I have almost entirely abandoned gardening, or even the most basic maintenance. But now that it is seed starting time, I'm going to give it another shot.
I scrounged up some of the six-packs, and a lot of them still had dried out plugs of seed starting mix. Strangely I can only find 6 of the 10 I know I have, plus the crappy one from the nursery. I also had some worm castings that had been sitting in a bin for about a year, and pulled some potting soil out of the dead pepper plant. I layered the potting soil and worm castings in the bottom 2/3 of the cells, and topped with the nice light seed starting mix.
I started the Rudbeckia, because that's the thing that needs to most time to get going. Last year I did 3 six packs (18) and they were all great. This year I've done 4. (24 plants!) Last year I put them all in the weird sidewalk bed, and they looked pretty nice, although they didn't grow that big. They were quite productive though; there were plenty of flowers every day for a period of a few months. Totally worth the effort.
I'm also going to buy a pack of a different Rudbeckia from Burpee. My old version is called Indian Summer, and this is called Tiger Eye. I used up all the old seeds today, even though I think I ended up with 4 or 5 seeds per cell. It's not like I'm going to keep them for another year. This new Rudbeckia only comes with 25 seeds, compared to 100 seeds for about the same price. I never know if that means anything, other than maybe the seeds are harder to collect or the plant produces less seed. These are also supposed to be a little shorter. So when I get those seeds I will get them started right away. Maybe I will even do one seed per cell to maximize the number of plants I get. How cool would it be if I had 40 or so plants to fill out that space?
So now I am thinking about what flowers I would like to have in the summer. Those two Rudbeckias will be great and may produce even more than I can fit in the Sidewalk Bed. I also want to try to do more sunflowers. Last year I think I tried to get too clever and I started some sunflowers inside and tried to transplant them. Looks like they did not enjoy that. So when I go to transplant the Rudbeckia outside, in late April, that would be a good time to put in lots of sunflower seeds. Last year's Rudbeckia is said to get more than 3 feet tall- I didn't see it get quite that tall, although it does have a bushy habit and then tall stems stick up higher with the flowers. The new Rudbeckia will be more like 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall. So that could create some nice layering. Then I would hopefully have several of the Sunflowers in there which will be around 3 feet tall. I'll need something in the front that is shorter. I have an unopened pack of the Thumbelina Zinnias, which say they are 6 inches tall, but I bet it's taller. Those are a mix of colors- yellow orange, pink, red and white. I was thinking of making that bed only yellow, orange and red. If I get these started early enough, I might be able to tell which is which. But if I have a mix of those colors that would also be fine.
If those short Zinnias do well, I would also put them in the side bed, or in the front bed. Basically I just have to have a whole lot of whatever I'm doing. I don't know if there are any other annual flowers that I would want to start now to use in the other beds. The front bed has the perennial Rudbeckia, and I'm sure those are good, and the Echinacea which I totally love. And there's a Clematis in there somewhere, although I don't have much faith that it will come back. I'll probably end up just buying a flat of Vincas or something.
In the side bed... oh my god those roses. They are totally out of control and I really need to prune them back, like way back. That would of course be in the spring when they start growing again. With all that pink, the best thing to put in with them would probably be those pink vincas. (Pink-ahs?) If I somehow manage to distinguish between the different colors of the short Zinnias, I would put the pink and white in the side bed and the yellow, orange and red in the sidewalk bed.
I am also ordering some Coleus, which I will start as soon as I get it. Those are obviously for the patio bed. I might not go so hard on Coleus this year, because they grow so lush that they swamp out the Begonias.
Anyway, edibles! I also started 2 six-packs of Kale today. I'm still debating about starting some Radicchio. I know it takes a while to mature, so I'm thinking if I start them now, I can transplant them outside in 2 months and a month or so after that they might be ok to harvest. But basically I think they have to come out before the end of April. That allows me more than 90 days. I'm skeptical, but I'll only do one six-pack.
I will start the tomatoes in 2 weeks, I think. I'm going to do the same thing, the same 4 inch pots, 5 each of the 3 varieties. I also want to do some Romaine, and Swiss Chard, which will be started inside in February. Next would be Basil, and maybe Cilantro is worth a try. Oh, and the baby Bok Choy! I love that stuff. I will do some leaf lettuce in the gutter garden, including Arugula. And last year I had some success doing the Radishes in the window box. I might do them in a container instead, and put something more ornamental in the window box. Maybe Pansies. Whatever.
I'm going to put the Tomatoes into the smaller raised bed this year. It's been two years in the other one, so it's probably time to rotate, and I think that's probably got a little more sun. So the other bed will be available for all the spring greens and lettuce, and hopefully lots of Swiss Chard in the summer. And of course that is a good area for herbs. I'm hopeful the Rosemary will make it through the winter.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Heat Wave
It is so damn hot, and it has been for the last like, 2 weeks, and another week coming up. I don't care enough about any of my plants to go outside and deal with them. I've let the cherry tomato in the pot just die. It's too far gone, and I've gotten plenty out of it already. The squirrels are going to be the ones disappointed.
The green bean plants have been dead for a long time. I'm not really sure what happened there, because they are technically in the ground. It seemed to happen really quickly. I'm guessing it was some kind of weird green bean thing, like Mike said, if they are touched when they are wet, they can just die instantly and it doesn't make sense.
The other two tomatoes are doing ok. I should probably water them. I actually have not had any issues with these. They do not show any signs of disease or dying from the bottom up from Vertascilium wilt (or whatever it is). And this is the third year growing in the same place. Since I'm not having any issues, I think I should be able to get away with another year in that same place. And I will probably grown the same varieties, since I won't have to buy new seeds.
