Harvesting Tomatoes and Watermelon

Last Tuesday I harvested 230 tomatoes. Thursday I squashed them into more than 3 gallons of tomato juice, and Friday I made and canned spaghetti sauce. I got 6 quart jars of spaghetti sauce total. And today there are a bunch more ripe tomatoes. Didn't get a chance to pick them yet though.

Today I harvested my first ripe watermelon. It was fourteen pounds and super delicious. I'm saving some seeds, though I'll have to do some research on whether watermelon can cross pollinate with zucchini or pumpkin, and whether the cantaloupes Ann grew are close enough to cross pollinate with my watermelon. I see 7 more watermelons out there. At least one looks ripe, with the curly tendrils turning brown. The others look like they need at least a little more time. Can't wait to eat more watermelon!

Peas and Spinach

About a third of the row of peas came up beautifully. The other 2/3 came up sporadically. Today, I planted peas in some of the gaps and spinach in others.

Why peas and spinach together? It seemed as good a place for the spinach as any (already tilled and all). Just now I checked to see if they're recommended companion plants, and it seems they are. The peas provide shade for the spinach. And I'd think the spinach might keep down weeds at the base of the peas. We'll see how they do together. If they do well, I may take to planting them together intentionally in the future, not just as an afterthought. :)

Harvesting Corn and Planting Peas

I got an excellent crop of corn this year. We harvested Seneca Snowshoe July 17-25 and froze a bunch on the 25th. Then we harvested the Argent from July 26-August 4 and froze the remainder on the 4th (yesterday). Snowshoe was ripe right on schedule, but Argent was earlier than expected and we finished harvesting later than we probably should have. Snowshoe was bug free and beautiful, and the earlier harvested Argent were likewise, but some of the last ones were kind of buggy. Overall, a wonderful success!

Same day I harvested the last of the corn and cut down the stalks, I also planted a bunch of peas. They should take around 63 days to mature, putting harvest time around the 6th of October... shortly before the first frost slated for (if I recall correctly) mid-October. On one hand I wonder if I'm too late and on the other I wonder if I'm too early. But it's a good experiment. :)

Squash Bugs

I have identified the pests that are attacking my zucchini and volunteer pumpkin plants. I've seen all the stages, but didn't realize they were all related. Here's some info about the evil Squash Bug:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/squashbug.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1208.html

Sadly, from what I've read, it seems the best defense may be a good offense. That is, I have to go out hunting and squashing. Yuck!