Saturday, July 31, 2010

Watermelon Schwatermelon

I've given up on watermelons. For this year anyway. My southside garden receives too much sun for the poor things. That, and the rainspells caused them all to split on the vine. Same reason tomatoes split - too much heat followed by a deep watering causes the fruit to expand suddenly and split. Thing is, green tomatoes are edible, unripe watermelon is not. I couldn't leave them on the vines to putrefy, so I fed them to the birds. This happened one too many times and I pulled up the darn thing instead of wasting more water on it. Shame really. My vines were really healthy and were loaded with young watermelons.

There's a lesson here though. A north or east location would be more ideal for next year's vine. I'll let you know how that goes.

In other news, rabbits roam my garden at night, devoring sweet potato vines and bell pepper bushes. AND they've even eaten all the leaves off a potted croton plant in front. How dare they!?! At least they're also fertilizing my garden while they're at it. How's that for a mutually symbiotic relationship?

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Master Gardening School 2010

So, the mighty Auburn University thought they could escape me and my incessant quest for an answer to my rosebush dead stem dilemma. Well, think again AU! I've registered for their annual Master Gardening School workshop next month and plan to take my question and samples and present them to any willing (and unwilling) ear. Don't you just love a determined mama?

I should mention that sometime in May I became an official 'unofficial member of the Pike County Master Gardeners Association'. Try saying that fast three times. What it means is that I attend the monthly meetings and have the option of volunteering hours with their various gardening projects, without paying the annual dues. I don't get a say and that really doesn't bother me. For now anyway. I was inducted (can I use that term if I'm unofficial?) by a local gardener whom I really respect, because I have an insatiable appetite for learning all I can about gardening. And the free plants after each meeting aren't bad either.

So here's to progress and answers and sticking it to AU. Cheers.