Of course, if I grow these again, I will be a lot more fastidious with the labeling. Somehow, it seems like everyone ended up with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. I will certainly grow the Brandy Boy again. I guess I'll grow Sun Golds again, why not. And I'll try to grow the Patio tomato, maybe it will actually make it this time. I think the big tray with 15 cells is a good approach, although I clearly do not need 15 tomato plants, even if I'm going to give away most of them. I started them super early, like end of January, and I would instead aim for mid February.
The soaker hose that I have out there is starting to fall apart. I think it's broken in the middle. I have a new one and I've been meaning to set it up. Of course I'm not going to do that today because it's insane out there. Maybe when the tomatoes die out and I get rid of them, that would be a good time to get the hose out of there.
Most of my herbs have died as well, because of my intense neglect. Same with all the potted plants I got from my coworker when she moved. I basically just left them out on a hot patio to die. And most of them were in pots too small for them to begin with.
The hot peppers are doing quite well. The habenero is pumping out peppers like it's its job. I made a hot sauce yesterday with about 8 peppers. I really need to bring home some gloves from work for the next time I handle those things. The "Salsa" peppers are great, actually. They aren't so hot, so you can roast them or sautee them or whatever. I put one in the hot sauce. Only problem is that the plant is kind of sprawling around and sagging. The Habenero is actually a beautiful plant, it's like a nice little tree with a canopy. Of course I would like to keep them over the winter so I need to really wash them off in the fall before I bring them inside.
And now, of course, I'm starting to think about a fall garden. Those are the things that are more fun to grow, and to eat, and there's more variety of what I want to grow. Some of the longer growing plants, like Radicchio, should probably be going in pretty soon. But of course, the tomatoes still have a lot of time. They ought to be able to go through most of September.
I think I will use the bed where the green beans were to plant some fall veggies that need to go in soon. That means I need to pull out the dead beans of course, but I have a ton of strawberries in there as well. They have never really done anything good as far as I can tell. I could just throw them all out. Or I could try to save them in containers, but then what, plant them somewhere in the spring? Maybe if I get a strawberry pot or something. I guess I will try to put them in containers and keep them, and then throw them out later when they're all dead.
So what do I need to start? Radicchio is the longest growing, it says it needs 90 days, so if I started it now, it wouldn't be ready until November. So, yeah, I guess I should start it really soon. I don't have any seed starting mix at the moment, so I guess I could just use potting mix. Or I could go buy some. Nah, let's start some today, that sounds like a good project. I guess I should start two 6-packs, so 12. Then maybe next week I will start the Kale. Maybe in 2 weeks I will finally get out there and clean out that bed. As soon as these new plants start to grow at all, they should be moved into the ground. Also, I think I should empty the compost bin into that little bed.
Once the heat breaks, I will probably freshen up the soil in the gutter garden, and plant some leaf lettuce. Supposedly that would be good, because the warm temperature will get them growing faster but they will be ready to pick when it starts to get cooler. I also want to grow some Romaine lettuce and some Bok Choy. The Romaine is like, 70 days, so I guess I would start that in September. The Bok Choy should probably be started at the end of September, since it's a 30 day veggie.
You know, for things that are harvested as whole heads, maybe I ought to stagger them a little. Not that they ripen up all at once, but if I am growing 12 Radicchio, I don't really want them all to come within a week.
The green bean plants have been dead for a long time. I'm not really sure what happened there, because they are technically in the ground. It seemed to happen really quickly. I'm guessing it was some kind of weird green bean thing, like Mike said, if they are touched when they are wet, they can just die instantly and it doesn't make sense.
The other two tomatoes are doing ok. I should probably water them. I actually have not had any issues with these. They do not show any signs of disease or dying from the bottom up from Vertascilium wilt (or whatever it is). And this is the third year growing in the same place. Since I'm not having any issues, I think I should be able to get away with another year in that same place. And I will probably grown the same varieties, since I won't have to buy new seeds.
Of course, if I grow these again, I will be a lot more fastidious with the labeling. Somehow, it seems like everyone ended up with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. I will certainly grow the Brandy Boy again. I guess I'll grow Sun Golds again, why not. And I'll try to grow the Patio tomato, maybe it will actually make it this time. I think the big tray with 15 cells is a good approach, although I clearly do not need 15 tomato plants, even if I'm going to give away most of them. I started them super early, like end of January, and I would instead aim for mid February.
The soaker hose that I have out there is starting to fall apart. I think it's broken in the middle. I have a new one and I've been meaning to set it up. Of course I'm not going to do that today because it's insane out there. Maybe when the tomatoes die out and I get rid of them, that would be a good time to get the hose out of there.
Most of my herbs have died as well, because of my intense neglect. Same with all the potted plants I got from my coworker when she moved. I basically just left them out on a hot patio to die. And most of them were in pots too small for them to begin with.
The hot peppers are doing quite well. The habenero is pumping out peppers like it's its job. I made a hot sauce yesterday with about 8 peppers. I really need to bring home some gloves from work for the next time I handle those things. The "Salsa" peppers are great, actually. They aren't so hot, so you can roast them or sautee them or whatever. I put one in the hot sauce. Only problem is that the plant is kind of sprawling around and sagging. The Habenero is actually a beautiful plant, it's like a nice little tree with a canopy. Of course I would like to keep them over the winter so I need to really wash them off in the fall before I bring them inside.
And now, of course, I'm starting to think about a fall garden. Those are the things that are more fun to grow, and to eat, and there's more variety of what I want to grow. Some of the longer growing plants, like Radicchio, should probably be going in pretty soon. But of course, the tomatoes still have a lot of time. They ought to be able to go through most of September.
I think I will use the bed where the green beans were to plant some fall veggies that need to go in soon. That means I need to pull out the dead beans of course, but I have a ton of strawberries in there as well. They have never really done anything good as far as I can tell. I could just throw them all out. Or I could try to save them in containers, but then what, plant them somewhere in the spring? Maybe if I get a strawberry pot or something. I guess I will try to put them in containers and keep them, and then throw them out later when they're all dead.
