the corn is sprouting!

I planted corn on June 13 (7 days ago), and today the first of the seedlings are poking up through the soil. The tallest is about 10mm high.

corn seedling 7 days after planting

Mexican sour gherkin

Just for fun, I'm trying a very different little fruit this year. I planted a tiny vine from the local nursery, and it seems to be growing well. This is called "sandita" in Mexico, or "Mexican sour gherkin" here is the US. The Linnaean name is Melothria scabra. These little fruits are supposed to grow to about the size of grapes. It's in the same family, Cucurbitaceae, as cucumbers and melons, and it's interesting to see how the climbing tendrils look very similar to those of other cucurbits.

Mexican sour gherkin - Sandita - Melothria scabra

Mexican sour gherkin - Sandita - Melothria scabra

watermelons getting bigger

The watermelon vine is spreading widely across the yard. The biggest melon is now about 10cm and has a nice dark green color. It's interesting to consider that the root system underground is probably spreading as widely.

watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

chard salad

Since the chard has been producing so well, I've been pondering various recipes. Chard sauté was fine, baked chard chips with olive oil and salt were good (but this was mostly a vehicle for yummy oil and salt), but the favorite was simply steaming the chard. Using a simple bamboo steamer, and for only a few minutes, the chard loses its bitterness. A neighbor taught me about adding a little lemon juice for extra flavor. Add some red pepper and tofu and you've got an amazing dinner.

chard in steamer

steaming chard

chard tofu salad with red peppers

first green tomatoes

Lately I've been reading more about local varieties of vegetables and how important it is to select the varieties that are known to do well in your area. I now have five different varieties of tomato plants growing, and interestingly, one variety already has fruit while the others are still only flowering. I have much to learn, and have started taking better notes in a gardening notebook. For example, one variety of tomato plant is already about 2 meters tall, but has very few flowers. Another variety is about a meter tall and already has green fruit. It will be interesting to see which eventually produces more, which takes up the most space, which tastes better, etc.

tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)

baby watermelons

This is my first year to try growing watermelon. So far it's going well, though the little melons are only about 1/2 inch long now.

tiny watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

roots of Swiss chard

I just finished reading Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon - great book. Among a wealth of other interesting facts, the author pointed out that Swiss chard and beets are different varieties of the same species. To understand this a little better, I pulled up one of the chard plants to look at the roots. Sure enough, those are beets down there. I tried eating one of the roots. It was sweet, but very tough.

root of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris)

root of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris)

drying Greek oregano

I pulled up the oregano to make room for more tomatoes and cucumbers. It smells great. One plant should be enough to supply us and neighbors for over a year.

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare hirtum)