Everything's Coming Up Marigolds

 It seems like every time a seedgrow post is due, I am very, very busy.  This month is no different.  Again, I am up late typing away to get it done.  I did get my pictures taken earlier in the week, because I knew I wouldn't be able to today.  You can see from the pictures that my Summer Splash marigolds have really taken off, especially in the bloom department.  However, I wish they were bushier.  I should have pinched off the tops when they were smaller, but now it is too late.  I guess I could do it now, but I would have to destroy a lot of my blooms to do it.  If I grew these again I would keep them more compact. 

 They have really cute little flowers, but I think I actually prefer when marigolds have the fatter, more round blooms.  They do have a nice quantity of blooms.  I don't know if the amount of water they get impacts them much...I try to water everyday, but sometimes it doesn't get done. 

 The bees seem to like them, for sure.  I am not good with bee names...does anybody know what kind of bee this is?  Also, why do some of the blooms have red streaks inside, and some don't? 

 The Italian Cameo basil looks very healthy, it is just growing really, really slowly.  I hoped I would have basil by now.  The plants are still so small I couldn't take very many leaves.  I think maybe this sweet potato vine is shading them out a little.  I tried to remedy that by pinching off some of the leaves and stems on that one side of the sweet potato vine.  That might keep the basil in more sun. 

 I really like the color and shape of the leaves on this basil.  It is a very attractive herb. 

 I tried to get you a picture of what my lettuce looks like now, but blogger refused to load it for some reason.  However, this is no great loss.  The extreme heat we've had for the last few weeks has cooked what was left of my Garden Babies lettuce to death.  It is horrible looking.  Luckily, I managed to eat most of it before it was roasted in the oven-like temperatures.  This is a picture of what the lettuces looked like when I started harvesting them.  They look perfect, but the heat had just started and they were already starting to get a little bit bitter. 

I tried to wait and harvest them when they were the size I saw in the pictures we were provided, but I think I would pick them earlier next time.  They still tasted great drizzle with dressing and served with some halved cherry tomatoes from my garden.  I had them one of the days we had no electricity, after that big storm. 

I am going to wait a few weeks and start another batch of garden babies lettuce for fall.  I am hoping the cooling temperatures will provide more of the sweet, tender taste I am looking for.  For now, the ground will rest. 

I am hoping a month from now, I  will be making basil into yummy things.  I am definitely going to try out some more fertilizer types, I didn't get to do that this month, too much traveling.  Until then, tell me how your plants are growing.    Again... I'm growing with the SeedGROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the free seeds.