Monday, September 6, 2010

September Survivors

It's been a month since I posted.... not sure if I should blame that on the extreme heat of August, the pregnancy, or just being lazy. Anyway... my garden has been neglected just as much as the blog, so what you see here are plants that can truly grow in the deep south, and clay soil, with zero care.
First up, turks cap hibiscus:

I got this at a plant sale in March, and it was just a few inches tall. Plopped it in the ground with a little compost, watered it maybe twice - and now it's 2 feet tall, bushy and thriving.

I planted two beautyberries last fall and have never watered either of them. This one is in the partial shade of the backyard, and is absolutely huge. The other one is in the front sun and is smaller, with smaller leaves and smaller berries (it's alive, though!).

The only things still producing from the spring veggie garden are eggplants and peppers. Both take a long time to get moving (especially started from seed!), but will produce deep into the fall. I have a couple of varieties of eggplant growing:




They have not been watered since the day they were planted.
A good use for summer veggies like tomatoes and banana peppers is nachos! This is one of my favorite recipes and a recent dinner:

I accidentally let some banana peppers turn red on the plant, and Scott has been using those in omelets. They taste surprisingly like bell peppers at that stage.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

8 comments:

Christine B. said...

A month since you posted? I'm worse...a month since I've been in the garden. I'll blame it on 31 straight days of rain (a new state record, lucky us).

The nachos look really good, but I'm too chicken to try eggplant.

Christine in Alaska

Susie said...

I've been wondering how you were feeling. Hope the pregnancy is going great.

My white Turk's cap is blooming now too. But it isn't very big and I've had it for a couple of year.

Nachos look great!

Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog said...

I can't believe you haven't been watering your veggies and they still look that great! I'm a big fan of both Turk's cap and beautyberry. I've found beautyberry does best with a little shade. And Turk's cap can take shade or full sun.
Oh and congrats on your pregnancy!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

The Beautyberry looks great! I planted one last fall too. I'm waiting for the berries to turn now. Those nachos look so good. I could seriously live on nachos, especially when they have all the extras like yours do.

Darla said...

I too have thought of you. Glad to hear all is well. I rooted a piece of my neighbor's Turks Cap--Sleeping Hibiscus and it's doing great, think I'll root another cutting.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

With zero care, plants have to resort to their instinct, perfected for million of years.... and still they have something to offer; fruits and blooms. Hope you are doing fine.. ~bangchik

Braniac said...

Tanks for the delicious dinner grouchasaurus :)

Shady Gardener said...

I was enjoying the unusual plants and flowers... when all of a sudden, there was a visual shake-em-up! The delicious looking meal on the colorful plate. :-) Looks as though things are going well your way! Happy September!