Last year, Rebecca K. gave me a Suyo Long seedling. It took me a year to admit that I killed it. She laughed at me and confided that she had killed hers, too.

Rebecca vowed to test her luck again and this year, to my shock and delight, she trusted me with another seedling.

My Suyo Long got off to a late start, but blossomed all the same. The squirrels ate the low hanging fruit, but one strange curly cuke has survived.

Have you grown Suyo Longs? Is there enough growing season for this cuke curiosity to mature? More important, what do they taste like?

My first year in the garden, I harvested five cukes before the plant got mildew and died.

The second year, I planted cucumber seeds in a patio pot. They sprouted and bloomed, then I forgot to water. By July, a mercy killing was in order.

This year, I am determined to break my cucumber curse and turn my garden into a cornucopia of cukes. I started my seeds indoors and saved sunny spot (usually reserved for tomatoes and peppers) for my seedlings. I also bought a trellis to keep the fruit off the ground — and the squirrels from stealing.

Soon, the leaves grew big and green. Yellow flowers blossomed on the vine. I ate my very first cuke in the beginning of July.

Now, we get two or three a week. Some are straight, but others have these curious curved tails.

At first, I blamed the heat wave for my misshapen fruit, but now I suspect something a little more sinister… Is this a pollination problem? A watering issue? Or has my cucumber curse returned?

I transplanted my cukes less than two weeks ago. They happily sprouted yellow flowers — and now, a teeny tiny cucumber! Whee!

About two weeks ago, I also transplanted my parsley. At first, it was a little leggy but after a few days in the sunshine, it grew tall and tasty, but I wasn’t the only one making a meal of this herb. A swallowtail caterpillar was happily munching on the nutrient rich leaves. I’m a sucker for butterflies, so I was rather excited for my uninvited guest.

“Help yourself, good buddy.”

Unfortunately, this green guy became a party of three. The hungry hungry caterpillars quickly devoured both plants. Now, all I have are parsley stems. And there’s not a cocoon insight.

Happily, the monarch catepillars are eating the butterfly weed. It was a volunteer from last year (Ooops, I should’ve included it in last week’s post about volunteer plants…). I fell in love the pink flowers and silky seed pods and let it reseed itself on the side of the house.

So what’s coming up in your garden? When planning your beds, do you include plants to attract butterflies and other beneficial insets to your garden? Have your good intentions ever gone awry like my parsley pal?

I planted my luffa seeds two weeks ago, and yesterday they finally began to peek through the soil.

Yesterday (left) and this morning (right).

I cannot wait to grow my own bath sponges. It will take at least three months for the gourds to grow and another month for them to dry. I know sprouts are just the first baby step, but a little encouragement doesn’t hurt, right?

Grow little luffa, grow!

I knew my melons would be a race against time. I should’ve started their seeds indoors with the tomato and pepper seeds. I also should’ve planted them in a much sunnier place. The ground never fully dried out and many of melons turned yellow and died on the vine. Only four melons survived, one for each vine.

A few weeks ago, the leaves started to wither. The vines quickly followed suit.

It broke my heart to pull my almost-ripe melons from the garden. My inner optimist hoped for sweet and supple flesh. Saddly, when I pried apart the tough exterior, my Prescott Fond Blanc melon was rock hard.

Sigh.

Luckily, there is awesome heirloom melon man on 9th and Nicollet during the farmer’s market. Even if he can’t tell me what went wrong, I’ll treat myself to a few Prescotts and try again next year.

What disappointments have you experinced this growing season? What would you do differently next year? Is it normal for gardeners to be really adept at growing some crops and totally inept at growing others?