Yellow Cherry

Its been raining here so I haven't really been able to tend to the garden the way I've wanted to but I did get to spray everything with Sea Magic yesterday and do some thinning.  

Here is a quick overview of things by plant type;

Strawberry Plants-
1) I finished planting the strawberries in the recycled bed. I'd said earlier that I didn't know what to do because the berries that were present were touching the soil and would rot. That's why I held off on planting them all. Well I figured it out. I cut a black plastic trash bag, making it into a sheet, and laid it over the soil. It was difficult to cut the bag in the exact right spot for the strawberry plants that had already been planted but I figured it out. Then I cut X's, appropriately spaced into the black sheeting and planted the rest. It was actually very fortuitous that I'd chosen that bed for those plants because the bricks hold the sheeting in place, firmly. Very firmly! Rain is a bit of an issue but after it rains I just make sure to pinch at the sheeting so that the extra water slides into the holes watering the berries. The sheet warms the soil immensely and keeps the berries from touching it. The plants, except the one Loran (rest are Ozark), have shot up about an inch each, have grown flowers or started berrying out. All I need to do now is keep the birds away. They've already started pecking at the green berries.

2) The Loran strawberries I planted around the edge of a round container have not grown, almost, at all. Sadly, I don't think they're going to make it. When I say 'make it' I mean produce fruit. The plants may grow and be green but I don't know that they'll do what their supposed to.

3) The two Eversweets planted in the taller 4x4 bed haven't seemed to have grown at all. I don't know about those 2 varieties. The Lorans came in a six-pack for a pittance compared to each of the Ozarks and the Eversweet plants looked red funny when I picked them out but they advertised the easiest growth and sweetest fruit so I thought, why not?  I only grabbed 2. Anyway, let's hope we get something out of 1 of the 3 varieties, that don't go to the birds.

4) My darling survivor! The single strawberry plant, in the 5 gallon bucket, that made it over the winter has a gorgeous white flower on it. Its thriving. I will not be surprised, at all, to see a couple of berries from that little guy. It's amazing how both that plant and the lemon balm made it through the winter without any care, at all, and are doing better than some of the freshly bought/planted seedlings.

5) Finally, the extra. One of the Ozark Beauty containers had a little extra plant attached to it that I removed, on the day I purchased it, and replanted in a terracotta pot. It is thriving as well. It has 3 berries of varying sizes and has shot up a few inches, at least. I only put a few inches of soil in the pot because I'd planned on replanting it but now I'm worried that if I do move it again, Ill lose it. The amount of soil in the pot is double the Bonnie size and triple in width but I don't think it'll be enough. I wish I'd thought ahead and planted it as if that was going to be its perma-location when I did. It may have to do.

Lettuce-
1) The Romaine seedlings I bought from home depot are green, firm, and growing. They were wilted and looking like they were on their last legs for a few days there after I transferred them but the rain has done them well. I'm hoping I'll start to see some twisting and turning. That'll indicate that they are going to "head up."

2) The Romaine seeds I planted have poked their little heads out and then some but are grouped together so tightly its been hard to thin without pulling out too many. Lettuce seeds are so small it was hard to plant them without grouping them tightly, especially since I primed them in warm water prior to transplantation. Each seed had a single, fairly long, root when I finally put them in the soil. I don't know that we'll get even a single lettuce leaf from those because the roots aren't holding tight and they do not have the space they need if they go un-thinned.

3) Not lettuce but spinach is used as such so I'll add it in this category. It is ready for picking. Something has been nibbling on it and I've had to pull off and toss a few leaves but the plants look like they should; dark green and crinkly. Nothing like last years. Can't wait to give my Mom some.

Tomatoes-
1) The Yellow Cherry variety, planted next to 2 cucumbers, is doing the best. It has a few little yellow flowers and 2 tiny green rounds. I was so excited to see those today. I didn't know if we'd get anything from this years garden because of the late start and the depleted soil. Seeing those two tiny green rounds gave me an enormous amount of hope.

