Time After Time

Progression of Gardens...

Over the past few weeks the hot long day plants have been growing wild. I made a point of capturing all the stages of those plants (and others) because there growth has been so obvious and so quick. The raised cantaloupe and watermelon bed started with two 3 inch cantaloupe plants that shot up covered two four foot trellises and kept going. It finally started to fruit at the beginning of last week and boy is it fruiting we have at a least 6 viable melons of all different sizes. My sweet potato slips started off slow finally grew into slips and were transferred with a disappointing "death" and revival. The leaves came in two weeks ago and in the last week the two plants, that I didn't yank out because I thought they were dead, have grow six plus inches in vines. The watermelon container started off slow and didn't grow for weeks then it doubled in size and Tripled and quadrupled all over the bamboo trellis until it started fruiting. When it started fruiting all of the little melons were shriveling up and dying except one. Finally, we got a second one a week ago and now the plant has grown 6-8 inches of vine that I've had to stake because the trellis is full. That vine has a third melon on it. It's tiny but you can tell It is viable and won't be shriveling like the others that have come since the first and second. 

Here is a little pictorial of the plants progression and current state...

First viable Bush Sugar Baby on the first week (L), the 2nd week (top R), and the 3rd week (bottom R). 

The Bush Sugar Baby plant when it was first transplanted from newspaper seedling pots to the recycling bin (L), it doubled in size after no sign of growth for 3 weeks (top R), and now it has covered the trellis and grown vines so long they needed to be staked (bottom R). 

Sweet potatoes over time. The slips finally came out after 8 weeks (L), I planted them in the beginning of the 9th week and the shriveled (top R), and now they are at least 6 inch long vines (bottom R). 

Cantaloupe bed first planted (L), a few weeks later the plants were half way up the two 4 feet tall trellises (top R), and now they are a few inches taller than the trellises (bottom R).  

Cantaloupe bed fruiting. All the different sizes of melons at different stages, currently on the vines. 

Transferred the Pepper Container...

Because the tomato plants have basically taken over all of the neighboring beds the only pepper plant that was doing extremely well was the pepper container. Today I decided that since a bunch of the plots in Patch were now empty that I would transfer the container pepper to give it the space to grow. I took a big chance by guessing that the roots had run out of space and the plant would plop out of the container as a whole. I was right it was like an oversized seedling pot. I turned it over pulled it out and replanted it in the PM raised bed. I watered it with some sea magic and am hoping we get some good sun, which we did today despite the initial clouds dissipated, so that gets the long hot days it needs during this tender time.

Transplanted pepper plant. I thought I had a full photo of it in the container but I didn't, all I had is the top right image of the peppers that started there growth in the container 2 weeks ago. Part of why I thought it needed more space was that the peppers grew quickly then stopped just like my cantaloupe container. 

Come Again

Garden Slows...

The cooler weather has stunted the sudden boom of our burgeoning gardens. I did notice many new tomatoes that were a result of the heated boost and ripening strawberries but since things have slowed. A little less daily change is occurring as things acclimate to the average spring breeze and heat, low-80's. I expect that things will ripen a little later than expected unless the heat rises before July drastically. Around here July and August are hot and humid but most of the plants will have spent there time in the soil by then and be coming to there second cycle or completed there cycle. Some will produce riper and sweeter fruits and veggies and some will just start production like the melons but on the overall PM is a spring garden. So hopefully I'll get the heat I need soon enough to plant all the cycles i'd planned. 

Leafy Greens...

Although the lettuce didn't wilt or die during the highly heated days of last week I did notice that they started to tighten and form heads. The iceberg type plants weren't doing this before our high-90's days. I've since pulled a few leaves back from the head and harvested them but I don't know that they'll grow those beautiful large loose leaves we were getting in the beginning. I may not have executed the "cut & come again" method as properly as I'd thought. 

