Did you ever think about how much waiting gardeners do?
I’m currently waiting for my sweet corn ears to fill out. I’ve spent less time obsessing over the corn this year, except for that one day when I determined it was planted to close together and I cut out nearly two-thirds of what I had planted.
I’m seeing several good sized ears starting to form so the extra breathing room seems to have helped the corn. Now I’m waiting for them to be ready to eat.
I’m waiting for the grapes to ripen.
I’m not taking any measures to keep the birds off the grapes; I’m just hoping there are enough grapes for them and me. These are ‘Concords’, perfect for jelly, jam, and grape pie, so I’m telling all the people I know who might cook something with these that I’m going to have plenty of grapes this year. Hint, hint, in case one of them will make me something with them.
I’m waiting for some rain.
I’m sure I’m not waiting as desparately as these coneflowers are. I think of them as drought tolerant but they sure are droopy by the end of the day. Other flowers look even worse than these. The weathermen are teasing again with “chances of severe thunderstorms” later tonight. I hope we get some storms!
I’m waiting to catch a rabbit.
The trap is set right between two rows of beans. I’m hoping that if a rabbit goes down that row eating he’ll accidently go through the trap and SLAM! – I’ll catch a rabbit. And when I do, I’m going to make sure to secure the ends so he doesn’t escape again.
I’m waiting for my first ripe tomato.
I’ve had a few ripe cherry tomatoes, but I don’t count them as the first ripe tomato of the season. I think I might be the last one I know to have a tomato ripen, which is almost embarrassing. But when I check my garden records, I probably shouldn’t expect a ripe tomato until this weekend at the earliest. Surely, I’ll have a ripe tomato by this time next week.
And I’m waiting for the night-blooming cereus to bloom.
I thought for sure it would bloom tonight and so I rushed home from work (if you call getting to work at 7:00 a.m. and returning home at 6:00 p.m. “rushing”) to see if it was starting to open. But it hasn’t and if it was going to bloom tonight, it would have started to open by 6:00, if is like last year’s bloom.
Wait a minute… I need to go check it just to be sure…
I’m back… it is still like the picture, so I have another day to wait. At least I have experience with this bloom now and don’t have to worry that I’ll go to bed and it will bloom while I’m asleep so that I miss it. Perhaps tomorrow it will bloom.
The old saying is “good things come to those who wait”. I’ve gotten some good things from the garden already from waiting.
Sunday’s harvest included cucumbers, zucchini squash (four kinds), another big bowl of green beans, peppers, and the first spaghetti squash.
What are you waiting for in your garden?
Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting. ~Dr. Seuss
I just love those grapes! My mom says her corn is cobless. The way she describes it, it looks like corn from the outside but when you press on the husk it’s hollow. Have you ever heard of that?
I’m waiting to see heads develop on my sunflowers. I’m waiting for my first ripe cantaloupe (and to see the different permutations the fruit takes as it ripens; I’ve never grown them before so I was surprised to see they started out green). I’m waiting for my first red tomato, though I have yellow ones. And I’m waiting to see if my jalapeno puts out new flowers or not.
Carol: You’re right, we’re always waiting! I’m waiting for all of the above also. My tomatoes are still well away from red or even green. There are not that many on my plants but I will wait!
Carol…I’m waiting for my first ripe tomato too…my starts were small although they’ve done fine since… but I agree…it’s somewhat embarrassing! I’ve often picked cherry tomatoes by the beginning of June. Does this mean we get to pick longer into the fall?
I’m waiting for rain and for all your crops to ripen, Carol. Sounds like I’ll be waiting for rain long after you’re eating a ripe tomato!
Waiting for that first ripe tomato, the first melons, the first eggplant to set fruit so I’ll know the heating cables were worth it. Waiting for the snap peas to stop bearing so I can pull the plants and sow some winter carrots and beets.
No wonder you are a gardener, Carol. The first thing it teaches you is patience, a great deal of which you no doubt have.
