The drought takes its toll on the Nesmith Farm

It's been a tough year to have a community garden.

On the one hand, we haven't had to deal with fungus diseases.  Or the river flooding (that has happened, and not just in 2008).

But the hot, dry weather hasn't been optimal.

The pumpkin plants and two of the gourd plants have died.  Eli did get a couple of gourds from them and made this cute gourd container out of one.

The watermelon plants survived, but only yielded softball-sized, seedy fruit!  It tastes fine, but looks unappetizing.

Luckily, some of the plants are doing OK.

The flowers look nice.  They're State Fair Zinnias, and I bring back blooms to decorate our table every time I'm out there.

The Brussels sprouts don't seem to be bothered by the drought.  I find them amusing to look at--they're like cabbages on stilts.  You can see the little sprouts forming on the stem.

Not sure what will happen with the Romanesco broccoli.  There are no heads on it--it's too hot.  I'm hoping it'll get heads this fall as the weather cools down.

Eli's snake gourd plants are happy, though not very productive.  One did get a gourd, and it's growing bigger and bigger.  It's about 15 inches long now, and still growing.

Eli wants a garden again next year.  I'm not sure!  If we do have one, I'll grow zinnias and Brussels sprouts for sure.

And maybe beets; my neighbor is growing them and sharing hers with us.