And It Keeps Growing and Growing and Growing--A Trailer Park Homestead update

I don't really have a theme for this week's Wednesday photo roundup, but I think next week's might be about all the space I'm wasting!  I know other people seem to think when they see these photos or the video tour that it is amazing how much I have growing in such a little space, but I tend to notice more about all the wasted potential that I'm just not going to get to this year (and since we haven't decided for sure what our plans are when our lease is up in October, that may mean I never get to it)!

This week has had both high points and low points.  One of the lowest points has been the super high temperatures!  If it wasn't so hot, I might be tempted to see about putting some of that wasted space to use for the fall garden, but with my vampire gardening, I'm limiting myself to the most essential tasks of watering, weeding, and harvesting as needed.

I haven't bothered harvesting things that just need cleaned out for the fall planting, since I'm sure seedlings would cook in these 90+ degree temperatures, so I'll wait until it is closer to when I want to plant to harvest.  I have broccoli, cabbage, and rutabaga started in seedling cups that I'm bringing into the house for the heat of the day so I don't get too far behind though.

No matter how much I water, some of my tomato plants refuse to be happy!  I'm watering pretty much daily, but these poor plants just can't seem to get enough.  Maybe I need to be watering these guys twice a day!

On the plus side, lots of things are getting near being harvested, like the cucumbers we are getting a few of daily (not pictured because my boys gobble them up as fast as we find them so far.  I keep hoping the cukes will outpace the kids though so I can have some for myself and maybe even start thinking about pickling some!).

Fortunately, not all the zucchini are afflicted with the problems I mentioned yesterday.  Right now, there are two out there that I could harvest, but haven't since I would want to bake them into muffins or make some zucchini casserole with them, both of which would require turning on the oven.  So I let them keep growing out there.  Both of those recipes work great with oversized zucchini, so I'm not worried about them getting too big.

I've noticed a few watermelons in a couple different places in the yard.  Here is the biggest so far, right out in the front of the house, but it is still pretty tiny, about the size of a baseball.  Soon...

The watermelon and cucumbers are starting to take over the front yard, which I definitely think give it a unique look.  I recently noticed that I accidentally planted a cucumber plant in with the cucumbers.  Oops.  At least it is on the side of the watermelon area closest to the cucumber area, so if the plants all get big enough, maybe they'd intermix anyway and no one would be able to tell anymore.

The ground cherries are starting to promise a good sized crop as well.  I sure hope I like them!  Even if I don't I'm sure I can get the kids to gobble them up.  And they are always willing to eat unusual fruit (like quince) in jam form, so I should be able to put some up that way too.

I had been all excited about my blue jade corn tassling and ears starting to form, but.....

now the (extremely tall) green dent corn is tassling as well, so I'm not sure that the seed from the blue jade will be good for saving.  I'm still planning on saving seed for my own use and hoping for the best, but maybe I should look more seriously into protecting the seed from cross-pollination and actually do something the right way and not just the way that seems handy and a good idea at the time, like I usually do when bumbling along on my Trailer Park Homestead!