update 8.23.15

Information on dividing irises here.

Beans are sprouting well.  We've had lots of rain but they didn't drown.  Something is eating them but they look as though they'll struggle along and be ok, but I'll keep an eye on them.

Okra is producing and I need to gather it every day or it gets woody.

Some of the sweet potato leaves are dying back and I'm not sure what that's about - I'm nowhere near ready to harvest them, but I'd better look at that.

The watermelon are doing fine and I am sure hoping that they produce.

I am solarizing spots in my yard to kill off the weeds and I'll work in aged horse manure and mulch (newspaper and pine needs).  It's still too hot for me to want to work outside in the heat of the day, and school has started and I'm getting busy, but bit by bit I'll stay on top of the garden chores.  

bush beans & update

The okra is producing well and I'm putting it in soup today.  There are one or two plants with lots of ants (right by an ant hill) which I knock off occasionally with a hose, though usually let them be.  There are a few at the other end with some bugs that look like assassin bugs, though they could be juvenile leafcutters. So long as I only see a few it's not a big deal, and I just flick them off to annoy them. 

The watermelon plants are blooming.

The sweet potatoes continue to grow and provide me with lots of greens for soups and such. 

Today I'll plant bush beans - Jade (from Botanical Interests).  I see now that's probably not an ideal type, but I'll give it a go.  I have three mounds that I'll plant them on - one was a tree, one was squash, and one I had prepped for squash but lost interest when they didn't do well.  I'll plant the beans there and also in one garden bed (where I currently have basil and nothing else). 

I'm keeping my deeper garden beds for root crops such as carrots and beets.  I plan to prep a few more rows using the now aged horse manure, to plant other winter crops such as cabbage and broccoli, chard and lettuce. 

I'm holding off on planting any more right now because I'll be out of town a good chunk of September and I'd rather not worry about having somebody water the garden then. 

When it cools off in the next few weeks, I want to get another load of horse manure to let age in order to build beds in the spring for summer crops.  Best to not plant crops in the same place every year, and all my soil needs to amended significantly. 

okra!

Saw the start of an okra flower this morning so went out this evening and there's an okra pod!

Just on one plant so far, but the others are growing fast.  Up to my waist.

Ten weeks to okra.  71 days. 

Sweet potatoes are doing great - I've been harvesting their leaves to eat. That's enough to make me happy even if I weren't going to get sweet potato roots. 

The original watermelon and zucchini just aren't doing anything so I pulled it.  The Bradford watermelon seems to be taking off so that's great.