We finally got some rain last night and my garden patch went crazy. This afternoon I found six tiny watermelons on the vines. Unfortunately they are on the ends of the vines that extend outside the patch. Since the boards aren't really nailed down, I may extend them so that ABM doesn't accidentally chop off my baby melons while he is mowing the lawn.
My two bush cucumbers seem to have grown overnight. Yesterday I could still see the soil around the bottom of the plants; today all I can see is leaves and blossoms. I thought this variety (Spacemaster) reached maturity in 45 days, but it is actually 60 days. That means my cukes are right on time, which makes me feel better.
I think that I have ended up being a semi-organic gardener by default. You know those insurance commercials that talk about the point in your life where two states of mind intersect? Well, I'm at the intersection of "I want to do this on the cheap" and "I want to do this with a minimum of work". My recent experience has shown that Organic often hangs out at the corner of Cheap and Lazy. I pick the easiest and cheapest way to handle tasks in the garden and many times it turns out to be easy on the environment, as well.
So where does the "semi" come in? Well, I have put Miracle-Gro on the plants a few times. At the time I bought it, I wasn't thinking about being earth-friendly. I just wanted my vegetables to grow quickly and be abundant. However, I drew the line at spraying insecticide on my squash and zucchini when I saw what appeared to be beetles on them. Although it said that it was safe for vegetables, anything that requires me to put on a long-sleeved shirt and gloves is too much work for me. I may reconsider if the bugs end up ruining my harvest.
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