I'm sorry, I was mistaken

Well, it has been a few weeks again, and the garden has been growing out of control.  So have the weeds.  So are the ants.  And why do the ants only like the beans and their leaves and nothing else?  The tomatoes are right there - juicy and sweet.  I've got a little corn left, some peppers . . . no dice.  I am an ant and I only like to eat your beans.  Oh well.

So here is something new - we have melons!  No really, there are melons! We have been watering, but the skies have been pretty stingy, so I never thought we would ever get fruit.  Also, our luck with the monstrously large single sexed flowers zucchini plants just made me assume that we were going to have the sample problems with melons.  And I have no idea if you need cross pollination for melons or not.  Nevertheless, I am pretty excited now.

Where I came into error, however, is in the tomatoes.  I bought this heirloom plant, and I totally don't remember what variety it is.  So when the first fruits were turning yellowish, I was stoked that we would soon have some red ripe fruit.  I was prepared to beat away all birds and squirrels in their defense.  And strangely, they did not turn orange and then red but stayed yellow.  So I waited.  And I waited.  And then I thought perhaps I should pick them and bag them with some bananas to see what would happen.  And they stayed yellow.  So then my suspicions began to grow.  Should I taste one?  What if it is still green?  But after 2 weeks at yellow?  Hmmm.  I did slice one to put on a sandwich but ate a slice solo first.  Holy cow, it was delicious - mellow and super sweet with lots of juice.  Yay, I have some kind of heirloom yellow tomato that I don't remember and therefor won't be able to find it again for next year.  C'est la vie.  Oh well.
Enjoy the pics.

Long Time No See

Wow, it has been quite a while!  Between work and the heat, it has been hard to remember to come visit y'all.  So this is what has happened since we have parted. 

1.)  The corn produced.  Here is a pic of the kids with the first pick.  Since then, we have picked once more.
2.) We grew lots of beans.  Lots and lots of beans.  And then the ants ate lots and lots of beans and the plant leaves too.
3.) Eggplant success - both Japanese variety and Fairytale.
4.) More banana peppers. Of course, the one thing that we would eat the least of is what produces the most - naturally.
5.)  Sweet potato leaves go crazy. 3 or 4 harvests.  I am pretty sure we are getting more out of those plants as leaf bearers than whatever lies below the surface.
6.) And speaking of below the surface, the carrots are just okay and I have one green bell pepper.

There was one week that the garden produced enough food to cover a whole week!  That was pretty exciting.  To bad I was out of town the whole week after I picked it all and got to eat none of it.  Oh well.  I heard that the corn was super sweet and the beans super flavorful.
And today, I harvested a boat load more sweet potato leaves, some grape tomatoes and carrots - and 2 more ears of corn.  I have 3 more days at home, and will get to enjoy it all with the barbeque  this weekend.  Everyone have a great 4th of July weekend!