Re-asserting Our Dominance Over Nature

We've just returned from a 10-day whirled tour (backpacking, car-camping, mountain biking, road-tripping, and a lot of etcetera -- posts to come!) to find that the garden, as expected -- mainly the squash and melons -- went a little berzerk in our absence.

From dirt & dogs

Our first Sunday morning back at the ranch was spent re-asserting our illusion of dominance over our green and unwieldy subjects - weeding, clipping, snipping, yanking, saving seed from the spring's greens which all bolted while we were gone, and rigging up various methods for supporting vertically trained squash and melons so the weight of the fruits won't cause them to break off the vines before they mature.

Panty hose sack for a butternut squash and a string sling for the huge, heavy Marina di Chioggia squash (selected because I'm convinced it's the very warty, extremely ugly, blue-grey skinned beast that Barbara Kingsolver found at a farmer's market in Italy, reputed to be the best tasting squash in the country.)

Re-using mesh onion bags as melon supports:

From dirt & dogs

Pinching out growing tips from the squash and melons, just as you do with tomatoes, so they don't take over the universe and also so the plants' energy can be used to ripen fruit instead of just continuing to make more and more and more vines with more and more and more fruits that won't ever mature.

From dirt & dogs

From dirt & dogs

From dirt & dogs

Pulling and eating carrots just a smidge too soon.

From dirt & dogs