Another Garden Post, Maybe Too Soon (But I Just Can't Help It.)

We've had rain off and on this week and so, though I went out to pick green caterpillars off of my brassica plants, I was really impressed with the growth in one week, and had to take pictures.  I found 9 caterpillars, by the way, and I squished them.  I'm sure there are more and it's making me want to pull up all the plants and just be done with them.  Those stupid white moths, acting all sweet and innocent.

 

Salad, anyone?  The lettuce is growing beautifully.  So is the zucchini next to it, though I noticed that white mottling on a few leaves.  It doesn't look like powdery mildew to me, and it doesn't come off when rubbed, but I'm not sure.  I never had powdery mildew on my zucchini plants before, but I will probably spray them with chamomile tea, just in case.  

Look how big the tomatillo plant has gotten!  And it has beginning blossoms!

This is one, big, Granddaddy broccoli plant.  It's huge.

The Black Seeded Simpson lettuce has grown, and the red bell peppers have blossoms!

Here's a view of that second bed.  Since I know you all keep up with my garden in your mind's eye, right?

Here's the first bed.  The chard is growing faster than it's being eaten now, so that's good.  And that delphinium in the lower right hand square has really grown back.

Can you see progress?  This is bed 3.

 

I think the tomato plants have grown a lot!

And here's a cucumber plant, with new growth.

The watermelon plants are a little bigger, but they need more sun, so they'll have their day.

The peas have probably grown a foot.  No blossoms yet, though.

This is that yellow crook-necked squash plant that was a little wimpy and sad looking last time, remember?  It's doing very well settled into its new home.

And look how much my Eva's Purple Ball tomato plant has grown!  I'll be trellising it in no time!

Here are the other two cucumber varieties, growing slowly and steadily.

I included this photo as a "What NOT to do" tip.  Something was eating my basil.  I could never catch it in the act, so I wasn't sure, but I saw the droppings and figure it was some kind of caterpillar.  I put mason jars over my plants to shield them from the little mooches, thinking it would act as a greenhouse maybe, but it didn't.  It cooked them.  So, I'm out two basil plants and will have to replace them.  At least in the end, I took them out and not those insects, right?  Who's laughing now?  Wait. . .

My delphinium has grown even more with beautiful flower stalks!

Back to the first bed, here's the same view I took before of the cabbage plants. Despite the green caterpillars, I do think cabbage plants are beautiful.  And did you know that cold cabbage leaves are good for breast infections?  I was pleasantly surprised to be taught and tested on something so "natural" in nursing school.

Here's the other zucchini plant nestled in between cauliflower plants.

And here is my act of mercy for the day.  This first bed had my cherry tomato plants last summer and I've been pulling up volunteers by the dozens every day.  I decided to leave this one and see how it does, since the cauliflower and cabbage will be coming up soon, and I didn't plant any cherry tomatoes as of yet.  We'll give it a chance.  Give peas a chance?  No, give tomatoes a chance. (That was for you, Dad.)