2) The other plants seem to have gotten their color back and have a flower or two but they haven't shot up in height like the ones last year did shortly after transplantation. I'm hoping its just a delay but if we only get Yellow Cherries that will be OK with me; as long as we get something.

Cucumbers-
1) I planted 2 cucumbers in the far left bed with the Yellow Cherry tomato plant and installed the trellises right away. Those two don't seem to have grown much but I'm not worried about it because at planting-time they were looking like they were an inch from death. Now, they look like lively, small, seedlings. They needed time to heal. I'm sure now that their color and strength is back they'll start to shoot up like weeds?

2) The round container cucumbers have shot up about an inch each. It was a single seedling pot with a double plant. They are doing just great! Its the same container that grew last years beauties so I'm not worried about them, at all! Well I'm not worried about their growth. I am worried about the container placement. I've seen some funny soil movement that I don't like. I think an animal has been digging into them. I may have to move them behind the fence, which would be fine because the backyard is so beautifully clean. I could use the patio for containers this year. Keep the animals at bay.

3) The recycling bin cucumber hasn't grown much but it was  in the same condition as cucumbers #1. Now the plant is green, straight, and firm. I may have to move it to the patio as well. Im just waiting for the mama bird and her chicks to get a little older and move on. I wouldn't doubt that she'd attack my plants if I put them on the patio right now. She goes nuts when we even get close because her nest is right there.

Herbs-
1) I planted the parsley and basil in the back far left bed with the spinach and lettuce seeds. The parsley hasn't grown much but it looks really nice, green, supple, and fresh. I'm sure it'll make its way up.

2) Last years Lemon Balm. My baby! It's enormous. It made it through the winter without any tending. I ripped off all the old brown leaves and twigs in March and it has blossomed. Its twice the size it was and has grown at least 4 inches taller. It is amazing!!!! I cannot get over how the plant that claimed it needed the warmest weather made it through the winter and is thriving more than any other! Its crazy. I love it!

3) The new lemon balm plan went in the bed with the Parsley. Its grown a bit, looks fresh. That's all there is to say about that.

4) The basil was yellow when I put it in. Now its green and has grown. We can start using it on pizza or whatever else we'd like. It smells amazing and looks wonderful. HUGE! Last years Basil didn't do too well. I think this years is doing better because I bought the larger size. It was more established to begin with.

Radishes-
1) The French radishes are thriving. It took them one day to sprout up out of the ground. It looks like every seed made it and they have already grown their second set. Ive been thinning like crazy because I primed them and wet seeds are hard to separate. So they grew in tight groups like the lettuce seeds. Luckily these have strong roots and are easier to thin, it takes time but it's worth it. We'll have the best French radishes this side of Wilson Blvd. Haha!

I forgot to bring my phone out with me so I don't have any updated pictures to include with this post but I'll add some when I take them first thing tomorrow.

Switched at Potagar

I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon tilling, filling, and planting. 

My boyfriends dad helped be wheel the wheelbarrow around the other side of the house so that we didn't have to carry each of the four bags of soil individually through the house. His idea and a good one. Really good one! 

Once the soil was placed I started tilling the soil with a shovel. It made me really tired and got me way to close to the bugs. So I went looking for a hoe. Found one! That made it do much easier and made it possible for me to till the soil much better. 

Once that was handled I started out with planting the tomatoes. I miscalculated what space I needed. Since the tomatoes were our best crop I made sure to get all of those in before anything else. 

Then I worked on the cucumbers and strawberries. I had planned on using the recycled bed for the strawberries and planted 4 Ozark Beauties before I realized that I would either need to cover the soil with landscaping cloth so that the berries don't touch the soil and rot when they come in or plant them somewhere else. I stopped my planting right there because I wanted to come up with a solid plan. 

(R) Sungold Cherry Tomato. (L) Burpless cucumber plants and trellises to grow up. 

(Front Row from L to R) Bradley Tomato, French Radishes, Romaine Lettuce. (Mid L) Eversweet Strawberries. (Mid R) Lemon Boy. (Back L) Beefstake Tomato. (Back R) Lemon Boy. 

