Sunday, September 5, 2010

Growing Vegetables with Flowers Late August Zone 4

Growing vegetables among flowers in a town size garden has many benefits: I think the mixture of flowers and veggies confuses the insect pests. The flowers attract the good insect-eating-insects. Permanent raised beds are attractive during the winter and I get the pleasure of picking fresh, organic produce.
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Ok, I must confess I did not plant this squash. It is a volunteer. The year before I planted butternut, delicata and spaghetti. This squash is the result from a natural pollination. Do you know how that works? Your purchased seed will produce what you purchased. It doesn’t matter if you plant a squash with a melon or cucumber. You will harvest what you planted. But the flower of that plant will be pollinated from pollen from surrounding plants. That seed will be a cross or naturally hybridized seed. The next year you might get something like this squash.  Normally I pull volunteers but this years wet and cool spring really slowed my planted squash.  So I decided to keep some of the volunteers.  The seed got into the garden because sometimes during the winter I go and bury vegetable scraps.  Early in the spring I squished about 4 squash bugs. I checked under the leaves to see if they had laid their tiny cluster of golden, orange eggs. I picked off one leaf and that was it. No more squash bugs.
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Along the right hand side of this arbor I have 2 raised beds that I use for vegetables. This year I planted winter squash, next year I will plant tomatoes.  Look carefully on the right top and you will see a spaghetti squash.  I plan to make up some planting area along side the arbor where next year I can grow pole beans.
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I took this picture from the upstairs bedroom window. See the  volunteer. Trumpet Vine, is enjoyed by hummingbirds.
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In the front garden I have a veggie bed that this year is growing peppers and eggplants. This volunteer squash, I think is a combination of a spaghetti and a zucchini squash.  Did you know that you can pick an unripe winter squash and eat it as a summer squash. The fully ripe and hard winter squash keeps for months in a cool dry place.
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A couple of days ago I harvested and cooked up these tomatoes. I canned 6 quarts. I also froze about 3 quarts from a previous picking. We also picked our first late ripening Brandy Wine tomato. Brandy Wine ripens a dark pink/sort of purple and is delicious!
IMG_1216After visiting the real trumpet vines, hummingbirds turn the corner and find my feeder. This feeder is just outside our dining room window. Yesterday I cracked the window open just a bit to try to catch him in action.
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I can fly!  Yesterday was my 1st anniversary of my blog. It has been fun. Thank you dear readers.

24 comments:

  1. I do love your arbor, whether draped in trumpet vines, flanked by vegetables, or just as a structure by itself. And your last photo really does look like that hummer is showing you how he can fly. Fun!

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  2. Congratulations, Gloria, on the first blogoversary! I am glad that you joined Blotanical - this is how I found your blog. Keep going! I learn a lot from you.
    I also plant vegetables and flowers together, it works pretty well. Although, I should pay more attention to color combinations! The deep red color of roses doesn't go well with orange cdalendulas. I love your volunteer vegetables. Wow! You might create new varieties!

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  3. Happy blogoversary Gloria, I've really enjoyed reading your blog over the last year! It's very important for anyone considering seed saving to understand pollination. Like you, we intentionally plant the squash we want. However, we have a number of volunteer squash here too. For us, we figure even though they turn out to be mutants, like acorn/delicata hybrids, they still make for great chicken treats!

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  4. I think I have a blog anniversary too this month ( a year ). I love your arbor and I have trumpet vine growing on a center arbor that a sweet little humming bird was after for the last few days. They love trumpet vine & lantana. Great photos, thanks, Gina

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  5. Hi Laurrie, Thank you. Ted built the 33 ft long arbor that lines the south side of the house. That arbor turned a hot dry area into a garden. I too love it.

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  6. Hi Tatyana, thank you! Yours was one of the first blogs I visited at Blotanical and I was "wowed" by it's beauty! I am honored that you like my blog.

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  7. Curbstone, you have very loved chickens. I think Frodo has his own following. Last year we ate one of those zuchinni/spaghetti crosses and it was good. I find that roasting a squash usually give you an advantage in the tase department.

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  8. Hi Gina, thank you and congratulations on your blog anniversary! I think blogging makes us better gardeners because we actually need pictures of what we are growing. Hugs, G

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  9. Happy Anniversary Gloria!!!
    Thank you for the information on squash, so interesting and fun with all your volunteers.
    I get a little excited every time I see a hummingbird, they are so exotic to me. Can't believe you were able to catch one. They are so quick.

    Annelie

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  10. Happy blogoversery. Your garden always looks so wonderful. it must be all that buffalo poop. jim

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  11. Sooo jealous about the hummers. One sighting in ten years. They are uncommon here. Congrats on a fun blog turning one. Does that mean you get to wear a pointy birthday hat and eat a frosted cupcake?

    Christine in Alaska

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  12. You are a very successful gardener, with all those harvests and also flowers around. I envy your very productive garden, esp the grapes, that's a lot. If only i am near maybe i can have some. hehe. thanks.

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  13. There are rules around how far apart you should plant cross pollinating vegetables so your seed runs true to type. However I think your approach is more fun Gloria.

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  14. Happy Blogiversary, Gloria! Your blog is always a joy to visit! I love your post about veggies and flowers together. Interestingly, theres an upcoming seminar thru my local extension office regarding the same thing. I like the idea because I sincerely dislike veggie gardens. To be honest, they're ugly. Yummy, but unattractive. I think mixing the two is a great alternative. Why not?!

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  15. Happy Blogiversary, Gloria. I have really enjoyed getting to know you and your garden through your blog, and I'm looking forward to another year of your Dakota Garden. -Jean

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  16. Happy blogiversary to you Gloria. Love the photos. Your garden is just magical.

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  17. Hi Annelie - Thank you! I was so pleased to catch the hummingbird. It helps that I have the feeder just outside my dining room window.

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  18. Jim - LOL yes, I need more buffalo poo! In a few days Custer State Park will be having the big annual buffalo round up! Maybe I can get some pics! The poo I want well decomposed!

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  19. Hi Christine - the hummingbirds arrive here about the time the summer flowers have nectar for them. The first time I saw one he buzzed my head as I was picking raspberries. Then I went out and got a feeder for them.

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  20. Andrea, if you are ever in this part of the world, yes come by! But, how wonderful it must be to live in a tropical paradise. We soon will get a frost and you will continue to be warm. But each area does have it plus and minuses.

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  21. Melanie, you are right! This year my self-sown natural hybid squash plants are much more hardy than the ones I planted from seed. I also think they will taste good. I will try to wait until after the first frost to pick them. The frost makes them sweeter.

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  22. Hi Kimberly, you are too kind. How great that someone will be giving a class on mixing flowers and veggies. For me it just works! Do a blog post on the subject. I would like to read it!

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  23. Jean, thank you. I too have enjoyed "meeting and getting to know you" through our blogs! It's no wonder blogger like to have "meet-ups"

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  24. Grace, yours is the garden that is amazing! Has it ever been in a national magazine. I drool over your pictures!

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