The other cool weather crop that I saw change in was the spinach, the Bloomsdale long-standing spinach, it seemed to really be blooming at first and then all of a sudden a few of the bigger better looking plants went to seed. it was incredible how quickly it all happened in maybe 24 hours the plants that bolted went from lush and ready to perform a "cut & come again" to seed. Once a plant has gone to seed you either must pick the entire plant or let it flower and seed to , well, collect the seeds. So I harvested those plants and a few of the leaves from plants that hasn't bolted for a nicely sized salad. The same happened to the spring mix but not in such a drastic way. A few of the leaves went to seed, maybe 4 out of 70, and other grew an enormous amount. Either way it was obvious that they needed a good harvest to start the "come again" process. So I clipped them at the base near the root and have been keeping an eye on there regrowing. It's only been a little more than a day so nothin to report yet. 

Otherwise, things are good. Even my dead and ailing slips seem to be taking root and growing more healthy with each passing day. I don't know, yet, that all 4 will make it but from the looks of the leaves they seem to be trying. 

Slippery Roots

Planting Slips...

I went outside this morning and thoroughly watered everything. It was unbelievably hot out and the plants needed the max amour of water they could take for the week. Watering was not much easier today with the hose because I had to unroll it and only water the roots. If you water the plants leaves in very high sun and heat the leaves can burn. The entire plant can burn. So I made sure to water very carefully at the base at each plant and around the soil. Once I was done with that I filled up the watering can and walked into PM and watered everything liberally at the roots. I then went back to refill the watering can, another 2 gallons, and saw that the roots on the slips had developed a little but the leaves were dying so I decided to plant them. Mostly because I didn't think they would produce great roots for much longer without completely dying out. So I grabbed the glass and went into PM with the slips, shovel, watering can, and basket. I planted the 4 of 5 slips that had roots, a bit. I figure since people plant slips without rooting them first that mine will make it especially since they have a few nice and thick roots already starting. The raised bed in Patch is officially filled except for the one little, very little, strip plot which I'll fill with radishes. I had but they didn't germinate. I filled the watering can once more and watered the spinach, watermelon bin, cucumbers, and seedlings yet to be planted then I went inside becAuse the heat was unbearable. The garden will look completely different at the end of this heat wave. It won't really end because we're about to be in June but it will go down to the high 80's put of the mid-90's and the garden will have flourished. Already is...

Leafy Greens Galore

Harvesting the Leafy...

I went out this afternoon and checked on everything but didn't water because I knew rain was coming. It was overcast and humid so it was definitely coming. The next 5 days are going to be a game changer. The weather is supposed to be in the low 90's and sunny. All of the crops are warm/hot crops except for the lettuce and spinach. Even the carrots I planted are specifically attune to warm/hot weather so the next 5 days should make everything really blossom, not flower blossom, well maybe some but grow quickly. 

After I checked on everything I noticed that some of the spring mix leaves had bolted, gone to seed, flowered. So I decided to harvest. I harvested 2 full baskets between all four heads and the mix green leaves. Even after the two full baskets I yanked there is still at least 4 more baskets for mixed greens and another unknown high number of lettuce leaves since I'm using the continuous method. 

Basket one.

Basket two. 

After harvesting I went back into Patch and noticed that the cantaloupe container had a new flower and that there was a much larger strawberry than the one I deemed "largest yet" hiding in the 5G bucket. I thinned some carrots and radishes while I was there because I remembered what happened with the last batch of radishes. When I thinned the carrots even though they were orange or large I could tell the small roots were starting to form carrots. It was nice to see that they were "working." 

New! Largest berry.

Thinned carrots. If you zoom in you an see the roots starting to take carrot shape. 

Cantaloupe flower.

Slips...

I forgot to write about how I pulled my slips off of the sweet potato yesterday and stuck them in a glass of water to take root. I did. I did so because the leaves had lost there vibrant green and purple color and turned yellowish but I didn't feel they were tall enough. They haven't started to root yet and I'm not sure that they will but I do hope. 

I took pictures of the changes in the patty-pan and crookneck squashes. They'd grown and lost blossoms. 

Blossom wilted and fruit growing. 

Beanstalk of an Update

Rain, rain, and more rain...

It has been raining all day. It's just totally soggy outside but I did promise a picture update of everything. I am so happy that today is the today I chose and promised to post because the beans have gone crazy, FINALLY!

