What does your vegetable garden look like today?

[Meadowlark]

Not at all

Ok that makes me think about sunlight and water.... lack of seeds and dying could be indicative of insufficient sunlight. They require at least 8 hours of direct sun each day.

Lack of deep watering might also be a factor.

 

[Mike B.]

Ok that makes me think about sunlight and water.... lack of seeds and dying could be indicative of insufficient sunlight. They require at least 8 hours of direct sun each day.

Lack of deep watering might also be a factor.

They had plenty of both, I'm clueless as to why they died

 

[Meadowlark]

They had plenty of both, I'm clueless as to why they died

So am I... sure sounded to me like herbicide drift.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

They had plenty of both, I'm clueless as to why they died

Sometimes it's worth pulling up and seeing if the roots look normal, meadow voles have killed many a Japanese Maple for me

 

[gary350]

Too much rain has made our tomatoes split open and rot. I tried to pick tomatoes this morning and found 3 good mostly green tomatoes and about 100 spit open and rotting. Tomato plants look terrible but loaded with good green tomatoes. I found 1 large good Carman pepper and about 75 more not ready to pick yet. Looks like a 1000 cherry tomatoes split open and fallen to the ground. Plants are loaded with 3" green tomatoes and if rain stops we will have more good tomatoes. Tomatoes grave yard will be several 1000 seeds that grow next year.

 

[gary350]

A few more days we will have ripe melons. Green stripes on top are very dark green that is what I want. White stripes on top are slightly yellow. Bottom of melon is slightly yellow. Soon as bottom and stripes are very yellow melon is ripe. Some melons are not this easy to know when they are rip. Maybe 2 more days and this 1 melon might be ready to pick.

There was 13 melons but now 11 because 2 split open from too much rain. Everything looks good, size and color, its is nice to have 1 ripe melon about every 3 days for 2 months. I think these were planted about 2 months ago. I bought plants that were probably 2 weeks old. These are Crimson Sweet, I think they R a 75 day crop.

Next year I will plant, 40 garlic, 50 onions, 4 pepper plants, 4 tomato plants, 8 potato plants, all in one 30 ft row. Then I plant 19 rows of water melons including Sugar Babies.

 

[Gemma]

A few more days we will have ripe melons. Green stripes on top are very dark green that is what I want. White stripes on top are slightly yellow. Bottom of melon is slightly yellow. Soon as bottom and stripes are very yellow melon is ripe. Some melons are not this easy to know when they are rip. Maybe 2 more days and this 1 melon might be ready to pick.

There was 13 melons but now 11 because 2 split open from too much rain. Everything looks good, size and color, its is nice to have 1 ripe melon about every 3 days for 2 months. I think these were planted about 2 months ago. I bought plants that were probably 2 weeks old. These are Crimson Sweet, I think they R a 75 day crop.

Next year I will plant, 40 garlic, 50 onions, 4 pepper plants, 4 tomato plants, 8 potato plants, all in one 30 ft row. Then I plant 19 rows of water melons including Sugar Babies.

View attachment 116114View attachment 116115View attachment 116116View attachment 116117

I wish I had those watermelons, mine are still putting out the first blooms

 

[Gemma]

My garden had a slow start this year, but things are moving along, so far I harvested a cabbage that grew spontaneously very early (thank you higher power), lots of basil which I washed, dried and froze for the winter, some delicious Swiss Chard and some vine tomatoes.
I can't wait for my eggplants to mature so I can finally have eggplant parmigiana.
The rest of the veggies are coming along fine, except for my radicchio that disappeared one day

 

[gary350]

Today 52 of yesterdays green tomatoes are RED. I picked 6 bell peppers also. Corn looks like it might be ready to harvest within the next few days. I picked 1 ear and took a bite while standing in the garden. Kernels are sweet but small. Juice inside kernels look like milk.

