Tom,
I think you are going to enjoy these Vietnamese veggies. I bet your wife can cook some excellent dishes with these guys. My in law gave me unlimited supplies.
Tony
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What are those, Tony? How do they taste?
Antmary.
The big one is the Opo squash. The two long ones by the poll are Luffa. They usually cook as a soupy dishes with pork ribs. The luffa is sweet with a jello texture and the opo squash is more crunchy in texture.
Tony
Tony! What can’t you grow? Those are amazing! I’ve only seen squash grown like that in a major topiary garden. Wowwww 
Holy Tony!
You’re absolutely right. My wife likes to use blue crabs pairing with Opo squash for soup. The Luffa, she pairs them with shrimp/fish paste, again for soup. But sometimes, she stir-fries luffa with beef, bean sprouts and mushrooms too. Both soups are excellently satisfying to start and finish a meal! 
You probably save the land for other plants while supplies from the in-law are so plentiful. No need to duplicate the efforts, eh? My squash effort this year is a BIG ZERO. Out of 20 plants that I germinated, only 1 survive and at this moment, has only about 6 pair of leaves! And a full bag of luffa seeds had none germinated!
Even northern Illinois and Omaha in the same zone 5, but I think your area is a tad warmer then ours. I’ve been driving back and forth to Omaha for the past 2 years for my kid’s college move (3-5 visits a year) and I do feel it’s warmer in your area. Maybe that helps along with your in-law’s major green-thumb.
Tom
Tony, that is just incredible. If I were a little kid, I’d be camping out underneath that trellis, and reading my books and imagining I was in a castle in the forest. How very cool!
Here is an extra treat for you. It is about 1006 Central time and my Epiphylum are blooming.
Tony
in
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OMG, Tony, that is absolutely gorgeous.
Night Blooming Cereus to boot? Or Orchid Cactus? Stop, you’re killing me! 
Beautiful cactus, Tony. I thought that they are blooming around December time.
Here are soy beans, the kind that is grown for edamame beans. I planted two varieties and they are mixed up. This is my first time growing them. I do not know yet if they are worth growing. The bean pods are tiny and it will be a pain to shell them.
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Antmary, they are great and delicious. I steam mine whole with salt, then pop them into my mouth through the shell. It works! I learned the trick from a local Sushi house.
This is a great idea, Mrs G, I’ll try it!
Not really, I just steam them quickly in salted water and then chill. Serve them whole like your favorite Japanese restaurant does. Shell them as you eat 'em. Great snack for watching football.
I do agree that they are not as productive as other beans and peas. As a result, I don’t grow them every year, but enjoy them when I do…
Yes, I would not guessed it myself. Thanks, MrClint.
Antmary
The Epiphylum decided to flower three times this year starting from June. It must like the liquid miracle gro.
Tony
Tony,
What’s the secret for making them to flower, reliably? I have a pot that’s probably over 10 years. It bloomed for about 4 or 5 times total. This year, it produced 1 flower in mid-July and I was out of town when it open!
I was not happy for that sneaky act!
Tom
Tom
I just water it with liquid Miracle Gro once a week. The plant is situated in a semi shaded area. It grew to 7 feet tall with droopy leaves and I had to propped it with a 1/2 " PVC pipe in the center of the plant.
Tony
Do you prune off anything like this year or last year growth? Seven feet is not good to bring in-house!
Tom
Antmary, Love those things also but an absolute rabbit magnet for us. Grew a 100’ row and the rabbits eat them all before they were 6" tall. We use them now to keep the rabbits out of other crops.