Green Arrow beans planted April 6th are now about 3 inches tall. The rain has been really good for everything and especially the beans which have boomed.

Bloomsdale, thinned down to three. Growing 4th set of leaves.

Texas Sweet Onions, planted April 18th, have grown about 6".

Iceberg type lettuce planted April 12ish. Hasn't grown taller but is double the size in bushiness.

Cherry Belle radishes thinned to 3" apart and have grown about an inch since.

Topsy strawberries have gotten bushier and have about 4 flowers so far.

Sweet potatoes, grown about 6 slips in 8 weeks.

First strawberry started, April 28, in the 8G bucket. 

Drinking Glass Slips

Starting Slip...

As I mentioned in my last blog entry I learned how to start sweet potato seedlings or slips using an old S-Pot. All of the articles I read and video's I watched said to put the mature potato into a glass container. So, I started there by looking for glass containers I already owned to use. I came up empty on mason jars. The one I did have was closed so tightly even after about 30 minutes of trying I couldn't seem to get it to loosen up a bit. That was out. I then Googled "do sweet potato slips have to grow in glass." The results all came up with use either a glass or clear plastic container that will allow you to submerge one-half of the potato. The only glass I had were drinking glasses and the only plastic containers I had were opaque or didn't have the depth. So I went with the drinking glasses. I didn't want to because I thought YUCK! at first but then realized that was stupid. Everything can be washed in the dishwasher. Once I made sure the glasses were nice and clean I grabbed a bottle of Deer Park, tooth picks for support, and filled the glasses half way each. 

I didn't want to use tap water because of all the pollutants people talk about. I wanted my slips to be as organic as possible. I didn't use distilled water (most pure) because all of the good components, like minerals, are boiled out. I wanted all of the good stuff and none of the bad. So Deer Park it was, although, I do read things that say bottled waters are no better than tap but choose not to believe it. After each glass was filled I submerged each potato in its glass about half way. Making sure to hold each firmly so they wouldn't plunge in any deeper than the half way mark. Once I removed them from the water the skin that had been submerged was darker. It was easier for me to insert the toothpicks on the line between dark and light skin. Once the toothpicks were in I set them in there glasses and placed them on a table by the window. 

The next morning I went to check on them and the glasses were bit on the chilly side and remembered that the potatoes should be left in a warm place. The weather does not permit that naturally at the moment so I grabbed a space heater from the basement and set it on Low next to the glassed. I plan on getting one of those CFL bulbs tomorrow but for today the heater was fine. I may end up using both to try to speed up the process but I'll need to read a little further into it. When I'm out getting the CFL bulb I'll also head over to Goodwill and by some glassware to put the two dirt S-Pots in. Goodwill always has a ton of clear glassware for $0.50 to $1.00 per item. Cheap and convenient. 

Total Cost for Slips*:  

CFL Bulb: ~$4.00

2 Glass Containters: ~$1.50

Total Retail Cost:

Slips: $4.00/plant X 4 plants= $16.00

Slips Grown @ Retail*: $4.00/plant X 25= $100.00 

* If they grow I'll get about 25 slips or more out of 4 potatoes.

I only need for so I'd never spend $100.00 but you can see how much is saved by trying to grow everything yourself. It's really amazing. I just wish that I had planned to grow things from seeds/scraps from the beginning then I would have had more time to try and fail and try again. Next year, I'll know!

Soil Slips...

I started the soil slips today. I found a clear plastic tub and added about an inch of soil. The soil was already moist because I took it from the outside bed that happened to be covered in snow from last night. Great timing, right? 

I heated the soil up a bit by holding the container in front of a heating lamp and then added the sweet potatoes. I cut one potato in half and added the two halves orange flesh down. I did this because in a few of the articles it said to cut them. That was part of what had confused me in the beginning. Then I added the last sprouted potato to the dirt whole and placed the container in front of a low set heating lamp. Since its been snowing the house isn't very warm, especially not the sun room which happens to be the only place that I can keep my potatoes. So, the heating lamp is going to be necessary for a few days until it starts to warm up and the sun decides to show his face in VA again. 