So what do I need to start? Radicchio is the longest growing, it says it needs 90 days, so if I started it now, it wouldn't be ready until November. So, yeah, I guess I should start it really soon. I don't have any seed starting mix at the moment, so I guess I could just use potting mix. Or I could go buy some. Nah, let's start some today, that sounds like a good project. I guess I should start two 6-packs, so 12. Then maybe next week I will start the Kale. Maybe in 2 weeks I will finally get out there and clean out that bed. As soon as these new plants start to grow at all, they should be moved into the ground. Also, I think I should empty the compost bin into that little bed.
Once the heat breaks, I will probably freshen up the soil in the gutter garden, and plant some leaf lettuce. Supposedly that would be good, because the warm temperature will get them growing faster but they will be ready to pick when it starts to get cooler. I also want to grow some Romaine lettuce and some Bok Choy. The Romaine is like, 70 days, so I guess I would start that in September. The Bok Choy should probably be started at the end of September, since it's a 30 day veggie.
You know, for things that are harvested as whole heads, maybe I ought to stagger them a little. Not that they ripen up all at once, but if I am growing 12 Radicchio, I don't really want them all to come within a week.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
I am worried about the Tomato. It doesn't look all that healthy. I think it might just be suffering from the heat wave and lack of water and all that. It does have some good sized tomatoes on it I guess, but they are still very green and hard. I looked up the days to maturity, and it's like 11 weeks. We are at 8 weeks now, so it makes sense, I have 3 more weeks before I should expect a good tomato. That's a little disappointing, I'm not going to get tomatoes until August? Well, I can do math, I knew that, and I decided it would be worth the wait. I'm starting to get some yield of Sun Golds, so that's cool. Their Days to Maturity would suggest they need another week.
The Habenero is starting to put on some more mass, and lots of flowers, so maybe I'll get a nice yield. And then I should make some nice Habenero hot sauce and I think I found a good recipe.
The "Garden Salsa" peppers are going nuts. I would really like them to ripen up and turn red, but they are slow to do that, and they are so long that they are hitting the soil.
The Habenero is starting to put on some more mass, and lots of flowers, so maybe I'll get a nice yield. And then I should make some nice Habenero hot sauce and I think I found a good recipe.
PEPPER JOE'S ISLAND HOT SAUCE (A 10 ON THE PEPPER JOE HEAT SCALE)
- 12 habanero peppers
- 2 carrots
- 1 large onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 TB salt
- 1/4 TB white pepper
- 1 lime
- 8 TB white vinegar
Cut habanero peppers in half and remove seeds. Drop in boiling water for 30 seconds to blanche.(handle with care) Remove peppers and put onion, carrots and garlic cloves into boiling water and cook until tender. Squeeze juice from lime and combine all ingredients and put in blender. First chop, then blend at high speed. done!
Just put in wide-mouth jar and store in fridge. Spoon out this hot sauce as needed. Delicious on cheesesteaks, hamburgers, pizza, or added to soups, chili, tomato sauce. Also can scrub garage floors.
The "Garden Salsa" peppers are going nuts. I would really like them to ripen up and turn red, but they are slow to do that, and they are so long that they are hitting the soil.
Monday, July 4, 2016
July 4th- where we at
Food Plants:
I started getting some Sun Golds to snack on. The one in the container is heavy with them, so I should probably tie it up to the wall a little more. Its leaves look kind of off. They have a lot of pale spots on them? I don't know what that's about. The one in the raised bed is huge, of course. I think they have the same bio mass, just different shapes. The one in the raised bed should probably be tied up to the cage a little more because it's getting all rangy and messy looking.
The Brandy Boy is obviously not as big but it is putting on some nice sized green tomatoes. They're kind of weird shapes, and one of them looks like it split, really early in its growth. I know that's because I have been watering really sporadically. I'm watering now, but I need to get on a better schedule with it, like watering twice a week.
By the way, today I heard Mike McGrath say that there's nothing wrong with watering in the evening as long as it's at the roots and not wetting the leaves. I always knew that was true but I'm glad he said it out loud.
The beans are growing I guess, but not much yet. I really should have planted more of them, because they aren't really covering the trellis even. It's a month late to plant more, but I guess I could if I wanted to.
Also around there are the Strawberries. They keep putting out lots of runners and they're soon going to fill that space entirely, which is what I was going for, but they don't produce any berries really. Probably what I need to do is add some form of fertilizer, or some rock phosphate. I don't really know what else I need to do with them, They get a lot of sun...
The herbs in the pots are doing ok. They were real dried out yesterday, yet another thing I need to get on a good watering schedule. The Rosemary that I have in a pot on the ground is fine but it's starting to get totally shaded from the tomato, so I might need to move it.
The herbs in the raised bed are fine, of course. The Rosemary is great, the Parsley is finally taking off, and the Chives are going strong. The Chives are the only thing I've really used recently. The Sage is doing fine as well, although it's practically ornamental.
I am missing not having my Swiss Chard. But in reality, I don't have space for it. The two tomatoes take up the majority of the bed.
The Peppers seem pretty good. The "salsa" pepper is producing like crazy. There were 7 very large peppers on it today. I picked one, because it was hitting the soil below it and starting to curl in an unattractive way. I am leaving the rest on there because I want them to ripen up and turn red.
The Habenero hasn't put on any peppers at all. It's just now putting on some flowers.
I cleaned out some trays from the worm bin and put down the castings around the peppers, because I thought they could use some extra nutrition.
What should I have done differently? Or rather, what will I do differently next year?
I started getting some Sun Golds to snack on. The one in the container is heavy with them, so I should probably tie it up to the wall a little more. Its leaves look kind of off. They have a lot of pale spots on them? I don't know what that's about. The one in the raised bed is huge, of course. I think they have the same bio mass, just different shapes. The one in the raised bed should probably be tied up to the cage a little more because it's getting all rangy and messy looking.
