A Volunteer State- Are We Tennessee?

In the spring we had several plants come up as volunteers. Our theory is if it grows it must be in a happy state so we let it thrive and see what we get. We have had volunteer cherry tomatoes come up for three years now. They are so flavorful and sooooo plentiful. We end up drying a ton of them in the dehydrator. We end up with jars in the pantry which we use on pizza, in lasagna and in lots of dishes that call for roasted tomatoes. They are great but they can take over. We thinned some of them out this year but still have plenty to enjoy in salads and as snacks.

Cucurbits- 5 different kinds grew in the garden in various places this year. We could tell from the foliage that they were different so we let them grow. Here is our guess of what we will be getting

butternut squash- Only a few little ones and 2 good sized ones but that is okay as we had a gracious plenty grow last year

pumpkin????   BIG....... turning orange... I see them as decorations on the front porch. Maybe they will be a variety for a pie??? There are 4 of them.

Decorative pumpkin? Still green and can't really tell. We have 11 of them. I hope they are useful for something as they are wandering all over and taking up a lot of space.

Melon- A variation on a cantaloupe. We have 2 of them. One was ready tonight so I picked it and this is it.  It smells wonderful but the outside is creamy white and silky smooth.

Cantaloupe- 1 measly little effort. We hope it is sweet because it is only the size for a snack. Really cute there among the red bell peppers.  We have had traditional cantaloupe volunteer before and they are really sweet.