All of the buttercup vines withered and died. The sweet dumpling plants look healthy but there are only a couple of squash. The summer squash was a near wash out - one yellow and 2 zucchini.

Starting to get nervous about what to do with them all. It looks like in about two weeks from now a ton will be ready to pick.

I noticed my neighbor’s squash plants died. They are next to green beans, which look great. The squash vines are all brown.

having a great year here in western NC...my first garden here after getting fried in Raleigh for decades!

Mine are turning a lovely shade of pink, but splitting from the shoulders down. I was expecting the color to be darker? So far, only two have been ripe enough to pick (I think), five more started to turn from green to pink today.

Glad to hear you are having a good year!

It has been nasty hot and humid here in northern VA, was thinking that might be what is wrong with our peppers. We broke the state record for consecutive days above 90 degrees last week. Ugh.

ripe or so and allowed to finish ripening on the kitchen counter. Less cracking, less tempting to critters. They also keep a bit longer...flavor is just as good. Also, many heirloom types (including Cherokee Purple) maintain some green on the shoulders (genetic trait).

they are doing great this year

but I do fertilize

I’m doing my own starts next year

All first Roma tomatoes end rotted.

Basil is having its happiest year ever. Pesto every day

that is due to a lack of calcium in the soil. Cheapest and easiest way to fix this for next year is to save up your egg shells. Put them in the blender with some water and pour it into the soil where you plant tomatoes.

*crossing fingers*

My rosemary is out of control! No one at work wants any more and I’m running out of cooking ideas, lol! I do love fresh rosemary snipped over tomatoes, so we should be in business soon, now that my tomatoes are ripening.

Loooove pesto! Every time I’ve tried to grow basil something goes wrong and it wilts up and dies. It’s been a long time, so maybe I’ll try again next year!

in a pot, got peppers, but some of them have rotten areas at the bottom ends. Maybe it's blossom end rot like tomatoes get from calcium deficiency, or it's a bug of some kind, I don't know. Also, coolapeno is not all that tasty--lacks the heat of a hot pepper, lacks the flavor of a sweet pepper. It's neither here nor there, and I won't grow it again.

It’s a good pepper year here in 5B Colorado. All of them, bell, Gypsy, jalapeño, shoshito, poblano, and Serrano.

Most, if not all pepper plants are for the most part self pollinating, but they still need agitation from wind or flying insects to do their thing.

If your plants are shielded from the wind, they might not be pollinating correctly. You can help them along by shaking the plants while they are blossoming.

enough sulfur in the soil.

them again. I've especially got one mystery variety that was mismarked at the farm stand and not what I thought I was getting. It's producing more peppers than I've ever had. I think it might be a Cubanelle pepper, but since the wrong tag was on it, I can't be sure. I'm using it like a regular green pepper anyway. I noticed I've got lots of bees in the garden this year and maybe that's the difference. Last year I planted bee balm and some other perennials around the garden and they've exploded this year and I guess that's the main attraction. We also have lots of zinnias and marigolds out there. We've had an especially hot summer, too, and I know peppers like that.

But I only have a single hot pepper plant. I’m not sure where in the country you are, but I know tomatoes and peppers don’t set fruit if it’s too hot and it’s been a hot summer.

Came home from work two days ago and...



Nothing but twigs left.

Came home from work last night and...



My twig plant finally has a blossom!

The cute bastards also got several of my almost ready to pick tomatoes.