The Brandy Boy is obviously not as big but it is putting on some nice sized green tomatoes. They're kind of weird shapes, and one of them looks like it split, really early in its growth. I know that's because I have been watering really sporadically. I'm watering now, but I need to get on a better schedule with it, like watering twice a week.
By the way, today I heard Mike McGrath say that there's nothing wrong with watering in the evening as long as it's at the roots and not wetting the leaves. I always knew that was true but I'm glad he said it out loud.
The beans are growing I guess, but not much yet. I really should have planted more of them, because they aren't really covering the trellis even. It's a month late to plant more, but I guess I could if I wanted to.
Also around there are the Strawberries. They keep putting out lots of runners and they're soon going to fill that space entirely, which is what I was going for, but they don't produce any berries really. Probably what I need to do is add some form of fertilizer, or some rock phosphate. I don't really know what else I need to do with them, They get a lot of sun...
The herbs in the pots are doing ok. They were real dried out yesterday, yet another thing I need to get on a good watering schedule. The Rosemary that I have in a pot on the ground is fine but it's starting to get totally shaded from the tomato, so I might need to move it.
The herbs in the raised bed are fine, of course. The Rosemary is great, the Parsley is finally taking off, and the Chives are going strong. The Chives are the only thing I've really used recently. The Sage is doing fine as well, although it's practically ornamental.
I am missing not having my Swiss Chard. But in reality, I don't have space for it. The two tomatoes take up the majority of the bed.
The Peppers seem pretty good. The "salsa" pepper is producing like crazy. There were 7 very large peppers on it today. I picked one, because it was hitting the soil below it and starting to curl in an unattractive way. I am leaving the rest on there because I want them to ripen up and turn red.
The Habenero hasn't put on any peppers at all. It's just now putting on some flowers.
I cleaned out some trays from the worm bin and put down the castings around the peppers, because I thought they could use some extra nutrition.
What should I have done differently? Or rather, what will I do differently next year?
- I will mark the Tomatoes with popsicle sticks so I don't mix them up again. I really wish I had the container tomato in the container, not the biggest, craziest tomato out there. And now I have no real idea how the Fresh Salsa tomatoes worked out. I can find out from my work friends who have them and maybe I can even adopt the one who is being left behind.
- I will space the Tomatoes wider in the raised bed. I think I spaced them more than I did last year, but I would put the one on the end right up against the edge, more or less, because it has plenty of room to grow out that way.
- I will try a real Heirloom, maybe? I guess that depends on how much success I have with my Brandy Boys. If I can pull that off, maybe I can handle a real Brandywine.
- Plant more beans. I'm not sure why I was so stingy with them.
- Start some Swiss Chard. I'm not sure where I will put it, but I do wish I had it.
Containers:
The window box is doing really well. The Calibrachoa look really nice and really healthy, but not as many flowers as I would like. So I mixed up some Miracle Grow flower food and dumped that on there. I'm worried I did too high of a concentration. I also have one Elf Sunflower that is getting ready to pop open. The others that I started in there are going pretty well.
The wall planter is such a nightmare. The Calibrachoa in there have never really bloomed. I think I should dig up some more Creeping Jenny to put in there. Of course the tall spiky thing is doing fine. I think those things might be fake.
In the Woolly Pockets, the Sweet Potato Vine is doing ok but not growing that fast. I did take some Creeping Jenny out of the ground and plopped it in there. I think it will do ok. I should probably do some more. Once it gets established in there, I think I might fertilize them because they are just not growing.
Side Bed:
I cut the roses way back, because they were mostly dead heads, and lots of tall spindly stems. But overall that bed is a total mess.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Mid-June Updates
Well, the good news is the Tomato in the container on the patio is blowing up. It's a monster. The bad news is that this is now clearly showing itself to be a Sun Gold Cherry Tomato. So I mixed up the plants, perhaps even earlier in the process than I thought, and I've got a Sun Gold on the patio and a Sun Gold in the raised bed. And I do not have a nice Fresh Salsa determinate tomato at all. The Sun Gold on the patio in the container is probably bigger than the one in the raised bed. That's probably because it gets sun forever, could be because the soil was mostly new, or because I planted it a week or two before the ones in the raised bed. So I'm going to end up eating a lot of cherry tomatoes. Good thing I love those little fuckers.
The raised bed tomatoes look good, of course. The intentional Sun Gold is growing just fine, I ate one off of it a week ago, and I've been trying to force it into the cage. I did end up breaking off a few stalks in that process. The Brandy Boy is also growing really nicely, it's a much more upright, thick stalked plant, it actually looks kind of nice. I guess it has been in the ground for 5 weeks (35 days) and it's rated at 75 days to maturity. So I should be patient, I know it is going to be slow and that was part of my planning when I picked varieties. Although the Sun Gold is supposed to be 65 days to maturity and I've gotten one already. (One cherry tomato! Woo!) So I think it's safe to say I got a little head start by starting these tomatoes in January and planting them into larger pots.
The Green Beans are starting to grow and twine around the trellis. I did not plant a ton of seeds, and I was kind of lazy, and I didn't even plant any of the purple ones. I love growing the purple ones but they look kinda sad after they are cooked.
The Romaine lettuce I had in the raised bed was growing like, 3 feet tall, so I cut all those down to the stalk. I feel like I heard they were going to grow back from the stumps but I don't know if that is true.
Herbs all look great. I've been trying to remember to water them, especially the ones that are under the roof on the plant stand. The Rosemary in the larger pot looks great. And in the raised bed I have an old Rosemary from last year, and a Parsley and Sage that I bought, and the Sage is growing but the Parsley is really slow. The Chives came back but they look pretty sparse, I don't know about it.
I also have two pepper plants- one is a Habenero and one is some other weird thing, called a salsa pepper or something, and we ate one last weekend and it is just not hot enough to be much use. But those plants look great as well.
