Papaya in Illinois

Last spring my granddaughter and I saved some papaya seeds from a papaya. We dried them on a paper towel for a few days, and then planted them in sphagnum moss in a little fish bowl covered with saran wrap. About ten sprouted. I transplanted them into my hotbed, and one finally survived to the garden bed. It has done quite well and is about three feet tall. I am going to try to dig it up and put it in a planter inside for the winter.

Evergreen Bunching Onions in a box.

A while ago I made this bottomless box.  I removed and sifted the soil and transplanted 60 plants. About 20 have survived the hottest July on record. I am going to begin to fill in the box to blanch the onions. They are just about big enough for the first layer.

Black Spanish Radishes

About July 30th I planted Watermelon Radishes, Black Spanish, Giant White, and Purple Top Turnips. It cooled off enough that I could sprinkle them and I have pretty good germination. I have found out you don't want to lose a couple of weeks waiting on it to rain.I am kind of intrigued by the Spanish Black and Giant White radishes which I have never grown before. The Watermelon radishes are green on the outside and red interior. They are really crisp and good in salads. I have some Romaine lettuce started under shade cloth to transplant for later.

Celery-Naked and with clothes.

I don't have enough experience with celery to know whether it is doing good or not. It hasn't rained ( except 1/2 inch), but at least it has cooled off with highs around 80. I am spraying it once a week with a copper based fungicide because the leaves picked something up. I give it tons of water, but I don't know if it gets enough sun. I guess in about 8 weeks I'll know. I forgot to take pictures of my celeriac which looks real good. Also I have some cutting celery with very nice flavor, I'll definitely grow it again next year. It has grown all summer under a shade cover.