Fairytale Garden Update

The Fairytale Garden is doing well.  The Magic Beans are climbing everywhere. The 'pole beans' sign is barely visible in the picture below.  Some new bug is eating the leaves, but it hasn't stopped the beans from growing.  (New Bug is yellow and spiky; the chickens won't even eat this strange creature, so I'm hoping he just goes away.)

The Cabbage Patch is gorgeous.  Having never grown cabbage before, it is a thrill to watch the purple leaves form cabbage heads.  I've weeded out some of the crowded plants; the chickens love them. The primary reason for growing cabbages is to feed them to the chickens.  I enjoy purple cabbage, but my family does not much care for it. The plants add a nice color to the garden, so I'm glad to have them, even if the chickens and I will be eating them alone.

Cinderella's pumpkins are starting to grow.  Additionally, some of the squash we planted with the pumpkins are growing nicely.

The potato plants are starting to die off, which is good.  That is exactly what we've read they should do.  (It is always a relief when the plants have read the same gardening web sites as the gardeners.) 

We've seen a few fruits on these plants, which surprised us. Who knew potato plants made fruit?? The fruits look like green tomatoes, but we've read that they are toxic and not too common.  The potatoes are teaching us plenty, as we are new to growing them.  They are also the most controversial member of the Fairy Tale garden, since they are not an obvious character in any popular fairy tale.  It has come to our attention, though, that they are popular in folklore, having sparked Mr. Potato Head, hot potato, "one potato, two", and more.

There is much to learn from a potato.