Ornamentals:
The shady stuff in the patio bed looks pretty good. The coleus are growing well and I just went and pinched back the flowers. The begonias look good but they haven't grown as big as I would like. In the Woolly Pockets, I've got the Sweet Potato Vine, which is growing but something is taking little bites out of the leaves. I think it's ok, I think they will take off and outgrow it. I am thinking of digging up some Creeping Jenny and planting it in there as well to give it some variety and some nice trailing stuff.
In the wall planter, I've got two Calibrachoa, the striped ones, and they don't look so great. I have watered that thing about once a week but I think I should be doing it more often. Obviously that tall spiky thing looks fine. I put a small Creeping Jenny cluster in there, and I think it's still alive but I might add some more.
In the window box I have three Calibrachoa, and they look great. I have one of the Elf Sunflower, because the other seeds I planted didn't really get going. I should probably throw some more seeds in there so it fills out with some nice stand-up plants to go with those bushy pink flowers.
The Roses are growing well and flowering a lot, although they are growing a few very tall stalks and not the dense, bushy shapes I would like. I think I will prune off the really tall stalks with the hope that they will instead grow flowers at the lower branches. It's also just looking really stupid in there- There's like a ton of stuff right in the middle, and a big empty space in the back. I am thinking of digging up the fern and moving it to the space in the back. I'm not sure if I can dig it up easily, since it is right in there with the roses, but if I can it will look a lot more balanced.
The raised bed tomatoes look good, of course. The intentional Sun Gold is growing just fine, I ate one off of it a week ago, and I've been trying to force it into the cage. I did end up breaking off a few stalks in that process. The Brandy Boy is also growing really nicely, it's a much more upright, thick stalked plant, it actually looks kind of nice. I guess it has been in the ground for 5 weeks (35 days) and it's rated at 75 days to maturity. So I should be patient, I know it is going to be slow and that was part of my planning when I picked varieties. Although the Sun Gold is supposed to be 65 days to maturity and I've gotten one already. (One cherry tomato! Woo!) So I think it's safe to say I got a little head start by starting these tomatoes in January and planting them into larger pots.
The Green Beans are starting to grow and twine around the trellis. I did not plant a ton of seeds, and I was kind of lazy, and I didn't even plant any of the purple ones. I love growing the purple ones but they look kinda sad after they are cooked.
The Romaine lettuce I had in the raised bed was growing like, 3 feet tall, so I cut all those down to the stalk. I feel like I heard they were going to grow back from the stumps but I don't know if that is true.
Herbs all look great. I've been trying to remember to water them, especially the ones that are under the roof on the plant stand. The Rosemary in the larger pot looks great. And in the raised bed I have an old Rosemary from last year, and a Parsley and Sage that I bought, and the Sage is growing but the Parsley is really slow. The Chives came back but they look pretty sparse, I don't know about it.
I also have two pepper plants- one is a Habenero and one is some other weird thing, called a salsa pepper or something, and we ate one last weekend and it is just not hot enough to be much use. But those plants look great as well.
Ornamentals:
The shady stuff in the patio bed looks pretty good. The coleus are growing well and I just went and pinched back the flowers. The begonias look good but they haven't grown as big as I would like. In the Woolly Pockets, I've got the Sweet Potato Vine, which is growing but something is taking little bites out of the leaves. I think it's ok, I think they will take off and outgrow it. I am thinking of digging up some Creeping Jenny and planting it in there as well to give it some variety and some nice trailing stuff.
In the wall planter, I've got two Calibrachoa, the striped ones, and they don't look so great. I have watered that thing about once a week but I think I should be doing it more often. Obviously that tall spiky thing looks fine. I put a small Creeping Jenny cluster in there, and I think it's still alive but I might add some more.
In the window box I have three Calibrachoa, and they look great. I have one of the Elf Sunflower, because the other seeds I planted didn't really get going. I should probably throw some more seeds in there so it fills out with some nice stand-up plants to go with those bushy pink flowers.
The Roses are growing well and flowering a lot, although they are growing a few very tall stalks and not the dense, bushy shapes I would like. I think I will prune off the really tall stalks with the hope that they will instead grow flowers at the lower branches. It's also just looking really stupid in there- There's like a ton of stuff right in the middle, and a big empty space in the back. I am thinking of digging up the fern and moving it to the space in the back. I'm not sure if I can dig it up easily, since it is right in there with the roses, but if I can it will look a lot more balanced.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Time to get to work
I have been ignoring the garden and all the plants for about the last month, and now it's summer.
I finally planted the coleus and the begonias in the Patio bed today, so that's good. I also bought Parsley, Sage and Mint today, and I planted the first two in the raised bed. I'm giving up on the idea of the Swiss Chard, because I never got around to starting the seeds. I don't think I will put anything else in the raised bed, I'll just have the two Tomatoes, and these herbs. I also planted one of the Rosemary plants that I carried over through the winter.
Next I have to fill the Woolly Pockets with soil, and plant the Sweet Potato Vine. I have 3 that I bought a month ago, and 3 that I bought today. The old ones actually seem ok. I am giving up on the Morning Glory, because I never really planted any and the few I had are not doing anything. So I can take the soil from those containers, dump it into the Woolly Pockets, and we're good to go.
Tomorrow it's going to rain all day, so I would like to get most things planted today. It would be great if I could get things kind of under control today and sweep all the crap from the patio while it's really dry.
I bought two pepper plants- I did not find a Jalapeno and I don't feel like going to another store so I bought a Habanero and something called a Salsa pepper, I guess? I put one in a container and I will do the same with the other once I've got the potting soil situation figured out.
I would love to "finish" the planting today or this weekend, and in doing so, I can put away all the containers and crap laying around everywhere upsetting my neighbors. It's just really hot outside right now.
