I really did not think I would even get any watermelons this year, since it’s been such a cool, strange and short summer – but I decided to put them in an earthbox this year, placed on the concrete in my side yard, figuring that way they would get maximum heat.

The side yard gets lots of sun, and the concrete gets hot and creates a little micro-climate of perfect growing conditions.

So, the other day I harvested my first watermelon of the year, and it wasn’t bad!

A few little things from the 2010 garden:

Pimento de Padron
Delicious to pronounce, wonderful to eat,
with perfect piquancy, depth and many nuanced notes

A single predatory wasp will consume more aphids and other leaf eaters than a squadron of lady bugs. Best of all: they have a live-and-let live attitude towards humans. This is a good reason to provide them with watering stations like the one below.

In the Three Sisters Planting, corn, beans and squash thrive together and all benefit each other. Here Scarlet Runner Beans are climbing on the corn. Humming birds love the Scarlet Runner Beans.

Accidental, no-effort sunflower patch: We spilled blackoil sunflower seeds onto a 3 inch deep patch of fine barkdust that was on our lawn. In no time there was a small, thriving sunflower thicket.

It’s been a cool summer, and everything was late, oh so late. But finally the harvesting has begun. This is why I garden!

Cucumbers are finally coming into their own. These were grown in an Earthbox – this is the first year for me growing cucumbers in an earthbox, and clearly, they are thriving.

Any ideas on how to use them are welcome! Wish they could be kept for winter!

And another plant that absolutely thrives in the Earthbox is Eggplant. Here is one example of Hansel in an Earthbox: