July Garden Update {Almost Time to Transition!}

Hey guys! I'm excited to once again jump in on the fun Garden Journal Challenge with @simplymike and the crew! From a quick peek around, I think we might be in a bit of the same boat as some other summer folks in that our garden has been hit pretty hard by the heat this past month. Though that is really no surprise living in the southern part of the United States! Luckily we had a pretty decent season, and now we're trying to get on top of starting to transition to getting things ready for the Fall!

We actually had some glorious weather this past week, so I enjoyed getting out for a run early the other morning before coming back to snap some shots for my garden update. These flowers aren't technically in the garden, but they looked too pretty not to share! It is rare to get a morning in July where the mosquitoes are still, however the bees seemed to be quite pleased to be out in the garden. I only had my phone with me outside, so unfortunately my photos aren't too great. You should be able to still see a little bee butt peeking out from the flower and the other one on the stick. 🐝

A lot of the plants started getting hit by worms and just wilted in the relentless heat, so @dksart recently started pulling up the ones that looked pretty rough to clear out some room for the next planting. Some of the squash seems to be bouncing back a bit, though. A few of the plants might have gotten a little out of control...

...but it must not be doing too badly as there is another butternut squash growing on the end!

The cucumbers and squash were definitely the best growers of the season. We got a few little butternuts and spaghetti squash, a decent haul of acorn squash, and more cucumbers than I could count. Oh, and two lone zucchini. One of these days @dksart will share the quick pickle video he made using some of the bounty. The cucumbers are pretty much done, but besides the butternut, there are a few other acorn and spaghetti squashes popping up again so hopefully the worms will leave them alone!

The cherry tomatoes have done alright. We still have some of those growing. The only problem with those is that you end up getting a few at a time, not many all at once to really make a meal out of. Good thing they make a great snack. The larger tomatoes have done just ok, but never seem to ripen on the vine for us. A few of them have ripened up after plucking them once I set them next to the bananas for a couple of days, and if not we have put the green ones in some different dishes.

We did finally pull back some of the maniac mint that was taking over one side of the garden. So far I have made blended up mint ice cubes to use in smoothies and we are drying a whole big bunch of it for tea. I also like grinding up some of the dried mint to use in salad dressings or other recipes, as well. It can definitely take a while to work through it all, but it's worth it to try to utilize as much of it as we can. This photo was only halfway through the process, but he has since cleared out the whole rest of the pavers.

The oregano is still holding up well, but the dill and parsley ran its course. The basil and cilantro (coriander) that we tried planting never took, so it's about time to try a new round of herbs. We have some new seedlings started in potting soil and recycled beer cans. @dksart was smart this time and took a photo of what he planted, though he hasn't shared it with me yet so I couldn't tell you! He's outside right now working away some more while I type this up. 😉

At least in the garden lull the farmers market is still going full force! Many of the farmers are starting to transition their plants, as well, but they still have plenty of the summer goodness. The melons are really coming in, so we grabbed another one today. I also got a basket of fresh figs! I'm excited to have my next nutrition event coming up a week from today to talk once again about seasonal, plant-based eating. It makes it even more fun to share about the more I learn about growing food and appreciate how much work goes into it!

UPDATE: We just found 4-5 melons growing in our own garden! Wahoo! Glad he called me out there to see. Though I'm too close to finishing this post to take more pictures, plus they are pretty small so far. Fingers crossed we get a few that actually grow enough to enjoy!

Happy growing my gardening friends!

Banners by @zord189, @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa