A Not-So-Slow Summer

I swear I'm still alive.

Sorry for the lack of posts. There just hasn't been much to write about. That doesn't mean however that we are sitting on our hands. We are busy as bees in our home and garden! We're just stuck between planting and harvesting. And, let's be honest, I can only write so much about plants growing. It would also be a disservice to myself and you to write a post that's forced.

With that being said, I'm blown away by some of our plants this year. Ever since we started gardening, I've dreamed of having a pumpkin patch. I love cooking with pie pumpkin and it's ever so good for you! So this year I planted three little pumpkin seeds on top of what used to be a tree stump just a few short weeks ago. Since this is my first year working with seeds, I doubted I would get any pumpkins. My lil' seeds made it through and that old dry hill became alive with gorgeous big leaves and vines.

Since it's only a few weeks old, we tried our best to trim off any early blooms. You should do this with about any young fruiting plant. That allows it to focus on growing instead of producing fruit. The other morning we realized me missed a bloom. And by bloom I mean a flower that's about five inches across!

You can see the little sweat bee on the left side of the bloom.

Another plant that exploded is our Nasturtiums. It's a flowering plant with very unique leaves. During my research about companion planting, I found a few articles that suggested growing Nasturtiums around pumpkins, squash, and zucchini. It apparently helps keep squash beetles at bay. Since we have all three of those plants in our yard, I figured we'd try it. Once again, I planted a few seeds in a pot, and within a few weeks they were ready to be transplanted!

Nasturtiums chillin'  with pumpkins

 Our current success is all thanks to the great weather we are getting this year. We had a mild spring that delayed growth, but we now have hot, yet wet, summer days. We can't wait for the harvest season!