I wasn't sure any of these sweet potato slips or the three volunteer cantaloupe plants would even make it in this God-awful heat. Not only did they survive, but they are thriving! Look at the cantaloupe on these vines! There are fifteen (15!) of these babies on the vines, just this size and a lot more little ones waiting to grow. It's amazing!
There's a ton of little ones out there too! Don't ask me yet what I'm going to *do* with all these melons that will likely be ready at the same time! I suspect some of my friends will have a cantaloupe mysteriously appear on their doorstep! I also envision cantaloupe ice cream, cantaloupe bread, maybe cantaloupe preserves... :-)
And I've never grown sweet potatoes before so I wasn't sure what to expect. But the plants are gorgeous! The foliage is purple and green with very large leaves.
The potatoes should be ready to harvest 90-100 days after planting, which puts the harvest date around mid September. I can't wait for that! And I sure wish I could get a glimpse of what's going on underground in this bed! Oh well, that's part of the fun of gardening...the waiting, the anticipating and the joy of the harvest!
Hi-
ReplyDeleteI am a South Texas blogger trying to survive the heat-
I am so curious about your raised bed.
How did you do your watering system?
Laura
White Spray Paint
It's nice to know that there are some veggies that actually thrive in very hot conditions. I don't think Cantaloupes or Sweet Potatoes would be doing very well here in the UK this year. It's a lot cooler than your conditions.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite way to eat Cantaloupes is with some good quality ham - such as Iberico or Serrano.
How exciting on the cantaloupes!!! I agree the sweet pot vines are so pretty, and what's going on underground is very yummy :-) I need to grow them again...it's been a long time since I've grown them. The heat is not all bad, right?
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of planting sweet potatoes this year.. I grew them once YEARS ago in Louisiana. I now live in coastal south Texas.. What variety did you plant and where did you get the slips? I bought potatoes today to cut in half and try to root myself, but I think it takes a little while for them to start and I had this bright idea to grow sweet potatoes a little late! The rest of my garden (including irish potatoes) is well on it's way..
ReplyDeleteThanks for any info
Leslie
lesliedgray@yahoo.com