how does your garden grow?

[Lady Cop]

rosa rugosa bloom at the beach~~

[Lady Cop]

a pumpkin cheat! off with his head!
this is serious business!

Daily Mail
For years, the pumpkin competition has been the main highlight of the annual calendar for the sleepy village of Beckbury.

Green-fingered locals have competed to outdo each other by producing the biggest specimen, while villagers looked on and cheered as they tipped the scales.

But now, the competition has been mired in controversy after the man who produced the biggest pumpkin for four years in a row admitted he cheated.

Every year, the villagers would watch in awe as Barry Truss – assisted by four burly relatives – placed his mammoth pumpkins on the scales.

He managed to scoop the prestigious trophy and £50 cash prize for four years running at the competition in the Shropshire village, which is just outside Wolverhampton.

But in a shock confession, he admitted pumping last year’s 186lb prize-winner full of water and then using a bung to hide the tell-tale hole.

He said: ‘I used a hose and put four watering cans worth in it. Took some skill, actually. I thought it would be a laugh.

‘We spent hours rolling the thing round the back garden afterwards trying to get the water out. It gurgled.

‘Listen, I’ve had dirty tricks played on me – they fiddled the scales one year – but I’m not complaining.’

He added: ‘I went white when I heard the pumpkin was going to be given to the main sponsor’s children. If they’d cut into that thing, the tidal wave would’ve swept them away.’

And it seems his admission has triggered a whole host of rumors of threats and sabotage that now threaten to ruin the competition’s wholesome reputation.

Villagers accuse Mr Truss, a 57-year-old long-distance lorry driver, of putting his foot through one specimen and using his dog to sniff out pumpkins hidden from him.

They also accuse him of poisoning pumpkins and upending shallots.

Last year, his biggest rival for the pumpkin crown, former allotment association chairman Pete Glaze, claimed Mr Truss ‘put his foot through’ one pumpkin.

Mr Glaze then planted his six best specimens in secret locations so that his rival would not be able to find them.

Mr Truss denies vandalism but when confronted he allegedly pointed to pet Tibetan terrier Millie and whispered: ‘I’ll find them. You’ve heard of drug dogs? She’s a pumpkin dog.’

Mr Glaze said: ‘Barry has admitted to filling one pumpkin with water, but what about all the other stuff? He was witnessed upending my shallots, poisoned one pumpkin and put his foot through the biggest I ever grew.’


Mr Truss, an allotment holder for almost 30 years, strenuously denies the claims. He believes Mr Glaze’s potential prize-winner simply became too heavy and caved in.

‘Caved in, my arse,’ Mr Glaze said. ‘It had a bloody boot-print on it.’

When asked how he ensured he always grew the biggest pumpkins, Mr Truss allegedly said: ‘You can’t beat a pair of steel-capped boots and a bottle of poison.’

The pumpkin weigh-in, staged each October at the village pub The Seven Stars, is the highlight of Beckbury Allotment Association’s packed annual program.

[Duchess]

"she's a pumpkin dog".

[Lady Cop]

a flutterby on lavender verbena in a Vermont garden.
from Yankee Magazine~~pretty~~

[thekid65]

I need to get out and take some pics...wifey's garden is doing well. Got a slight bug problem..but other than that..shit is sprouting and growing!

[Lady Cop]

just picked in my garden today! yummy..i had strawberry shortcake for lunch. maybe i will for dinner too. hahaha
they're very sweet, i'm surprised the critters left some for me~~

[Lady Cop]

looks like snow...but it's opium poppies in bloom for use by pharmaceutical companies to make morphine. Oxfordshire, England.

[Lady Cop]

July 1. this is pumpkins and broccoli. the pumpkins took over the entire yard last year.

[thekid65]

Just taken this am. Garden is coming along quite nicely, although the peas have failed miserably...and we got some type of bug eating the cabbage plant leaves (why da'fuck the wifey planted cabbage, I dunno). The top half is almost strictly devoted to corn (cept for the lame-ass peas on the upper right corner), which is just now sprouting and the plants are only several inches high. Last year the corn kicked ass (food wise) but she only had 4-6 plants, so it clearly wasnt enough. This year we hope to have around 16 or so.

[Lady Cop]

your garden is so neat!! and mine is so messy!


bugs always eat the leaves on everything!

[thekid65]

Gotta give the wifey credit for that...all I'm responsible for is making sure the watering system works well.

We were real surprised that potatoes came up (that big bushy plant on the center/right). We didnt plant any this year..remnants of last year.

[Maggot]

I almost said I have cucumbers up the ass but thought better of it.

[Lady Cop]

nice Maggot!
i have been picking broccoli, cukes and string beans. i love the cukes sliced and chilled with red wine vinegar. and my pumpkin plants are taking over the entire landscape again. i'll have to take some pictures and add them as attachments when Duchess isn't looking since i don't know how else to post them from my camera.
i have lots of apples too. still a bit small.

[Maggot]

I just picked a collander full of string beans, and my sweet peas are flowering (I love them damn flowers!) I got about 15 cukes and I think I should be able to start pickling 4-5 jars a week starting this weekend. I have my old recipe book out and just need to buy a bunch of tops for my jars. If I do 4-6 per jars per weekend I might get 30-40 big jars this year. Last year I got tons of Tomatoes and the paste lasted till January, but this year they are slow and the cukes are all over this year. Rotating veges goes a long way and I gave one side a rest this year planting only rye grass. ( I was very late and never got the other side done this year) But with putting in the extra box I am getting slow but healthy tomatoes.
The heat stunted some plants as they will not grow in temps over 90-95 deg I think thats the way tomatoes go.
I am thinking of turning over some rye grass in a week or two to plant some radishes and carrots as they go well into the winter and fall. Broccoli does well in cold weather also but I think its late now.

[Lady Cop]

i have a couple sunflowers out by my mailbox, and someone wants the seeds.




now THIS is a sunflower!
gardener Eve Fielding, of Kent, was shocked to see her sunflower grow to 23ft

[Lady Cop]

holy pickles! my kitchen is full of cucumbers!

hundreds of cucumbers! aggghhhhhh!
they won't stop!

[Maggot]

Everyone I know has tons of cucumbers WTH! It's weird I tell ya. I found one that has been growing all summer hiding on me. It looked like a watermellon.

[Cracker]

Fall garden time, people. I think I just might... Or not. It's hard enough keeping up with the yard.

[Lady Cop]

Autumn is a good time to try a small herb garden Cracker.

[Lady Cop]

i suddenly have tons of red ripe tomatoes, nearly overnight i have to eat them! i don't do canning. i have thousands of damn cucumbers and all these tomatoes, agghhhhhh