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A Fabulous Day in the Vegetable Garden

Vegetable Gardening
my vegetables garden
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Okay, after many of you read this, you will come to the conclusion that I am a bit strange when it comes to gardening.

A few days ago, I was checking on my vegetable garden.  Specifically, I was checking to see if my corn was ready to harvest.

My corn was ready to harvest

My corn was ready to harvest

The corn silk was brown, so I knew they would be ready soon.  But there was one more test to perform.  I made a slit with a knife through the husk so that I could pierce a corn kernel.  The liquid that comes out should be translucent – not clear or opaque.

Thankfully, some of my corn was ripe and ready to be picked! I did plant three separate crops of corn, about 2 weeks apart so that we will enjoy eating corn for a longer period of time.

Okay, so you may be wondering how I am weird about gardening.  I was looking forward to my corn being ready to harvest, but truth be told, I forgot about my other vegetables.

The reason is, is that I get so into the process of planting and seeing my vegetables grow, that I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I will have fresh vegetables to harvest.

So, I was honestly surprised to discover that I had ripe cucumbers…

 ripe cucumbers

I was so excited about my new cucumbers and I realized that I had other vegetables to check up on.

ready to harvest

In addition to the corn and cucumbers, I had quite a few tomatoes from my single cherry tomato plant.  I still call tomatoes vegetables even though they are technically a fruit 😉

I then decided to check up on my San Marzano tomatoes.  To be honest, I was a bit frustrated with them because I had been seeing numerous flowers on them, but no tomatoes.  I had planted them the same time that I had planted my cherry tomato, which had been producing tons of tomatoes for over 2 months.

Well, guess what I saw when I looked closely at my San Marzano’s?

green tomatoes

They are absolutely covered with tons of green tomatoes!  I can’t wait until they ripen.

Why did I choose San Marzano tomatoes?  Well, I love to watch the Food Network and all the chefs swear by them for making Italian sauces.  I’m not Italian, but I absolutely love Italian food.

They should be ready next week for harvesting.  I read up on them and found out that they do take longer to produce than many other tomato varieties, but when they begin, they go crazy.

I did not plant tons of different things in my garden this season.  I decided to concentrate on our favorites – corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, oregano and….

Gourds

Gourds!

This is the only one that I have found so far and it was hard to see behind the large leaves.  I plan on making a bird house out of it later.

So, that is what is going on in my garden this week.  I definitely learned my lesson – I will remember to always look for ripe vegetables 🙂

**********************   I apologize for my lack of posting this past week, but it has been a busy time with….

6th grade graduation

Doctor’s visits

Landscape consults

My son’s birthday party

Getting carpets cleaned and moving furniture

Babysitting my 8 month old twin nephews

I am so ready for summer vacation, how about you?

I am making some strawberry jam tomorrow.  I have been waiting for strawberries to go on sale at our local grocery store and they are only $1.15 a pound.  The kids are going to help me.  I will post more later.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend and take time to remember those who have fought for our freedom 🙂

Vegetable Harvest With Some Little Helpers….

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
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https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/1166.jpg 588 640 arizonaplantlady@gmail.com https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AZ-Plant-Lady-Logo-small.jpg arizonaplantlady@gmail.com2011-05-30 04:01:002021-02-14 08:05:42A Fabulous Day in the Vegetable Garden
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7 replies
  1. Bonnie
    Bonnie says:
    May 30, 2011 at 5:23 am

    Your veges look yummy! Are there any veges I can plant now or do I need to wait until fall?

  2. Patricia Tryon
    Patricia Tryon says:
    May 30, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    We're trying San Marzanos this year for the first time. We're probably six weeks to two months behind you, so I'm glad to read about your experience with them so far.

  3. A Daughter of the King
    A Daughter of the King says:
    May 31, 2011 at 1:26 am

    Noelle, I love your posts and your delight in growing things… people, plants, pets, and wildlife.

    It seems like you have a lot of bounty for a relatively small space. How big is your garden?

  4. Solitude Rising
    Solitude Rising says:
    May 31, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    It really is a wonderful feeling to grow your own food and then harvest them later on. I can see why you're so proud of your veggies, the harvest has been bountiful.

  5. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    Hi Bonnie,

    You can still plant cucumbers, cantaloupe and sunflowers in the greater Phoenix area.

    Good Luck!

    Noelle

  6. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    Hello Daughter of the King,

    My vegetable garden is roughly 85 square feet. It is amazing how much you can grow in a small area 🙂

    Noelle

  7. Candy "Sweetstuff"
    Candy "Sweetstuff" says:
    June 3, 2011 at 9:01 am

    Your garden is looking fantastic! All those vegies will be so yummy! I bet you have fun gardening with the kids!

Comments are closed.

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Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."

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