July Status of Lower South SFGs

How are those lower south gardens looking as of the first of July? Anyone have pictures to post? Stories to tell? Do share.

Here it is July !! I have success with the gray zucchini, the butternut are prolific, yet to harvest one that is ripe though, corn has silks, yellow tomatoes have been giving to us for some time now. I have a few unknown heirloom tomatoes, they are doing well, with one being really productive, I have harvested a few creole tomatoes to let ripen in the sun, they are splitting and the big boys look the same around the top with what looks like splits that have healed.The carrots are growing I have very few though, the radishes were a flop but a good "trap" plant so I left them to have leaves to let me know what is eating anything next to the honey dew that has a few fruit on it as well. I love the herbs, they are bushes, I have a few varieties of basil in there. When I cut the blooms off the lemon basil yesterday, (it was no small feat I let it go too long) my husband could smell it walking up to the garden, I love aromatherapy !!! Cayenne peppers are full I am so happy. Yellow and orange bells with fruit on them, and unknown pepper plants with fruit starting. Green Zebra tomatoes too !

Green Zebra


Unknown Heirloom Tomato


Thai Basil




Tomato and Pepper Bed, One Acorn Squash far right corner


Herb bed with tomatoes plants and a couple of okra



Corn, blue and russet potato, an acorn squash, a straight neck yellow squash, and two butternut squash on the left, its going crazy


Corn Silks


Butternut, there are quite a few and new ones each day


Butternut covering the blue potatoes and the russets, you cant see those at all really


One of my garden helper, the worm getters, see behind him to the left is the honey dew melons and then some scarlet runner beans and some bush beans under it all (long story) lolol


Honey Dew


Gray Zucchini


Cayenne Pepper



Thanks for letting me share!! I have had a good time, we are getting those icky worms daily plucked off and taken to the chickens. I do like BT :-D

I have way more this year with SFG then I did any other year I rowed gardened the last 3
Im a happy camper :-D
Ha-v-v

Looks great Ha-v-v. Glad someone is doing well with their sfg. I've pretty much written mine off for the year and as of now have no plans to plant a fall garden. The mold, blight, mites, cucumber beetles, squash vine borers, birds and bunnies (I have a hare living in the backyard) combined with the heat and what seems to be a nutrient deficient mel's mix have done me in. Of the 12 tomato plants I had on May 1 only 2 are still alive and none are producing much. I lost all my cukes, zukes, and summer squash to vine borers. My peas haven't done much on anything. I'll be testing my soil this week as I'm convinced something is not right
with my Mel's Mix. Will post the results when I have them.

Oh man Tim, Im so sorry. I know how much time and effort goes into our projects. I had issues with blight as well and decided to spray for blight, the few years I row gardened I didnt get but one or two tomatoes due to what I know now is blight. I spray after it rains. It seems to be doing the trick, but I have to be diligent and cut off any offending branches. I found Dipel dust like you said we had caterpillars and that stopped the vine borer for me (I think), it harmed an acorn squash and is trying on the yellow squash now. The plants are still growing but not producing. At this point if you had access to a manure pile, thats what helped me last year with quite a few things I got some that was garden ready and used it like time release fertilizer. Added some epsom salts to it as well. Keep on keepin on. I would like to hear the results of your testing as well. I would think you would have a long growing season and try to start some tomato seedlings for some tomatoes into the fall ? or take some cuttings from the existing tomato plants to have transplants.
Let us know how it goes
Ha-v-v

Tim could you train the bunny to deposit its dropping in a bucket, We were having some of the same issues you posted , I went to a friends and bought 250 lbs of bunny manure , spread it thin and back up the garden took off, I am also having issues with the same bug population since I fenced the garden off. But so far the harvest is still better than last year. I still refuse to use any chemicals at all!!!!

Dont give up tho,, if nothing else try some purple hull peas, they grow like weeds, If you need some chicken litter compost I will give you some just come and get it! I am only a 2 hour drive away!