Bean Sprouts

Just two days later, there are dozens of beans sprouting and I'm beginning to think the beans are going to win the race against the sunflowers, since the sunflower sprouts are still about the same size that they were.

John bought more seeds today and he planted cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos this evening. He also got a packet of sugar snap peas which grow to five feet tall, and he's brainstorming what sort of trellis or support he'll need for them.

April 24th Update

After continued warm, sunny weather, all the plants are doing better than expected. The tallest corn is over six inches high, with the north side of the ring growing higher than the south side for some reason. It's going to be hard to decide which stalks will be pulled so that the rest have a better chance for optimum growth.

The sunflowers are already sprouting about a week earlier than expected. John planted several varieties which should grow higher toward the east side of the bed.

We even have one little bush bean sprouting up through the soil although I'm sure it will be joined by others this week.

Two Weeks After Planting

Here is a photo of the corn circle taken on April 17 showing all the sprouts. Not all of these sprouts will be allowed to grow to stalks. In a week or two, John will remove all but the most promising plants so that there will be plenty of room for them to grow.

Corn Circle

The beginning...

John's new garden project starts with a corn circle. He read that this is a very effective way to cross pollinate the corn when there is limited area for planting. After watching the pumpkins take over nearly the entire back yard last fall, it will be interesting to have a crop which grows up, not out. He planted the corn on April 2.

Ten days later (April 12) the corn is sprouting nicely, as seen here.