Monday, September 7, 2009

Mellow Yellow Monday

When we started our garden this year, Maria gave us three zucchini seedlings to plant in the first raised bed. They have done well, but recently have experienced a small blight of blossom-end rot. Back to the books to find out what to do. Apparently, they need more calcium.


When we planted the first three seedlings we found a fourth just sprouting in the little planter. So we planted it in the back yard and dubbed it the 'runt of the litter'. The runt is now producing zucchini but they are still small. I think we have enough warm weather left that it will be giving us many more.


I planted our oregano seedlings in a big container on the deck. No, these are not oregano...very clever of you to notice. This is a volunteer zucchini. I think it might have grown from a seed of a supermarket zucchini that was in the compost. It seems to have a forest of infertile blossoms. It may be non-producing but the flowers are pretty.


And, as if the oregano didn't have enough competition...here's another volunteer thriving in the same container. I am such a sentimental gardener. I figure if the seed was that determined to grow, the least I can do is see it through to adulthood. However, I have no idea what this one is. It grows like a melon or squash and has lovely little lemon-yellow blossoms. But, the best part is the fruit. It has now grown to be about 2 inches long and is still quite fuzzy. I have no idea what this could be. Our growing season is too short for this to mature so I doubt I'll find out in the natural course of things. Does anyone know what it is?

Drowsy Monkey hosts the Mellow Yellow Monday meme. Look here for more yellow photos and maybe more mysteries.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice photos of the zuchini blossoms. I've always admired squash blossoms.
Thanks for your MYM visit to my blog!

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

I think that lowest photo is another kind of summer squash. If it doesn't get fully mature, you can still eat it.

And as for the blossom end rot, if you sprinkle some crushed eggshells on top of the soil around the plant and water it in, it works to solve the problem! I read it for tomato plants with the same calcium deficiency, tried it, and it worked very quickly! Yay! None of the new fruit ripening got the problem.

Pamela K H said...

Pretty zuchini bloom. I tried growing broccoli in a raised garden bed last winter. I had a limited crop but when it went to seed I was very impressed with the yellow flowers it produced. Thanks for stopping by Pam's Garden Space and commenting.

storyteller said...

Looking at your garden reminds me of my Dad's backyard 'farming' efforts. He grew delicious fruits & veggies in harsh conditions with constant love and attention. Thanks for visiting my Mellow Yellow Monday at Sacred Ruminations today.
Hugs and blessings,

Anonymous said...

No clue on the unknown veg. Plants that just appear we called volunteers.

Mimi said...

Love your zuccini(courgette, we call them) blossoms.
Will you fry them? I've never tried but believe they're lovely stuffed with goats cheese and fried.
I love when plants just appear, like my potatoes did.
No clue on the last plant, but seems a previous commenter does.

Sharon said...

Happy Mellow Yellow Monday! Beautiful flower:)

Elaine Yim said...

A nice shot of the zuchini flower. The mystery plant that appeared in your garden is your reward. I hope you find out the name soon.

annies home said...

love watching blossoms like this transform they are so fun

Angie said...

Great MYM. Your garden is doing well, I'm going to try & grow some 'food' this year on very sandy soil (can't really call it soil!). Have compost, just need someone to dig it in. Thanks for your visit, good to see you again.

Carletta said...

A fuzzy yellow bloom!
This is the first year I forgot to take photos of the garden before the produce. ;)
Did you know you can eat the zucchini blossoms? I had no idea until a few weeks ago.

Anonymous said...

Very nice pfoto.Greeting from Bulgaria.

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