Gemma, I bought melon plants about 4/1/2026 at the garden store. If I plant melon seeds in my garden they will not germinate until about 6/15/2026 when our weather is 95 degrees. 8 plants cost $5. Factory grown plants will be about 75 days ahead of my seeds because my seeds can't be planted for several more weeks.

 

[Ruderunner]

How's my garden looking? Smokey.

We're getting stuff blown in from Canada, about 1 mile visibility currently.

Otherwise, pickles are coming along nicely, going to make our first batches this weekend. Salad cukes are producing as well. Still no zucchini or tomato, they got started late. Peppers are enjoying our hot spell though, no fruits but the plants are taking off.

And the sunflowers are growing, all at least 4 feet tall and the leader is 7 foot. Only one flower but I expect several in the next week.

 

[DiggersJo]

The concept of "cukes" , along with "pickle and salad" difference is new to me and makes me wonder if the "cukes" couple of plants we grow are pickle or salad! In my younger days they were ridge (outside up North) or "normal" long salad type. I don't bother investigating these days and just search for what is recommended , marketmore I believe we have had the last few years. Ideal for us as I'm not that keen, but the kids eat them like sweets and their size makes them suitable (once I ensure all the spikes are off).

 

[Ruderunner]

Just like most other plants, there's different varieties that suit different purposes.

In cucumbers, there's salad and pickling varieties. Salad is good for salad, some recipes or just snacking. These typically have softer juicier flesh, minimal spikes and dark green skins. Usually grow to 8 inches long and 2 inches diameter.

Pickling varieties are good for pickling and canning. Firm flesh and less juicy. Plenty spikey and the skins are striated from dark green to almost white. The ideal size depends on your desire but typically 4 to 6 inches long, 1 to 2 in diameter. Pick them smaller for gherkins or let them get bigger. Usually a couple times a year we find one that's been hiding and won't easily fit in a quart Mason jar.

You can easily substitute a pickling into salad recipes but not the other way. Salad types don't process well and get mushy.

 

[okiedokie59]

Something is wrong then.

I have many sunflowers standing that were planted back in April...two days is totally bogus.

Depends on the sunflower, mammoth sunflowers are shortlived after flowering. The small wild stuff keeps on ticking. This one stood like this for about a week or so. Bumblebees loved it . Then it collapsed to dry.

 

[okiedokie59]

A few more days we will have ripe melons. Green stripes on top are very dark green that is what I want. White stripes on top are slightly yellow. Bottom of melon is slightly yellow. Soon as bottom and stripes are very yellow melon is ripe. Some melons are not this easy to know when they are rip. Maybe 2 more days and this 1 melon might be ready to pick.

There was 13 melons but now 11 because 2 split open from too much rain. Everything looks good, size and color, its is nice to have 1 ripe melon about every 3 days for 2 months. I think these were planted about 2 months ago. I bought plants that were probably 2 weeks old. These are Crimson Sweet, I think they R a 75 day crop.

Next year I will plant, 40 garlic, 50 onions, 4 pepper plants, 4 tomato plants, 8 potato plants, all in one 30 ft row. Then I plant 19 rows of water melons including Sugar Babies.

View attachment 116114View attachment 116115View attachment 116116View attachment 116117

Somebody likes water melon.
I've got 3 visable plants 1 sangria, 1 Charleston grey and 1 jubilee each with 2 or 3 melons. A couple more In the jungle unknown variety.

 

[okiedokie59]

The concept of "cukes" , along with "pickle and salad" difference is new to me and makes me wonder if the "cukes" couple of plants we grow are pickle or salad! In my younger days they were ridge (outside up North) or "normal" long salad type. I don't bother investigating these days and just search for what is recommended , marketmore I believe we have had the last few years. Ideal for us as I'm not that keen, but the kids eat them like sweets and their size makes them suitable (once I ensure all the spikes are off).

We don't eat alot of pickles, so pickling gets planted about every 3 years. 6 marketmores keeps the 2 of us in too many cukes. We give'em away and the chickens enjoy.