You’ve already reaped a lot of return on your sweat equity. Just looking at all those veggies makes me hungry !
I was thinking of doing a post titled “things to do while waiting for the tomatoes to ripen”. I couldn’t wait, so I made fried green tomatoes.
I’m waiting for the weed fairy to sneak in one night and get rid of some alarmingly tall weeds in my back garden.
I think in this case, patience may not be a virtue.
Love the Dr. Seuss quote! The waiting is hard, but also fun, IMO. And although I get frustrated with how little time I get to garden because of work, sometimes it’s a good thing…if I had more time in the garden, I’d be a better weeder and miss out on some really cool volunteer wildflowers!
I am also waiting for my first full size ripe tomato. I saw one yesterday that is a turning a lovely shade of light pink…so it won’t be too long! Also waiting for a break in this intense heat wave we are having …temps over 100 now for most of the week and forecast for several more days. But, the heat is probably helping ripen the tomatoes, so guess I need to look on the bright side. 🙂
I too am waiting for the promised storm, but I prefer it to come at night. Nothing like a storm to give me a good nights sleep. Also I would like to see our grass turn green again. I don’t like the straw stuff we have now
Carol, hopefully your wait for rain is over, we got a really good shower this morning. Hope you got some too.
Carol,you make it sound as if your garden is pregnant! Waiting and expectant of wonderful things LOL. Those grapes look luscious, and you have now inspired me to go try to make grape jelly for the first time.
I just stumbles across your blog and love it! I am a fellow gardener impatiently waiting too!
BTW. I grew butternut squash for the first time this year. How do I know when they are ready to pick???
Happy Gardening!
Linda
Carol, I’m not too much of a “waiter” I think. I love what is in bloom or what I can eat right now, and know the rest will come in good time. I guess I’ve learned the patience thing. :
Alas, please add me to the tomato wait list. I’m waiting for my next crop of lettuce if it doesn’t flop over and die from this heat. I’m waiting for my first zucchini so I can start giving it away. I’m also waiting for this heat spell to end, just like I was waiting for the colc spell to end.
Thanks so much for the blogger info on comment setup. I’m new to blogger and appreciate the help. I’m going to change it for sure.
Gina… I have heard of corn that doesn’t fill out. I would guess it is due to poor pollination, which can happen with a small plot of corn.
Jenny… It sounds like you have quite a vegetable garden!
Layanee… So, I won’t be the last one with a red tomato!
Leslie… I don’t know if later first tomatoes mean we get to harvest more in the fall. I tend to lose track of tomatoes sometime in August.
Lost Roses… We did get some rain today, finally, and more is predicted. Our wait for rain has paid off!
Molly… you still have snap peas? My peas are long gone!
Carolyn Gail… Thanks, I love growing vegetables and eating what I’ve grown.
Entangled… Believe it or not, I’ve never had fried green tomatoes. I just can’t bear to pick a green tomato.
Pam/digging… You mean there are garden fairies who pull weeds? Such a thing, I want some. All my garden fairies seem to plant weeds in my garden… they are a bit naughty that way.
Lisa… such a positive attitude you have about weeds, I mean wildflowers.
Connie… I can’t believe the heat out west where you are. Sounds like you are trying to make the best of it.
Eleanor… I hope you get your wish for a night-time storm.
Robin’s Nesting Place… There was about a half inch of rain in my rain gauge when I got home. I was happy about that, but want some more rain.
Nicole… Good luck with your grape jelly making.
LBP… Thanks, and I’ve not tried to grow butternut squash, so I’m not sure when to harvest it. It is more of a winter squash, so my best GUESS would be to harvest when the stem has dried, but you should probably double-check that.
Nan… I can’t believe you are still eating cool season crops, and thank you for the book review, you were first for the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club June-July selection.
Bev… You are welcome, I am happy to help and good luck with your waiting.
Thanks all for your comments and kind words!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Your vegetable garden is amazing!