Container cucumber of the Burpless variety with trellis. 

Ozark Beauties in side garden. See how all the starter berries are touching the soil? That will rot them, 100%. 

Cats and Dogs!

I know this sounds extremely familiar and I am so hoping that this summer is not a repeat of last because it has rained, almost literally, cats and dogs. Pouring, nonstop, for 4 full days. Not one stream or beam of sunlight in just as many days. It's been unbelievably gloomy, dark, wet, and humid. Luckily, those days occurred in April and I am attributing them to April Showers. That's all it better be because last summer was rain, rain, and more rain. The most rain in the DMV area in 20 years or something along those lines. Quite possibly it was the most rain in the history of the DMV because they ran an article on it in the Washington Post, it may have been 20 days straight of rain (I don't I'll have to look into it.) 

Good news, the rain made everything flourish. I thought it would drown my tender seedlings but it didn't. There were 4 inch deep puddles surrounding every raised bed. It was unbelievable when I woke up this morning to sunlight and warmth. I ran outside breathed in the warm air and headed straight for my boxes. Everything looked amazing! There were even red berries on the strawberry plants I've yet to install in their permanent spots! 

The radishes grew in groups and the lettuce seeds have popped through. The romaine seedlings are a vibrant green and the strawberries that are planted look, just, OK but that's good enough for me! 

Radish seedlings (L). Grew in tight groups. I'll have to do a fair amount of thinning. Romaine lettuce green as ever (R)! Lemon Boy tomato plant (Bg). 

Lettuce seedlings (L) popping through. Sweet basil (R) greener then the day I bought it. 

Lettuce Plant!

I got up and waited to see if the overcast day would turn into a nice one so that I could pull my seedlings out into the sun. They haven't seen the sun in 3 damn days. (Does anyone know that reference?) Around noon, I went to the sunroom opened the door and it was warm! 

I started pulling the plants out then decided to fill the deep mid-box and the far upper left corner box with what soil we did have. I didn't think the runoff would be so bad but soil and compost are two very different things. I could barely fill those 2 boxes with the 3 very large bags of soil I bought but I accomplished it with some leftover organic soil and veteran compost. 

Then I did the most exciting thing; I planted the radish seeds, I'd soaked, and the lettuce seedlings! They are both cool weather plants so I trusted that considering the weather I'd be okay. After planting I needed to water. Well it turns out the shower cap on the hose was broken. I didn't know this until after it soaked me. I quickly ran I turn off the hose and remove the cap. I had to bend the hose to get past the seedlings (unplanted sunbathing lot) without drowning them, then let it loose and watered. I decided because it was only noon and pretty warm that the seedlings would need a little drink. I sprayed the cardboard pots. That should do the trick since they haven't gotten sun in awhile. 

Finally, I raked up some leaves and ran inside a pure wet mess. 

Before planting.

Planted. The square behind the lettuce plants has the radish seeds tucked away asleep but hopefully waking under the soil. 

WATCH! Fruit Set

Fruit Setting...

When I first started my garden I didn't quite know what all the references meant when they said "fruit set" which caused me anxiety to no end. Things change when fruit starts to set in... I could of guessed that it was when the fruit started to grow but I didn't know what point in there growth was true setting. So now that I do know and can tell you that it means when the flowers start to turn I wanted to show you. 

All of our plants are at "fruit set" or have been "setting" for awhile now. 

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. 

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. 

Bunny Repercussions

No Trellises for Bush Peas...

I recently looked up growing green arrow peas and found out that the type doesn't need a trellis. I was going to leave them in place because they looked good and they would provide a little support but basically they'd be wasted in that spot. They'd still look good but 3/4 of each trellis would have gone unused. Still I would have left them had a bunny not munched on my lettuce (in Potagar) today. The bunny gave me a push to put up the netting, at least around the lettuce bed, and the netting didn't sit right with the tepee trellises in place especially since the netting was already up on the bed in front of this particular bed. So I took them down and decided that since squash plants are pretty enormous they could use a trellis a piece. 

