more gardening

Mr. Fuzzy laboured in the large garden nearly all of Monday and Tuesday; re-tilled it entirely (the weed regeneration was spectacular), set out seedlings and planted seeds. He was struggling to beat the forecast rain on Tuesday, which would have defeated tilling, and would aid and abet the seeds/seedlings. The much forecast rain arrived in a timely manner - yielding almost precisely one inch of ground softening water.

The 'Quickie' corn which was planted last week is well up. Territorial Seed says about it: "64 days. Sweet corn season can't come soon enough for many of us. Just the thought of that first, crisp bite of summer's fragrant, crunchy, succulent corn-on-the-cob can make your mouth water. Fortunately, we've discovered Quickie, an exquisite, extra sweet and tasty variety that's possibly the earliest sugar enhanced corn that we have grown. The 7 1/2 inch ears are packed with glowing, bicolor kernels that burst with creamy, luscious goodness. Plants grow 4 1/2 feet tall." Mr. Fuzzy has never seen a corn plant just out of the ground with so many leaves.

Next to the corn is a patch of Patty-Pan squash, something which is supposed to flourish here in Floyd County.

Set into the ground were two types of pickling cucumbers, "Edmundson" and "Alibi." About the latter, Territorial Seeds says "50 days. You can expect Alibi to be a very dependable producer. It rated near the top in trials for yield and disease resistance. Alibi loads-up heavy with 3 inch long cucumbers that have excellent fresh eating qualities, in addition to desirable brining characteristic."

 Mr. Fuzzy has chosen to try a number of kinds of sweet peppers this year. The Royal Black description was just too enticing to pass up: "88 days. (purple > red with purple-black stripes) Tasty, hot, and elegant. [Introduced in 1995 by SESE. Original seed sent by Carolyn Male.] 'Royal Black' makes a beautiful backdrop for a bed of flowers. For culinary use, the red fruits make a convincing and long lasting impression on the palate - definitely on the dark side of the "Force"! We use the fruits (both purple and red) in colorful hot vinegars. The foliage and stems are dark-purple, almost black with an occasional variegated growing tip of green, purple, and creamy white. The undersides of the leaves are green with purple venation. The red fruits add a further accent, appearing like crown jewels on a botanical tapestry of deep purple. Bullet-shaped fruits measuring 1/2" wide by 1-1/4" high, are borne upright on 3 foot well-branched plants, Foliage has an oriental quality." Certainly the leaves are unusual for a pepper.


Among the Vidalia onions that were planted as sets about a month ago, are appearing numerous volunteer sunflowers from the patch that was there last year. They required thinning to not choke out the onions but for their beauty many were left in place.