September Changes

In mid-August, we left on a three-week cross-country trip. The day we left, it was pouring rain (above) The vegetable beds were cleared out and replanted with corn, squash, and beans for an early fall crop.

Phoenix received record rainfall during the time we left. The middle photo shows what we found when we returned.

The third photo, taken today, shows the garden two weeks later. I haven't been able to do too much because I've been on antibiotics and was advised to avoid direct sunlight. However, most things (including weeds) seem to be doing just fine without any help from me over the past month.

The corn didn't germinate well enough for good pollination, so I've been attempting to encourage it by shaking the stalks in the morning. Even if we don't get any corn, I plan to use the stalks as trellises for snow peas. I haven't found any bean plants yet, but I was finishing off an old package when I planted them, and there weren't too many left to begin with. We have dozens of young acorn squash, but only a few yellow squash and zero zucchini. I also found (so far) five nice-sized melons, which I did not plant. I assume they came up from kitchen scraps I tossed out before we left. In other areas of the yard, sweet potatoes are sprawling everywhere. For the first time, I decided to try growing pumpkin, and planted it in two places: next to the streambed behind the corn, and under the lemon tree. The vines under the lemon tree are doing much better than the ones near the corn, but I don't see any pumpkins yet. Also under the lemon tree, I can see a couple of red potato plants coming up. Apparently I didn't find them all when I harvested them earlier this year, and the ones I left behind have sprouted a new crop.