I've been checking on the Sidewalk bed a little bit, and it's not a good situation. Nothing really looks good. The Zinnias don't seem like they area growing at all. Especially not the little Zahara Zinnias right in the front. They have not changed at all since I planted them a month ago. They don't seem dead, really, but they have not grown at all. No progress on the Sunflowers. One of the big Zinnias has a bud on it, but that's all. Well, there are a few buds on the Rudbeckia. The sun and water situation has been pretty decent. We did have some really cold weather for a bit and that might have slowed everything down. None of those things are frost-sensitive, so that would explain them not being dead, but yeah maybe it's just a delay. I also think I might need to feed them. I figured the soil there was pretty rich, but it's had really serious weed cover for a long time.
The front bed looks pretty decent. The Day Lilies have totally filled out the space, which is great, but I think I should feed something to promote flowering. The Clematis is growing really nicely but no sign of flowering. I think I placed the trellis in such a way that it is too shaded. so I don't know what I want to do with that. If I tried to move it now, I think I would rip the whole plant out.
I still need to plant the Mint that I bought in a small pot, and I bought a big Basil, and I have a tiny shitty Basil that I grew.
One of these days I will need to really deal with all the weeds. That's not going to be today.
So about this Side Bed. The Roses seem to be doing really well, lots of flowers and some new growth, but it is definitely overcrowded with these little sad Hotsas and the one Fern... there's so much crap in there, the leaves, the wild strawberry, the muscari growth... If I just got the extra crap out of there, it would be pretty nice. For that space, if I'm going to have 4 Rose bushes in there, I can't have much else.
I finally planted the coleus and the begonias in the Patio bed today, so that's good. I also bought Parsley, Sage and Mint today, and I planted the first two in the raised bed. I'm giving up on the idea of the Swiss Chard, because I never got around to starting the seeds. I don't think I will put anything else in the raised bed, I'll just have the two Tomatoes, and these herbs. I also planted one of the Rosemary plants that I carried over through the winter.
Next I have to fill the Woolly Pockets with soil, and plant the Sweet Potato Vine. I have 3 that I bought a month ago, and 3 that I bought today. The old ones actually seem ok. I am giving up on the Morning Glory, because I never really planted any and the few I had are not doing anything. So I can take the soil from those containers, dump it into the Woolly Pockets, and we're good to go.
Tomorrow it's going to rain all day, so I would like to get most things planted today. It would be great if I could get things kind of under control today and sweep all the crap from the patio while it's really dry.
I bought two pepper plants- I did not find a Jalapeno and I don't feel like going to another store so I bought a Habanero and something called a Salsa pepper, I guess? I put one in a container and I will do the same with the other once I've got the potting soil situation figured out.
I would love to "finish" the planting today or this weekend, and in doing so, I can put away all the containers and crap laying around everywhere upsetting my neighbors. It's just really hot outside right now.
I've been checking on the Sidewalk bed a little bit, and it's not a good situation. Nothing really looks good. The Zinnias don't seem like they area growing at all. Especially not the little Zahara Zinnias right in the front. They have not changed at all since I planted them a month ago. They don't seem dead, really, but they have not grown at all. No progress on the Sunflowers. One of the big Zinnias has a bud on it, but that's all. Well, there are a few buds on the Rudbeckia. The sun and water situation has been pretty decent. We did have some really cold weather for a bit and that might have slowed everything down. None of those things are frost-sensitive, so that would explain them not being dead, but yeah maybe it's just a delay. I also think I might need to feed them. I figured the soil there was pretty rich, but it's had really serious weed cover for a long time.
The front bed looks pretty decent. The Day Lilies have totally filled out the space, which is great, but I think I should feed something to promote flowering. The Clematis is growing really nicely but no sign of flowering. I think I placed the trellis in such a way that it is too shaded. so I don't know what I want to do with that. If I tried to move it now, I think I would rip the whole plant out.
I still need to plant the Mint that I bought in a small pot, and I bought a big Basil, and I have a tiny shitty Basil that I grew.
One of these days I will need to really deal with all the weeds. That's not going to be today.
So about this Side Bed. The Roses seem to be doing really well, lots of flowers and some new growth, but it is definitely overcrowded with these little sad Hotsas and the one Fern... there's so much crap in there, the leaves, the wild strawberry, the muscari growth... If I just got the extra crap out of there, it would be pretty nice. For that space, if I'm going to have 4 Rose bushes in there, I can't have much else.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Spring Recap
It's May 1st, and this seems like a good time to look back on what I did so far and what I would or would not do again.
Spring Bulbs
Last fall, I bought a lot more bulbs than I planted. I did not plant the Alliums that I bought, and I think I ended up throwing them out because half of them were rotten. I don't think they were like that when I bought them, but maybe? I also bought a lot of Daffodils- some Dutch Masters, and Tete a Tete.
I forced a bunch of Tete a Tete in pots, and that was totally successful. I will definitely do that again. The whole "no fruit in the fridge" thing was not an issue, probably because I don't really eat fruit, but I think I must have had some limes in there for a while. The timing of it was good, too. I put the Daffodils in there in October, and I think I took them out in early February. Perfect. The only thing I will not do again is bring them in to work, because apparently they can upset people. I also did a few Crocus, and they did not fare so well. I'm not really sure why.
Next year I will force the Daffodils the exact same way. Maybe I will also try some Tulips.
I did not plant any Daffodils in the ground. I did plant a bunch of them in a container, but they didn't come up. I got a few green shoots but they were brown on the tops and didn't grow. Maybe it didn't drain well.
I kind of wish I had planted some Daffodils in the Sidewalk Bed. The old ones came up, but not as many flowers as I would like. Maybe if I am up for it, I could plant a bunch more Daffodils in there next fall.
I had pulled up a lot of the Darwin Tulips last spring, and I replanted them in the fall. I also planted these short, fluffy daffodils in there, in two big clumps. It looks so terrible now. I don't know, maybe if I had spread them out a little more? This year I'm not planning to pull anything out. But next fall, it would be really good to put in more Tulips.
