Tree, Oh yes, you and your garden still have a great chance of producing good harvests this year.

And, by the way, I am sorry to hear about all your troubles. Between the late freezes, rain falling at all the wrong times, and your illness, it is a wonder you have anything growing at all.

Your Trombocino will take off and grow like mad now that it isn't raining as much and the weather is nice and warm.

In the weedy beds of toms, peppers and squash, if you don't have the time or energy to pull the weeds, you could carefully cut them off at the ground level with a weed-eater, or even with scissors, and then put cardboard down on top of them, and put some kind of mulch on top of the cardboard if you have mulch, or even use bricks or rocks to hold down the cardboard. That would smother the weeds and help the toms, peppers and squash to grow and produce.

Unless there is some reason you prefer starting seeds inside, you can direct-sow cucumbers in the ground right now. In fact, you can direct sow just about any warm-season crop in to the ground now. I just direct sowed a lot of southern pea varieties and four or five kinds of winter squash, as well as many kinds of flowers, to grow in the raised beds left bare after I harvested all the potatoes last week.

I have found that many of our summer crops here, including okra, southern peas (blackeyed peas, purplehull pinkeye, zipper, cream, etc.), cukes, summer squash, winter squash, cantaloupes, muskmelons, and watermelons), produce very quickly from summertime sowings. They do, in fact, tend to produce a lot more quickly than the days-to-maturity estimates for those varieties. I think our summertime temperatures and long days of intense sunlight speed up the rate at which things grow and produce. I have some corn varieties that I am harvesting now that are producing a harvest much earlier than you'd expect based on the DTMs.

Remember that in OK, we get a second chance with most crops for a fall harvest. You are planting in what I call the "awkward" period when, realistically speaking, the spring planting season has ended, and the fall planting season hasn't really started (though it almost is here). But, there are some plants, like the ones I mentioned above, that can be sown almost any time in summer.

Today is June 26th, and the recommended planting dates for fall tomatoes, for example, are July 1-15th, so it is almost time to put the fall crop in the ground. For what it is worth, I have put fall tomatoes in the ground as early as June 15th some years and they do just fine, so I think it is okay to ignore the recommended planting dates in summer and just put the plants or seeds in the ground whenever you have a bare spot to fill, or the time to do it. They're likely to grow and produce just fine.

So, I say...plant 'em if you've got 'em!

Since I mentioned the OSU-recommended planting dates for fall, I'll link that document here. However, if you have the bare space to fill and want to plant warm-season fall plants earlier than those dates, I expect everything will work out just fine. I wouldn't plant the cool-season varieties earlier than recommended because they'd likely burn up in the heat if put in the ground earlier than recommended.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall Garden Planning Guide

Thank you Dawn. When I walked out there for the first time to water I was just so taken back shocked. I felt like I was just watering weeds and people driving by where laughing at me.
Thanks for the advice I'll have to get out there before the heat sets in tomorrow. I do have toms on my plants and thats a surprise.
Tree

Thank you Tree & Dawn for the post. I haven't had the health issues that have delayed me... but there's Mother Nature and Her wrath...and then there's those "human" critters that decide to break into one's home and steal you blind...and totally trash a home in doing of their stealing. Can ya tell I'm just a BIT bitter?

I'm kinda in your same place, Tree. I've got some things planted in the garden...and other still growing in pots. I have blooms on squash in little 4 inch pots on my front deck! Does that tell you they want to grow?!!

I was kinda thinking the same thing about getting a Fall Garden harvest. Happy to know I'm not far off the mark. Hang in there, Tree. We'll get something outta this growing season one way or another! And Dawn...much appreciation for the info!

Just got a computer tower to replace the stolen one...and MERCY!!! Lots to catch up on!

Paula

Hey, your tromboncino is way ahead of mine! mine are still in the seed packet :) My first set never came up. I think they might have rotted in the ground. I have held back planting them until my vacation is over....then I won't have to worry about the waterer not taking care of them! :)

I am glad you are feeling better.

Paula, I saw the note on FB about your house...I am so sorry :( A friend of mine just got hit today too. It sounds like they trashed the house too.

Tree, Here where I live, plenty of people plant a garden and never seem to weed and their gardens must produce enough to make them happy because they do the same thing the same way every year. I don't think people were laughing at you. Most non-gardening people probably cannot tell the difference between weeds and desirable plants as they drive by.

Good luck with it.

Paula, Gee, Earth Sister, y'all are having quite a year. Isn't it disgusting to have your home violated like that? When I was 19, my first apartment was broken into...but the joke was on them because my roommate and I barely had anything at all since it was our first apartment, and I don't think they found anything to steal except food. Our belongings, such as they were, were hand-me-downs and castoffs from our families, so apparently weren't good enough for a thief to steal. I am sorry this happened to y'all.

I've been missing you on here, and assumed maybe you were just busy with the grandkids. Now, watch your house extra carefully, because often those criminal types wait a few weeks for you to replace the stuff and then they come back and steal the stuff again.

Now, get those little squashies in the ground. I'd go ahead and plant every warm season thing that I could now if you are behind and not necessarily wait for the OSU-recommended dates. If we get lucky and have an occasional cool spell and rain, you might get a harvest more quickly than you think.

I was in our local Wal-Mart a couple of days ago, and they had oodles of veggie seedlings still...I know that I saw tomatoes, peppers, squash, cantaloupes, okra, winter squash and watermelons....so if you could pick up a handful of seedlings, that would get y'all a month's head start on sowing seeds now. Just some food for thought.....

Dawn

Paula O sorry about the break in. That really sucks.
Last year Memorial day weekend I took the bike to Galveston beach. 8AM in the morning a guy who lives in my town calls and says " What the Hell I just jumped in your hot tub and about froze my Bs off"
I screwed up and told him where I was and since I was going to be gone 4 days I turned It down.
When I got home all my jewelry from DH and my dead DH was gone. He's the only person who knew where I was.
The cops wouldn't do anything cuz he's lived here his whole life.
He's 47 never moved out of his mom's house and is on drugs and works only a week a month sometimes if at all. but He's a good boy. HA.
So mad the law wouldn't do anything and I know who did it. But he only stole my jewelry and nothing else. I told myself to be happy he didn't take any electronics. Again sorry I know how bad that kind of home violation is. Hope they catch who did it and you'll have your justice.
Tree