Thanks in advance for stopping by to see my vegetable garden this evening!
As you walk into the raised bed garden area, you’ll see some Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ growing at your feet. 
I refuse to call it Tickseed because “ticks” and “flowers” shouldn’t be in the same thought!
This is going to be my best year ever for grapes.
Someone asked me if I knew how to prune grapes. What do you think after seeing these? Do you think I know how to prune grapes? And yes, those are daylilies down under those grape vines.
I haven’t written much about tomatoes because I feel like mine are later than usual this year and I’m not even “in the game” for the earliest tomato contest.
But when I harvest that first red tomato, there will be a big post about it, I promise, because it is an event whether early or late!
My green beans are blooming.
This year the rabbits won’t get all the bean plants. I really do think I scared the main bunny away last Sunday with my little trapping episode.
I’ve got fancy squashes growing, too. This is a variety called ‘Cue Ball’.
I think it will be like zucchini, only round. I also have lots of zucchini but I didn’t take a picture of it because you all have seen zucchini before. If you want some of my extra zucchini, just let me know.
I did take a picture of the spaghetti squash vines.
There aren’t really growing up that tower, they are more growing through it.
And what have we here? The bane of my vegetable garden, purslane.
This weed can ruin your life, if you let it. But I won’t let it ruin my life or my garden. I’ve been weeding it out as I can and throwing it in the trash. DO NOT put this in your compost bin. Any tiny piece can sprout into a new plant, even a one celled piece it seems. Listen to me, I have experience with this weed. I have made the mistake of putting it in the compost bin. And yes, I know it is edible, lots of vitamins, but it is still a weed in my garden and I’m not going to eat it. However, the rabbits may eat as much of it as they want!
If you were here for real, I’d go get some trash bags now so you could help me weed out more purslane, and you’d help me, wouldn’t you?
I love ‘Moonbeam’ — such a lovely soft yellow. And your veggie garden is SERIOUS! Puts my one little cherry tomato plant to shame! 🙂
Wow! I’m impressed with all your veggies and grapes. How much further ahead you are there. Thanks for the tour… I enjoyed it very much. And, as usual, you leave my laughing.
Your vegetable garden is looking awesome, Carol! Those ‘Cue Ball’ squash look really cute…let us know how they taste, eh? I’ll help you with your purslane if you’ll help me with my bindweed 🙂 Deal?
Yes, of course i’d help you weed your purslane…aren’t some weeds annoying? Maybe it was the mildish winter, but we seem to have an overabundance of weed seedlings this year, particularly lambs quarters, buttercups and this one weed that I’ve never gotten around to identifying but it’s prolific. Mmmmm. Must do that. I think it’s related to Epilobium. Don’t have any purslane to speak of, but how about some bindweed as Colleen noted and some horsetails?
Love the veggie garden…it almost inspires me to plant one. Almost.
Homemade grape jelly would make a wonderful stocking stuffer. Your garden looks really nice, especially the green beans. Maybe you should experiment with the purslane. It might be the best thing you have ever tasted.
Kathy, the older sister.
I love Moonbeam Coreopsis. The flowers look like yellow butterflies flitting above the plant.
I tasted purslane once. Pretty yucky. I don’t know how people can eat it. It was sour and mucilaginous. Each characteristic by itself not appetizing but inedible when combined. It’s got to be one of the toughest weeds to get rid of. I wonder which of the weeds would predominate if planted together, purslane, crab grass, creeping charlie, dandelion, oxalis, poke, chickweed, thistle, lambsquarter, amaranth, plantain or many others I can’t name that populate our yard?
Good luck getting rid of the puslane.
Yeah, you’re supposed to thicken your soup with purslane, like using file powder in gumbo. I have some cultivated selections of purslane in hanging baskets which are related to Moss roses.
But yours are weeds not flowers. I’ll help you dig them out, Carol, if you hand over a couple of ‘Cue Ball’ squashes…. I’m quite taken with their appearance and hope they taste as good as they look!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Those are some really large tomatoes! My mom told me tonight that she wished I was there to help her eat some of her tomatoes. I do too. I’d love a good ol’ tomato sandwich. I may just have to visit the farmers market tomorrow.
Purslane is really good for you; it’s loaded with omega fatty acids. I put in my salad. Just ask the New York Times.
Thanks for the walk through your vegetable garden. One year I planted round zucchini – it was called “Eight Ball” – and got a ton of neat, delicious squash.
Can’t wait to see your grapes – what kind do you have?
I think your tomatoes look very nice and of a good size. Sometimes it’s better that they aren’t real early. Later ones always taste better to me. Ours are flowering now and I can’t wait for the first warm bite!
Don’t let your guard down with the bunnies – – they are crafty and will strike when you least expect it.
I love the look of your raised bed garden – it’s fantastic.
Alyssa
Carol, I’d be happy to help you weed purslane. That’s if I have any energy left after I finish pulling thistle from the yard at my son and daugher-in-law’s new house. That’s not a lawn, it’s a thistle bed. And you know we can’t have that in our pretty bluegrass!
Cueball, huh? I wouldn’t mind seeing some of that left on my doorstep.
Good luck with all your vegetables!
I am growing around 10 different varieties of squash this year, too! I found the seeds at a quite low price in Paris this spring and could not resist buying them! The first ones are in bloom now but it might still take some time before the first fruits grow.
Happy gardening to you!
Best wishes from Germany,
Anita
I’m in the same boat you are in about the tomatoes. I have some giant tomatoes that should of ripened by now but with all this rain, have yet to do so.
I love Coreopsis, I dislike the name tickseed. I don’t know why someone would name a lovely plant like this that.
Your vegetable looks so nice. There is nothing like fresh vegetables.
I’m glad to finally know what purslane looks like. I read about it in the $64 tomato and figured that I have it. (I have all the other nasty weeds, so why not?)
Maybe it would make you feel BETTER if you ate the nasty weed.
-Robin (Bumblebee)
Maybe if you put just a little purslane in your salad You would get the benefits but not the taste, & it wouldn’t be a total waste.
For a couple of large green tomatoes and some beans, I’d be willing to dig out the weeds. Your garden looks fantastic !
Don’t forget that tomorrow is GARDEN BLOGGERS’ MUSE DAY. Thanks.
Your garden is looking lovely! My tomatoes are late too…it took so long to warm up this year…I’m waiting for caprese salad!
I have purslane everywhere too – it’s painful! That and dollarweed and floriday betony keep me busy. I like the Updike Hoeing poem – and your loaned vegetable garden looks great! Unfortunately, ours are heading into the hot, hot part of summer – only the okra and sunflowers and basil and peppers are happy now – the tomatoes are still good but show signs of fading (but the strange thing there is that in a month it’ll be time to plant a second crop of tomatoes!).
All… thanks for stopping by and seeing the garden! You all are too kind with your compliments and offers of help with the weeding. As they say in church, “the harvest is plenty, laborers are few”. I’m always happy to share the harvest, even if I do all the work.
I finished weeding “most” of the purslane today, working from one end of the garden to the other. In a few days, I’ll start over. Either the purslane will wear out and gradually disappear, or I’ll wear out trying to get rid of it!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Yes, I would absolutely help! Vile stuff! ~A 🙂