Baby crooknecks with squash blossom.

Trellis per plant. Side view.

Patty-pan and crookneck. Front view of trellises. 

Rain Break for Pictures

No Rain...

So the took a few hours break today and I was able to spray sea magic on everything, build a trellis, and take a few pictures. My neck hurts too much to type. I'm not sure why but it does so this is mostly a picture update entry.

Tiny squash with tiny blossom on crookneck yellow squash plants. 

Bamboo trellis for cantaloupe plant that has double since planting on Thursday. 

Carrots are finally booming, the lettuce seems to grow more if harvested and the onions are about 3 inches taller since last week.

The 5G bucket is fuller, the 8G bucket is fuller and the tomato has doubled in the last 4 days. See comparison below;

Spray Crazy

Harvest Two...

This morning before I went out with my mom I went out to water, apply compost tea to the veggies/herbs/fruits that needed it, and harvest what needed harvesting. I applied compost tea to the spinach, basil, onions, strawberries, cucumbers and green beans. The onions needed 1 cup per square foot and the cucumbers needed 1 cup per plant. The rest didn't say what was needed so applied a watering; enough liquid to sufficiently water the plant for the day. Then I watered what needed watering and took a good look at the lettuce and radishes in Patch Market. The lettuce had boomed since my last harvest. It had grown in height by about 5 inches and had grown in width by 6 or 8 full sized leaves. I harvested 6 leaves from 1 head by pinching then off, being sure to leave an inch or so at the base, and 5 from the other. Both heads still looked extremely full afterwards. I put all the lettuce in my basket then moved on to the radishes. Three were ready for harvest the rest weren't because half haven't even 'bulbed' yet and the others had small bulbs about a 1/4 of an inch wide. I don't know if the ones that don't have any bulb will ever bulb but either way the ones harvested were beautiful. I harvested the lettuce and radishes to give to my mom. I knew I'd be heading over to pick her up for lunch a few minutes later so it was the perfect time to harvest them for her. I was about to go inside but decided that since the rain that was supposed to come, wasn't, I'd spray with my new organic Captain Jack's spray. I sprayed the remaining radishes, the strawberry containers, the lettuce, and the carrots. Then I went inside to get dressed for lunch. On my way out I grabbed the unwashed veggies still in the basket and took the whole thing with me.

When I got to my Mom's I gave her the harvest. She was excited to receive them, especially the lettuce, because she didn't have any lettuce or radishes for tonight's salad. She took them out of the basket and put the lettuce in a saved produce bag then put that in the fridge. The lettuce filled the entire bag. She cropped the greens off of the radishes and stuck them in the fridge on a shelf, no plate, nothing. Strange for her but it worked. She said she'd be making a salad with the veggies for dinner and she did. She texted me after dinner and said that she made a salad with the lettuce but didn't add the radishes. She just ate a radish plain; " it was good because it was sweet and crisp but not peppery." I don't know if that means it was better than the store ones or that it was worse because it didn't develop the peppery flavor. I 'll have to ask her if the other 2 had a peppery flavor once she eats them. She liked them, either way, and now I'll try them. What I don't like about radishes is the peppery flavor, these ones are really grown by me. 

       Before second harvest.

       Before.

    Harvested lettuce. 

     Harvested radishes. 

After Lunch...

After lunch my Mom and I came back here and I gave her a tour of Potagar Schoultz and Patch Market, she was thoroughly impressed. We didn't garden because she wasn't feeling well and it was the hottest part of the day; too hot to garden. I pulled off a lemon balm leaf, during our tour, for her to smell and she absolutely loved it. I'd never heard of it before my foray into gardening so I was sure she hadn't before either and I was right about her not knowing  of its mosquito repelling qualities, delicious fragrance, and its existence. On our way out I grabbed the 3 beautiful lemon balm seedlings I germinated in a paper cup and gave them to her for the kitchen. She'll replant them this weekend in a nice large pot, as I instructed her to do. I'm positive she'll use the herb as a natural repellent and fragrance in her kitchen once it's ready to harvest.

