Snake Gourds in the Garden

Cleaned gourds look like this but cost more, so why not clean your own?

This morning I fought the urge to go on Facebook and went straight out to the yard instead, so  I could do things before the sun got brutal. I cleaned all my jewelry gourds and some of my mini gourds that I got from the Welburn Gourd Farm. I just soak them in a bucket of water for a few minutes, then scrub the dirt, mold and skin off with a pot scrubber. I have more to do but my hands needed a rest.

Then I went to water my snake gourds, which are spectacular this year. Only the aphids are suddenly a huge threat. I cut off a dozen leaves that were beyond repair. Then I sprayed the rest with a mixture of peppermint oil and water to make the leaves less appealing. I'm not entirely sure that will work but I know ants hate it, and ants farm aphids. So yeah. Aphids. Sad face.

I'd about given up on the peppers, but I guess the fertilizer kicked in because they are covered in flowers again. I may get some more before frost. And I have a few tomatoes coming on as well, in spite of tomato worms that went crazy on them. My boyfriend was removing gypsum weed from my neighbor's yard and found those were covered in tomato worms as well, so if you have some of that in your yard, you might want to get rid of it.

Someone gave us more pallets so my dream of raised beds should come true for next spring's garden.

Jewelry Gourds look like this before cleaning.

Welburn Gourd Farm 2013

Big kettle gourd waiting for a new home.

I'll have a bumper crop of snake gourds this year. You can see where the rabbits nibbled on the leaves.

Snake gourds will turn brown in the fall.

This could be a quiver.

My only surviving Mammoth Sunflower.

This sunflower grew 3 feet while was on vacation!

A covey of quail just arrived to eat up the seed I put out when I watered this morning. There must be 20 of them. No rabbits lately though. I wonder where they all went?