The spinach happens to be sitting there too. I didn't think it was getting enough warmth from the sun. So I brought it in for the day to get a little artificial warmth. I won't leave it there as long as the S.P's because it doesn't need it but I did want to bring it in out of the snow... its been 7 days and I don't see any signs of germination. Hopefully this will help and not hurt. 

Slippery Sweets

Bored...

The last 2 days I haven't had that much to do concerning P.M. because most of the plants I have chosen to grow are warm/hot weather plants and I hadn't planned on growing my own seedlings. The spinach still needs to be tended to on an every other day basis and checked on everyday but it has yet to germinate. Not that I was expecting my spinach to be super spinach or anything but at the moment the container and faerie plot are a bit on the boring side. I did add the markers to the empty garden, mostly because I am impatient but also as a test. I wanted to make sure that all of the nail polish products used would withstand the rain. Now that they are completely dry I may add a topcoat of clear polish to ensure there survival. Other than that I did a little sweeping, tossing of old plant material, and mulching in the area next to my little garden just so that it all looked uniform and neat. That turned out fine. Just fine. 

I found a few old but beautiful tiles laying behind a bush in the driveway and grabbed 3 of one design (yellow and white swirl) and 2 of another (unsure of how to describe). I cleaned them up with a little all-purpose cleaner and laid them out in a left-right upward pattern on each side of the bed. I placed the spinach container on top of the first tile to the left. I think they add a little something. That took all of 30 minutes and then it was back inside. 

Slips...

I was going through Pinterest while watching RHoBH. I usually go through the garden section before bed just to get a few ideas or read about interesting projects people are trying. As I was going through Pinterest I saw a pin that said "Start garden with kitchen scraps." I didn't click on it to see what the article had to say but the title got me thinking. As I thought it came to me that they must be talking about veggies that get old in your pantry and start to sprout roots or stems. That made me think of onions, garlic, and finally sweet potatoes. The last being an veggie I plan to grow. 

Memory...
I remembered that one day about a year ago Mike and I were going through the kitchen to find something to munch on and found a few sweet potatoes with funny looking "roots." At the time we were both saying things like "Look at this" and "weird" and "Bah" (toss in face). We had a good laugh then tossed the "ruined" potatoes in the garbage. 

Little did I know...I went upstairs to see if we had any sweet potatoes in the pantry with "roots" on them. I hadn't yet Googled "How to grow sprouted S.P's" or anything. I just thought I'd need a couple sweet potatoes with "roots" if I was going to experiment. I found 3. Then I Googled. I found out that you can start with any sweet potato no, what I now knew are slips and not roots, needed but that if they do have slips starting already that you were in better shape than if not. So I read on and found two different methods of creating slips from grocery store sweet pots. 1) using tooth picks to suspend the S.P. submerged halfway in water in a glass container with the slip end up 2) set the sweet potato on top of a little moist soil slip end up. 

Both methods required a warm spot to work. At first the fact that there were two methods confused me. One in only water and one in little water, that didn't seem right. So I found a video that really helped on YouTube, How To Grow Your Own Sweet Potato Slips/Plants. The woman in the video documents growing slips both ways over the course of about 4 weeks. Both approaches worked well. She also explained the part that the written articles did not mention or didn't explain properly... after the slips have grown (both methods) you must snap them off and submerge the bottom in water to root, then plant if it's warm enough. Without this little nugget of info my slips my have made it through the first step but they never would have become potatoes. I had all the information on growing slips that I needed and the time to try it. 

Bored no more...

I'm psyched for tomorrow! I'll set up both methods on a windowsill in the house and spend the next few weeks attempting to grow my own slips. I'll use the 3 I'd found with slips already forming and 1 without as a small test within my test. Also, that will even it out 2 for each method. If they all don't work out I'll just buy them at the local Home Depot or nursery. I'm really excited to try it either way. The potatoes with just the slips on them were beautiful and it would be great to say I started the plants from scratch, basically. Problem of nothing to do for my garden until ALFD, solved!