Back...

When I got back from dropping her off and running a few errands I changed into gardening clothes and went out to spray the weeds/grass in the far right beds in Potagar Schoultz. At first I didn't know how to attach the nozzle to the EcoSmart bottle but I figured it out and started spraying. I was shocked to smell the contents. The liquid was strong and suffocating. It said it was safe for children and pets so I wasn't worried about my health but my throat felt raw after spraying the first bed. I pushed through, anyway, sprayed the second bed and the weeds growing in the sidewalk cracks in Patch Market and in front of the sun room. I went spray crazy actually. I sprayed the sidewalks, all the dandelion, the grass growing up against all the Potagar beds and all the plants growing through the mulch on the ground in Patch. I only stopped because my throat was extremely raw and I couldn't stand the smell any longer. 

I went out to check a few hours later and so far nothing looks like its dying but it said it would take hours and I sprayed around 5:30 so its only been 3.5 hours. Tomorrow I'll mulch what needs mulching, spray what needs re-spraying and thin what needs thinning, if it doesn't thunder storm as predicted. UGH, the saying isn't MAY showers bring JUNE flowers. It's April showers bring May flowers and veggies? 

First Harvest

Spinach Bolting...

I went out this morning to check on everything after the rain. I was scared to head out because of the caterpillars but I put my large rimmed straw hat on so that if anything did fall out of the trees it wasn't directly on me. That gave me the confidence to go out and even head under the tree to Parch but before I did that I checked on the spinach container. One of the plants bolted. What that means is that it, basically, didn't have enough space so it flowered to go to seed. I have two options now concerning that particular plant, 1) I thin it out so that I don't chance the other plants bolting or 2) I leave it let it flower and collect the seeds to plant another rotation. I'm leaning towards thinning because the other plants probably need the space. 

 Spinach plant bolted, flowering. 

Radishes & Lettuce...

I moved into Patch quickly to avoid spending too much time under any given tree. I checked on the radishes first and noticed that my biggest plant had about 2 cm of an inch wide bulb sticking out and so did one other, much shorter, plant. I took a look at the strawberries and then the lettuce and realized that on of the heads of lettuce was starting to curl; making a head. So that means that it needed to be harvested or the outer leaves did. I went inside to check the size of Cherry belle radishes on Smart Gardener and when I saw that the average size bulb was .5 inches I grabbed a basket and headed out with my pink gloves to harvest a couple radishes and lettuce leaves. I pulled the two radishes with the most bulb sticking out and pinch a few lettuce leaves off the exterior of the forming head. I left enough of the plant, about 2 inches, so that those leaves would grow back. 

I took my harvest inside, washed it up, and set it out to dry. We'll be making a salad tonight. I'm not going to give my mom or AFAC 2 radishes and six leaves of lettuce so Mr. S, he likes radishes, said he'd eat them. Leaf veggies should be harvested for same day use. 

Georgia Jet Wilt...

I will be planting the sweet potatoes around dusk if it isn't rainy and windy like it was last night because they are looking really sad. The leaves are drying up and the water doesn't seem to be holding them over. I'm just going to have to suck it up and plant them even if I ant see caterpillars coming my way at that time of day. 

Bulbs poking out after a few days. Took them 2 days to double or triple in size.

Lettuce starting to head. 

My first harvest May 11th, 2013. 

Captain Jack's

DeadBug Garden Dust...