Now, the tulips in the Patio Bed- those are fantastic. I'm so happy with the decision to put them in there, to pack them in so tight, to stagger the early, middle and late Tulips back to front. I'm really pleased that they last this long, too. They've looked good for several weeks, and they aren't even all up yet. I think the weather has actually helped with that, because it got chilly again after they flowered.
I'll need to pull them out eventually to plant it with Coleus and Begonias. But I need to wait as long as possible to do that so they get as much sun as possible and hopefully flower again next year.
I might be able to wait long enough and pull them out and save them. But I'm not going to wait forever. I'll give them until June 1st, and then I will pull them out. Maybe I'll move them to some containers or something so they get more sun, maybe not. But I want to get the Coleus and Begonias in there soon and get that area going. In fact, I think I need to transplant the Coleus to something bigger soon so they keep growing and stay alive.
Seed Starting
The first things I started was Kale, which was reasonably successful. They all grew nicely and they were easy to keep alive. I think I transplanted them in late March, and they've done well enough outside, but not grown tremendously. I will do some Kale again this fall, because that is really the better time. I'll also do Radicchio at the same time.
Next was Coleus. I'm glad I started the Coleus when I did, of course, but I am really disappointed in how few plants I got. I think I spent $20 on seeds, and I could have bought these plants for not much more than that. It's cool to grow them from seeds and all, but not especially rewarding. I guess I could try saving seeds? It's worth a try.
Then I started the Rudbeckia. So far, I think that was the most successful endeavor. I started 18 and I ended up with 17 big, healthy plants. I transplanted them into soda bottles, which works really well. They were pretty low-maintenance after that. I finally transplanted them in the Sidewalk Bed, I think April 16th. They all seem to still be alive, although I don't see much new growth. To be fair, we haven't had a lot of sun recently. They are supposed to bloom early summer through fall. If they do well, it will be fantastic, a mass of flowers like that all grown from seed. I win!
Let's talk about Tomatoes now. I started these mid January as well. I am glad I started them in the larger pots, not in the little six-packs, so I didn't have to mess with them too much. It might be a little early to start tomatoes, sure, but I don't think any harm was done. I'm ok with the number of plants I started- 5 of each of the 3 varieties. I'm down to 3 Sun Gold, 3 Fresh Salsa and 4 Brandy Boys. And what would I do differently? I would actually label them properly. I'll get popsicle sticks for each container so I can move them around and still know which is which. I also could have potted them up into larger containers sooner, and fed them a little better.
So next time- wait until late February to start tomatoes, label properly, get some more large pots and some potting mix ready for transplanting in like, April.
I guess the next think I started was Romaine. I think they ended up dead from lack of water, or because it got too hot. Then I think I started more, maybe, and those are in the Raised Bed now. I like the idea of starting them pretty early because they are fast, and I could get decent Romaine heads in late Spring.
I had no success with Bok Choy. I think I started some and they just looked so bad that I gave up. I will certainly try them again in the fall. I'm not really sure what went wrong.
I started Basil in late February. It probably didn't need to be that early, and I definitely was running out of room. I think the extra round of Basil was started about a month later, and they are actually kind of an appropriate size to transplant now. The main group of Basil were getting pretty big and I had to keep pinching them back already. But I think it's safe to say I cannot plant too much Basil, there are plenty of people willing to adopt them.
Then I started on some Zinnias. Of course those grew well. I maybe started the State Fair Zinnias too early, because they got quite big and I couldn't really do anything with them. I also read that it is very important to zinnias to have a normal sunlight/dark cycle.
So next year, I need to get a timer for the grow light. I think that will help a lot of things, and it won't get so hot in there.
In early March, I planted a bunch of Radish seeds in the window box. I like that idea, even though they are not really a very attractive plant. I can plant pretty much any time, because that soil is always warm. I didn't remember to water it, and that definitely slowed them down, but I still got a nice harvest of Radishes after like, 6 weeks. The hard part is now sowing way too many seeds, because then I need to carefully thin them.
I started some lettuce in the Gutter Garden, but that hasn't done very well. It's too cold for it to germinate properly, and I'm just starting to get some growth now. I will definitely get lettuce going in there in the fall. Actually, maybe it would be better to plant the lettuce in the window box next spring, and the Radishes in the Gutter Garden. At least they would get rain.
I started some Morning Glory in little pots under lights, but really I should have filled my long containers with potting soil and started them in there. I would have a lot more plants, obviously, and they would be getting going pretty well by this point and producing flowers much earlier. The reason I did not get that going was because I didn't have potting soil and I had other crap in those containers. So maybe next year I will be more organized about that. I will also try to save some seeds again, because it's actually pretty easy.
I should have started some Cilantro, and I should have done it a while ago, like back at the same time I started all the Basil.
Also Swiss Chard. I kind of started some a few weeks ago, but because I'm not paying as much attention, they've just kind of dried up and died. That's on me.
I think I had a reasonable scope of what plants I can start from seed. The tomatoes were the new thing and they have done well. I will probably change my timing a little, and I'll get a timer for the lights.
Spring Bulbs
Last fall, I bought a lot more bulbs than I planted. I did not plant the Alliums that I bought, and I think I ended up throwing them out because half of them were rotten. I don't think they were like that when I bought them, but maybe? I also bought a lot of Daffodils- some Dutch Masters, and Tete a Tete.
I forced a bunch of Tete a Tete in pots, and that was totally successful. I will definitely do that again. The whole "no fruit in the fridge" thing was not an issue, probably because I don't really eat fruit, but I think I must have had some limes in there for a while. The timing of it was good, too. I put the Daffodils in there in October, and I think I took them out in early February. Perfect. The only thing I will not do again is bring them in to work, because apparently they can upset people. I also did a few Crocus, and they did not fare so well. I'm not really sure why.
