How fast they grow

The winter squash are incredible!  I did have a mishap a week or so ago during the heat wave. I misjudged the evaporation rate and over watered.  The tiny new squash drowned and are falling off.  Thoae out of infancy are still growing at a rapid rate.

This the first photo and last Saturday's.  I noticed this morning that it's color is beginning to deepen.   

Winter squash one week later

I planted 4 winter squash and they now occupy about 14x5 feet or more!

In the middle, at the bottom behind the two lowest large leaves above is the squash I have been posting. It now a good bit bigger than a softball and only what, three weeks?

On a Not working so well note, I am worried about my Liberty apple and Seckle pear. They may have fire blight.  Both have symptoms as the books describe, sort of. Aargh!  However it is manifesting differently on each. The pear's leaves are turning. These photos are the pear:

 The apple's problem started in spring. A foot long year old, healthy looking shoot died back to the end of the prior year's growth.  No other damage occurred until this spur up and died:

Any ideas?  If it wasn't Sunday evening I'd head out to the local nursery for advice.

Sunday Sunday

Two years in a row I planted chives in the garden's raised beds.  They were sickly.  Black aphids attacked them.  Green aphids attacked them.  Well, last year's poor plants must have set seed because the biggest, strongest and happiest planting of chives ever....are in the path!!!

I took this photo in the afternoon so the color is a bit washed out.

I do believe the winter squash vines are growing a foot a day.  Here's a pic of the same squash as in last week's post.  It is still very small but may be twice the size.

And this beauty is a winter squash blossom with a hard working honey bee.

Before the sun hit the back garden I replanted all the bearded iris now that the palm tree has been removed.  It was a lovely old palm and it just up an died.  It did shade the raised beds a part of the day and now I have a beautiful space for the iris so I am okay with the trade off.

I planted a row of turnips, carrots, beets and parsnips today.  The first three are supposed to be 60 days to harvest.  I hope so.  The parsnips are 100 days.  It hope it isn't too hot for seedlings. We'll try to keep them moist and see what we shall see.