It was a really cloudy and dark day so for most of the morning I thought it was raining, I didn't think to actually check because I was being lazy but around 2pm I went out and it was dry but dark. I went out to check on everything and when I got to Patch I noticed that the radishes had more holes. A lot more. So I went inside to grab the powder, organic pesticide that Mr. S. had gotten along with the Diatom-Earth. It's called Captain Jack's. At first I thought you mixed the powder with water and sprayed it on because the label had liquid conversions on it. For what reason I still don't know, but you don't mix it with water you just dust the plants with it. Makes sense, considering its called Garden Dust. Once I figured that out I went back outside with the dust and started applying it to the radishes. It was difficult because a bunch was pouring out of the salt shaker-like holes and all I needed to do was dust the foliage, bottom and top, but I was dusting the leaves and the soil and myself. So I closed the shaker top and started squeezing. That worked really well. The powder still came out in thin burst with the cap completely closed. I used my fingers to get all the extra powder all over the radish leaves then used the squeeze method to lightly dust the lettuce and the strawberry leaves. It stated very specifically that it was safe for berries and since the bugs eating the radish leaves wouldn't be able to anymore I figured they'd try moving over to my prized berries. While I was dusting the berry leaves I noticed that the 5G bucket plants had shot up about 4 inches but they still don't have any berries growing. They are by far the largest and greenest of the plants but no berries. It's really weird. They don't have any runners yet so that shouldn't be the issue but they just aren't producing berries. I think I may have over planted the container. Online it said that you could fill the bucket and at Home Depot they have tiny containers with 4-5 plants that have berries but I don't know that's the only reason I can think of to explain the lack of berries. Anyway, I'll try some fertilizer (more) and see what happens. Otherwise I might just let the bucket produce runners and new plants for next year. After dusting Patch I dusted the lettuce in Potagar and the green beans. I saw some large pests today, for the first time. I very large bunny and I realized that they always bolt up the hill so I deduced that there must be a hole in the fence by the neighbors house. They aren't getting in through any other fence because we've kept them closed and check everywhere but back there. It's a little creepy dark and overgrown back there. I'll have to check tomorrow. 

After I dusted the green beans I decided to thin them out a little more. I don't want everything to be slow so I am really trying to thin everything down. Now there is about 11 plants in each plot, 2 more and we'll be good. I've been putting all the bean plants I thin in a plastic cup with a little water and the ones i thinned days ago are still green and strong. I might try planting them in a container. I also thinned the spinach. After that I filled a container with plans to plant the thinned beans but I decided to plant a cucumber plant instead. The cucumbers are the only plant that we didn't have an assigned plot for so I figured even if they don't grown fruit it'll be a nice experiment and the foliage will look great. 

Finally, I brought the greenhouse inside and watered the plants in there and the lemon balm. The rain was sure to come and it did just a few minutes after bringing the house in...

Dusted lettuce. It's finally gaining some height and is almost ready to harvest the first leaves. I'm going to go with the continuous harvest method for these and the spinach. Beautiful, I love that green color!

5G strawberry bucket. They've grown about 4 inches taller, but no berries. Dusted.

Dusted 5G bucket from the top.

Lemon Balm seeds on a paper towel. I hadn't looked at this test in awhile and did today and noticed that the lemon balm seeds germinated extremely well on the paper towel. It took them about 3 weeks to get to this stage with "grown up" leaves. 

Dusted radishes. You can see that I didn't know what I was doing here compared to the berries and lettuce. The bugs immediately moved so it works and its organic. The rain doesn't wash it right off but do use the squeeze method. It lightly dusts the entire plant, top and bottom, and looks much nicer. Saves too.

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. 

Slow Thumb

Today was a boring gardening day... I basically just watered and checked on everything. I hate this whole waiting to do stuff part. In a few weeks I know I'll have weeding, fertilizing, and side dressing to do but at the moment all I have to do is water and sometimes the rain takes care of that for me. To be honest, although all of my tests and seedlings have worked out, it seems like I have a slow growing garden.

My radishes are definitely not going to be ready to harvest in "22 days." My spinach is not going to be ready "30 days" after planting for baby spinach. I may have a green thumb but its also the anti growth hormone green thumb. I don't know if that makes sense but when I post my video update with the current length of time everything has been growing you'll see that things are about 2 weeks behind. Not the warm/hot stuff either. That would make sense because it hasn't been very warm, it's been cool, but things like the spinach that are COOL even cold crops are taking forever too.