Next year I will force the Daffodils the exact same way. Maybe I will also try some Tulips.
I did not plant any Daffodils in the ground. I did plant a bunch of them in a container, but they didn't come up. I got a few green shoots but they were brown on the tops and didn't grow. Maybe it didn't drain well.
I kind of wish I had planted some Daffodils in the Sidewalk Bed. The old ones came up, but not as many flowers as I would like. Maybe if I am up for it, I could plant a bunch more Daffodils in there next fall.
I had pulled up a lot of the Darwin Tulips last spring, and I replanted them in the fall. I also planted these short, fluffy daffodils in there, in two big clumps. It looks so terrible now. I don't know, maybe if I had spread them out a little more? This year I'm not planning to pull anything out. But next fall, it would be really good to put in more Tulips.
Now, the tulips in the Patio Bed- those are fantastic. I'm so happy with the decision to put them in there, to pack them in so tight, to stagger the early, middle and late Tulips back to front. I'm really pleased that they last this long, too. They've looked good for several weeks, and they aren't even all up yet. I think the weather has actually helped with that, because it got chilly again after they flowered.
I'll need to pull them out eventually to plant it with Coleus and Begonias. But I need to wait as long as possible to do that so they get as much sun as possible and hopefully flower again next year.
I might be able to wait long enough and pull them out and save them. But I'm not going to wait forever. I'll give them until June 1st, and then I will pull them out. Maybe I'll move them to some containers or something so they get more sun, maybe not. But I want to get the Coleus and Begonias in there soon and get that area going. In fact, I think I need to transplant the Coleus to something bigger soon so they keep growing and stay alive.
Seed Starting
The first things I started was Kale, which was reasonably successful. They all grew nicely and they were easy to keep alive. I think I transplanted them in late March, and they've done well enough outside, but not grown tremendously. I will do some Kale again this fall, because that is really the better time. I'll also do Radicchio at the same time.
Next was Coleus. I'm glad I started the Coleus when I did, of course, but I am really disappointed in how few plants I got. I think I spent $20 on seeds, and I could have bought these plants for not much more than that. It's cool to grow them from seeds and all, but not especially rewarding. I guess I could try saving seeds? It's worth a try.
Then I started the Rudbeckia. So far, I think that was the most successful endeavor. I started 18 and I ended up with 17 big, healthy plants. I transplanted them into soda bottles, which works really well. They were pretty low-maintenance after that. I finally transplanted them in the Sidewalk Bed, I think April 16th. They all seem to still be alive, although I don't see much new growth. To be fair, we haven't had a lot of sun recently. They are supposed to bloom early summer through fall. If they do well, it will be fantastic, a mass of flowers like that all grown from seed. I win!
Let's talk about Tomatoes now. I started these mid January as well. I am glad I started them in the larger pots, not in the little six-packs, so I didn't have to mess with them too much. It might be a little early to start tomatoes, sure, but I don't think any harm was done. I'm ok with the number of plants I started- 5 of each of the 3 varieties. I'm down to 3 Sun Gold, 3 Fresh Salsa and 4 Brandy Boys. And what would I do differently? I would actually label them properly. I'll get popsicle sticks for each container so I can move them around and still know which is which. I also could have potted them up into larger containers sooner, and fed them a little better.
So next time- wait until late February to start tomatoes, label properly, get some more large pots and some potting mix ready for transplanting in like, April.
I guess the next think I started was Romaine. I think they ended up dead from lack of water, or because it got too hot. Then I think I started more, maybe, and those are in the Raised Bed now. I like the idea of starting them pretty early because they are fast, and I could get decent Romaine heads in late Spring.
I had no success with Bok Choy. I think I started some and they just looked so bad that I gave up. I will certainly try them again in the fall. I'm not really sure what went wrong.
I started Basil in late February. It probably didn't need to be that early, and I definitely was running out of room. I think the extra round of Basil was started about a month later, and they are actually kind of an appropriate size to transplant now. The main group of Basil were getting pretty big and I had to keep pinching them back already. But I think it's safe to say I cannot plant too much Basil, there are plenty of people willing to adopt them.
Then I started on some Zinnias. Of course those grew well. I maybe started the State Fair Zinnias too early, because they got quite big and I couldn't really do anything with them. I also read that it is very important to zinnias to have a normal sunlight/dark cycle.
So next year, I need to get a timer for the grow light. I think that will help a lot of things, and it won't get so hot in there.
In early March, I planted a bunch of Radish seeds in the window box. I like that idea, even though they are not really a very attractive plant. I can plant pretty much any time, because that soil is always warm. I didn't remember to water it, and that definitely slowed them down, but I still got a nice harvest of Radishes after like, 6 weeks. The hard part is now sowing way too many seeds, because then I need to carefully thin them.
I started some lettuce in the Gutter Garden, but that hasn't done very well. It's too cold for it to germinate properly, and I'm just starting to get some growth now. I will definitely get lettuce going in there in the fall. Actually, maybe it would be better to plant the lettuce in the window box next spring, and the Radishes in the Gutter Garden. At least they would get rain.
I started some Morning Glory in little pots under lights, but really I should have filled my long containers with potting soil and started them in there. I would have a lot more plants, obviously, and they would be getting going pretty well by this point and producing flowers much earlier. The reason I did not get that going was because I didn't have potting soil and I had other crap in those containers. So maybe next year I will be more organized about that. I will also try to save some seeds again, because it's actually pretty easy.
I should have started some Cilantro, and I should have done it a while ago, like back at the same time I started all the Basil.
Also Swiss Chard. I kind of started some a few weeks ago, but because I'm not paying as much attention, they've just kind of dried up and died. That's on me.
I think I had a reasonable scope of what plants I can start from seed. The tomatoes were the new thing and they have done well. I will probably change my timing a little, and I'll get a timer for the lights.
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