Pumpkin Shoots

Two gardening posts in a row.  I'm in trouble.  But there's no point in posting the tuna salad I had for dinner, with a salad topped with pickled beets.  The next time I plan to cook is Tuesday, when I'm going to debone and roast the turkey that's been keeping my freezer cold during power outages for the past several months.  It is currently keeping my fridge around 34º as it slowly defrosts.  I'm not stuffing the turkey or anything.  I'm just so bad at carving turkeys that the 1-1/2 hours it's going to take to debone it will pay off in the yield.  If I carve it, about 25% of the meat ends up staying on the bones.  Good for soup, but I'm saving the bones for that anyway.  I'll probably separate the cooked meat into smaller packs and freeze them for use in casseroles.  Hopefully, I'll go through those before Fall and the next turkey on sale.

Anyway, the pumpkins have broken the surface.  I have at least two in every spot except the one it's sharing with the cantaloupe.  That one (hill #4) is the only one that does not look very strong and healthy.  Seriously, the spot that gets the most water is the one that fails?

I finally have a cantaloupe!  Well, it's the size of a gum ball, but it is definitely growing.  Right now, the stem is thickening and it has developed a fuzzy protective shell.  It should start to grow any day now.  Just a month after I was expecting it.  The rest of the plant has also grown stronger, even if the leaves aren't any bigger.  I guess that's just how big they're supposed to be.  I don't want to over-fertilize if some of the pumpkin seeds in that spot decide to catch on.

And the cucumber is looking very productive in its pot and up the chicken wire.  Now some of the girl flowers just have to turn into actual cucumbers.  I don't have nearly as many bees visiting my back yard as in the front.  Maybe I need to get out the Q-Tips and help things along.