Didn't do much more than that today. If anyone knows why veggies would take longer to grow than they are supposed to please let me know. An I missing something? Nutrient? Mineral? Water? Too much water? Anything I might have missed in my reading? And in turn ill of course let you all know if I find something.

Installing the Plants

Installing the plants....

I planted the lettuce, mesclun mix, spinach, and green beans because they are all cool/warm crops. I'll plant the rest in 2 weeks when we get into warm/hot weather. I built 1 more stake. I am so tired of writing because I happen to be writing a 12 page paper for school so I am going to leave it at that for the day and post pictures. I'll write much more tomorrow and update on video to make up for today's lacking post.



 

Hot in Herre

Wilting Plants...

This morning I got up and put everything outside because it was going to be 79 degrees out. I left and went back inside to get things together for the day and came back out about 2 hours later to find that the inside of the greenhouses were sweltering. I immediately removed the iceberg lettuce cups because all of the old and new growth was completely wilted. I thought I might have killed them to be honest but when I brought them inside they perked up. 

Although, some of the things online and in books is over the top and plants are stronger than they've been made out to be it seems like the "seasonal" suggestions are no joke. The temperature outside was about 75 and inside the greenhouse was about 90. Lettuce does best at about 65 degrees. It didn't like the 90 degree heat it was in at all. It took a little while inside for them to perk back up and they still aren't looking as nice as they were this morning. I had planned on transplanting them into the raised bed in Patch today but technically the consistent cool weather isn't guaranteed until next week. Considering that it was hotter then it should be for lettuce out today and is going to be for the rest of the week it seems silly to say but I'm keeping them inside. Not because it isn't "cool" because it's past cool out it's warm to hot out. I figure waiting until Friday when the weather drops back down to the mid-60's is best. 

My strawberries a warm/hot fruit wilted as well.  I think it was a bit of a shock for them. It hasn't been that hot out and all of the sudden it was 90 degrees in the greenhouse. They wilted to find shade and a bit of breeze, I think. Once I took the top off of the greenhouse even though it was hot and sunny they perked back up. They like the heat but not in a flash like that. I need to remember that boiling my crops probably isn't the best way to go. I've been so careful about cold temperatures I forgot that I needed to cool things down when it got to hot. Thank god they perked back up. Some of the most beautiful plants (the taller ones) were the ones that wilted. 

Pre-germ Carrots and Primed Lemon Balm...

I decided to transfer the pre-germinated carrot seeds into a cup with organic soil, today. The pre-germs. weren't very good looking but I wanted to complete the experiment. A lot of the seeds had grown into the wet paper towel and some of the roots had shriveled up but I picked the best looking ones and dropped them into the cup and covered them lightly with soil and water. I might not get anything and I might get some really nice looking sprouts but either way I can wait to see the results. Considering that they were pre-germinated if they're going to sprout at all it'll be in the next 4-5 days. I'll let you know. 

I planted my primed Lemon Balm seeds right before the pre-germ. carrots but that was so much more of a hassle than it was worth. The seeds were so tiny and slick I don't know if I have a cup of dirt sitting in my greenhouse or if I have soon to be Lemon Balm seedlings sitting in there. I couldn't see them go in to save my life. If I flicked them in the cup or over the cup I have no clue. It was just a mess. I think I definitely should have just bought a Lemon Balm plant. Those seeds are either not meant to be primed or not meant to be handled but it was much tougher than seed taping the tiny carrot seeds. I really truly don't know how many I got in if any. They are the same color as soil and the tiniest slickest things. I guess this is a "we'll see" and "both be surprised" if there ever was one. 

Containers...

Lastly, I painted my containers today. I planned on using the old yellow recycling bin for the watermelon plants if they germinate but I didn't want to use it as is.... so I painted it a nice white with green tea trim. It looks pretty and will hold 1 fair sized plant. I also painted a 5 gallon bucket I found green tea with white trim. I am not sure what I'll put in there just yet, maybe the lemon balm, but I know I'll end up using it for something. Maybe one of the tests that goes really well but wasn't planned for in Patch Market.