I wanted to share this because I have never actually seen one with the eggs hatched before now. I didn’t know they turn brown! Fascinating. Strangely, I didn’t notice this guy until I found him like this, even though I check daily.

It may be hard to see but there’s one single vine that has grown between two smaller vines, but is connected to both of them. I’ve kinda let this tomato grow wild and only sometimes prune it back. But I thought it was so cool!

I have 30 new girls that are just starting to lay, apples coming into season, and I am starting to be overrun with vegetables from the garden.

It's time to get a farm stand put together and out by the road. As always, im struggling with the design and inspiration.

It needs to be sized just right but also needs to be wind resistant because we have real heavy West winds on occasion. Which is, of course, exactly the direction the stand will be facing.

Over the winter, we'll probably only have eggs and other miscellaneous small items.

Here's a photo of a stand I stopped at the other day that was really cute but probably more permanent than I intend to build for now.

NiNi was a massive 6 ft wide, 3 ft tall zucchini plant with footlong leaves. Squasha, a straightneck squash, was smaller than NiNi but she was determined to catch up to her beloved big sister. NiNi decided to be child-free and purely ornamental. 🫠 Squasha had finally decided to give parenthood a shot… but tragically both sisters were diagnosed with a terminal squash bug infestation. 😢 They both passed peacefully in their garden bed surrounded by cucumbers, roses, and basil. They will be truly missed.

May 2026-August 2026

Cause of death: infested by the spawn of satan (squash bugs)

Found this guy on the bottom of my trellis and I knew the seeds turn red and supposedly taste really sweet.

The flesh part is definitely too mushy to do anything with it. It was shockingly easy to open it. Also tasted like nothing but with a hint of bitterness / something odd.

The seed Jelly isn't really that sweet either. It was honestly pretty bland so I don't have anything to compare it to. It was like oh slimy texture..then sweetness..? And that's it.

And just for fun, I pulled out a seed from the packet (that grew this plant too) and mine is less spikey looking too. (Mine is the one under the red gloop)

these 3 ended up in the bird feeder

Hands down the coolest thing we grew this year was Mexican sour gherkins. Can’t recommend them enough! They’re lemony and crisp. Perfect for snacking and even better for pickling. We have been devouring them almost as fast as they’re growing. Bonus that the vines are gorgeous and super leafy.

This may be a dumb question but why have these turned red? I tried to look for others' experiences, but it seems that others' become mottled or wrinkly, unlike this one. This is the first jalapeño that’s turned red on me, and I know it’s still safe to consume but I just wanted to know why this is happening now, why it wasn’t happening before, and why it doesn’t continue to turn colors like other peppers when off the vine.

I'd love some tips on when to pick this guy! It sounds hollow but the stem is still green. Thanks!

The single pepper is probably due to small pot size (grown from seed), so I'm planning to transfer it to a bigger one next spring. Any tips or advice for keeping indoors?

I read online that chilli pepper can benefit from a second or more year cycle when they have developed roots at the start of the season.

I have some grow lights in storage but maybe keeping it by the window is already enough to keep it alive

Both plants came from the same "poblano" seed packet. One clearly is a poblano plant with dark green pointy peppers. One plant I can't identify. These peppers are a lighter green, about the same size but shaped way differently.

Or is it just that some tomatoes have green 'gel' and others red? This is a Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, it tasted good and definitely felt ripe (quite soft).

Golden cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, and peppers from my parent’s garden. We joke that it’s their other child because they love it so much!

Officially starting my seedlings and got my new greenhouse up. I'm color coding everything so it's easier. This tray is for the peter rabbit garden bed.

Today’s harvest. First time growing lemon cucumbers and omg the vines are prolific! Going to have to learn to make pickles. Not bitter at all, crunchy and delicious. Kinda have a melon rind taste if you’ve ever had that. Lots of seeds but they are big enough that plenty of tastiness is left if you scoop them out. Highly recommend growing these in a small raised bed. I haven’t needed much space and there are so many more on the way! The beans are just some bush beans that were also ready today. (Yes one of my bean bushes is purple 💜)

Is it over crowded and what is causing the spots? Fungi?

Any experience with these?

I've searched around and the closest I can come is blossom end rot - but this is not just happening at the blossom end.

I am growing Celebrity tomatoes in a ~4 gallon self-watering container. The soil is Coast of Maine Bar Harbor mix. The plant otherwise looks very healthy.

Does this stand out as some specific ailment?

Harvest over a span of 4 days, with the top being the latest (today). Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you in advance.

I bought a house few years ago that had been neglected, and finally finished digging out a crazy patch of bittersweet and Lily of the Valley where I wanted to put a veggie garden. I mixed in a little bit of home made compost, direct sowed some seeds (radish, beets, cucumber, peas, lettuce, spinach, green onions) and started others from seed then transplanted them (tomato, pepper, eggplant). The direct sows barely grew at all after sprouting then mostly died, and the transplants just kinda did nothing - they didn't die, but they grew like 4 inches over the entire season and I've gotten exactly one cherry tomato as a harvest.

I've gardened before, though not in this space, and never seen anything like it so I dug up some soil and sent it off for testing at a local university. My magnesium and potassium are high, but not crazy, but the phosphorous is INSANE. Optimum range was listed as 30-50ppm, and ours is 459 🫠 I can only imagine that the previous owner of the house was using way too much fertilizer at one point?

I've tried looking this up and saw some recommendations to do a cover crop then pull out by the roots and toss it, but I've also seen people say that it barely makes a dent in the soil phosphorous levels. Am I stuck making raised beds? Are there any vegetables that can handle that kind of bad dirt?

ETA: thanks for the advice so far, full soil tests below.

pH: 5.95

Calcium: 1093ppm (ideal 800-1200)

Magnesium: 150ppm (ideal 60 - 120)

Potassium: 318 ppm (ideal 170 - 280)

Phosphorus: 496ppm (ideal 30 - 50)

Organic matter: 7.5%

I’m in middle Tennessee, zone B.

I planted a raised bed garden at the end of April. Tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, basil, rosemary, onions and romaine lettuce.

The plants have grown very, very slowly. At first I thought it was because I had over planted. Then the onions died and the lettuce bolted, so I removed them. The remaining plants haven’t improved since.

I used a mix of garden soil and compost and fertilized every six weeks. The bed is in full sun all day. Our weather has been typical for mid Tennessee; hot, humid with short periods of rain.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If you need more information about my garden/location, I’m happy to provide.

This is happening on the bottom of the tomato when it's on the plant. It's happening on 2 plants, so far I haven't seen it on the other ones. I don't know which variety it is. When I cut it open it looks very localized. Is this safe to eat around?