Garden Report

Tiny watermelons and cantaloupes have begun to appear on the vines, though the first watermelon to emerge sloughed off today. A couple of cantaloupe plants succumbed to aphid damage that occurred before I figured out that aphids had attacked. The twice a day applications of water with a touch of dishwashing soap have controlled the aphids and the surviving vines are now doing very well.

The tomato plants are flowering but have come under attack by white flies. I have begun the soap water spray treatment in hopes of saving the plants, some of the leaves of which are wilting.

The carrots germinated well and are developing their secondary leaves. The garlic cloves of the first planting have now all emerged, though it took about a month for them all to do so. Most of the cloves of the second planting, in the bed with the carrots, have also emerged. The cucumbers I planted in the same bed are up and have already come under the aphid assault, so are also getting the twice per day inspection and treatment.

The second planting of lettuce is doing very well and I am regularly eating from the first planting. The two rows of onions I planted from seeds have also germinated and are doing well. The habanera plants are finally beginning to put on new growth after doing just about nothing during the month since I transplanted them into the garden.

Today I discovered a two foot Iguana dead in the midst of the garden. Its face had been chewed a bit, I assume by the local cats, one a Siamese male and the other a large gray male, which Armando feeds, though he denies they are his. My observation has always been that if you feed a cat it’s yours, whether you want it or not. When he sees one of the cats Rusty will run toward the cat, barking ferociously; but the cats just ignore him. If he gets too close they look his way and he retreats. During the night the Siamese goes into the typical Siamese moaning routine and quite often a cat fight erupts in the back yard.