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%. 

Potagar Patch 2014

I know it's been a long winter and everyone has been getting sick of waiting to put their gardens together but it looks like the wait is coming to an end, hopefully! 

This year we'll be combining Potagar Schoultz with Patch Market. The new garden name is going to be Potagar Market. Exciting! The reason I did it this way was because I decided it was best to only grow the things we truly ended up eating and the things, out of the ones we ate that, worked. 

That came down to strawberries (they didn't really work but most of that was due to the excessive rain), cucumbers, spinach, basil, lemon balm, tomatoes (many different varieties especially our beloved yellow), peppers, and lettuce. I'm forgetting a couple of things but that is the bulk of the garden. Patch Market has officially been turned into a strawberry patch. It seemed fitting and much more conducive to growing the berries than anywhere else. I was not about to make the same mistake and squash all of my beauties, Ozark and Loran, into that ridiculous Topsy Turvy. The Ozark variety does need more space but that did not come into account when making the decision. It came down to- we love strawberries and the darn TT didn't work- what works best. People have strawberry patches so using the recycled material bed as a strawberry patch just made sense. 

We will be growing in all 6 raised beds, the recycling bin, 2 large rounds, and the brick bed. Fruiting will happen a few weeks later because I've yet to plant a thing. This time last year I had everything planted, most of all, planned and organized. I planted the last few plants on my birthday last year, April 18, including the tomatoes. So even though the start is late we should get a good crop. The summer has promised to be long and I hope that promise is kept. 

Planning and buying have commenced. 

We have a great new deck so the garden is even more welcome (not that it wasn't last year) in the sense that we can sit on the deck take in the sun, relax, and not worrying that we made a mistake in taking up the entire backyard with a veggie garden. 

Summer Virus

Sick...

I have had a pretty serious stomach  virus and head cold for the last few days. It's going around so be careful. I haven't been able to get out into the garden much but yesterday the 4th and one of the better days I went out for a few minutes to check on things and I ended up picking some jalapeño peppers. I gave them to my mom along with a brown paper bag full of large multi colored tomatoes. She's going to make a traditional Honduran  dish called Chimole. It's a cooked tomato salsa-type dish used as a dressing on carne asada and other grilled meats. I can't eat spicy because of my acid reflux but she'll make me a separate batch sans jalapeño. I've never been a big fan which is good because of the condition but I think with my tomatoes and no spice I'll like it, a lot. 

The transferred chilies in PM are finally turning red. The transfer and constant sun has done them well. 

 Yesterday's harvest. We have like 6 or 7 eggplants growing in different stages. This was the only one ready for picking. 

Color change on the chili peppers transferred into the raised bed in Patch.

The number has about doubled since I took this but there are 4 pictured. 

Tomato Woes

Vine Ripened...

So many and no one is eating... Everyone is picking even the ones that aren't ripened fully yet but no one is eating them in a steady enough stream to keep up with harvest. The grocery store charges extra for Vine Ripened Tomatoes and for some reason we're ripening 50% of our crop in a brown bag with a banana. That actually works, which is amazing because fruit that was only slightly red turned bright red, but vine ripened is better, charged for... 

Brown bag 1/3 full of just cherry sized tomatoes. 

Today's harvest, only mine, another 12-15 were picked. 

Small cantaloupe that fell from the container. I cut it open and ate it after smelling its sweet strong aroma. It was sweet and soft and delicious. I couldn't believe I had a ripe edible mini melon. It's pretty cool! 

Tomato City

Picking and Bags...

Every time we pick tomatoes we put them in brown paper bags to ripen a little more or if they are ripe just for storage. They seem to keep a lot better that way. If we are ripening them a little more we put a banana in with them and if we're not we don't. Something about the peel helps the process. Anyway, at this point we have 3 brown paper bags full of all different types, shapes, and sizes and I have given a small bag to a friend, 2 small bags to my mom and 1 large bag. We have about 100+ more tomatoes on the vines at different stages of growth and ripeness and 25 of those are ready for picking but we rather them ripen as far as naturally possible on the vine than bring them in to rot. It's amazing! Mike's dad has attempted growing tomatoes in containers every single year since we've been here and every single year they either get eaten or don't ripen. I think that's why he wanted so many plants this year and my green thumb prevailed, even the container ha set forth 3 ripe tomatoes and only keeps growing and ripening. Yah, we over did it a bit but its nice to have some veggies to give away. 

Bag of tomatoes I have to my mom today, with plenty leftover for us. 

Some of what was ready for picking today, definitely not all, I found an pick these in 2 minutes so I could give my mom a few extra Lemon Boys. 

Tomato Mania

Intense Heat...

It's been advisory hot outside for the last 4 or 5 days. It's been in the high 90's to the low 100's with a lot of humidity which has been amazing for the tomatoes. Tons of them are ripening on all the plants. I collected at least 10 tomatoes and 2 squash today alone. I took the squash to my moms for her to cook them,like she can only do, for me. Mmmm so good! The heat is miserable but the results are amazing! I hope it stays sunny and fairly hot, maybe just maybe, not advisory hot but tomato hot. 

Today's collection! The yellow is a lemon boy. The small ones are tomato-berries.

Cooked squash with onions. 

Boyfriends Birthday

Twenty Six and Counting...

Today was Mike's twenty sixth birthday so we did what he wanted to do which did not include much gardening. He likes checking the garden out but doesn't like to work it which is fine with me because I love it so much it was also okay because it happened to be another rainy on and off again day. UGH! Apparently, this June was the rainiest June in DMV history. Unbelievable! The first year we plan a huge scale garden we get the rainiest summer in history. I say summer and not June because the rain has steadily continued into July. We've had at least 26 days of rain and we're still counting. Weird. 

While Mike slept in I did get out for a few minutes and picked a few more ripe cherry tomatoes. They were amazing! I cannot wait until we get a full serving, like with everything else. I don't know if we will because of all the rain but I'm hoping things will turn around. The berries are officially, hardly, producing. Its such a damn shame. I gave them so much love and attention. I really pampered them but it didn't and doesn't matter berries are much more sensitive than any other crop and they were bound to feel the rainy sting. 

ENORMOUS SIGH! I'll post a real update on things tomorrow if the rain doesn't get in the way again. 

Sex Organs?

Pollinating squash...

When I went out today I noticed that we had a bunch of little red tomatoes and one large red/green tomato but I'll talk about that later. Right now I want to talk about why our squash had been shriveling up and dying. It turns out that the squash produce male and female blossoms and they need to be pollinated male to female stigma. So I went online and read a bunch of articles on hand pollinating. Obviously the insects, bees and what not, have pollinate a few of the flowers properly but they don't get them all because they aren't look to go male to female they just go flower to flower. So you have to do some hand pollinating if you want to get the biggest harvest possible. 

I went out and tried but did not really succeed because all of the flowers were closed. The squash blossoms are supposed to open in the morning and stay that way until early evening but they weren't. My guess is the infamous rain. The sky was so dark it did seem like early evening. I did get a feel for what I needed to do and I figured out what the difference between a male blossom and female blossom is...

Male Blossoms have a stigma that looks like a yellow Q-tip top. Female blossoms have what looks like a few round stigma attached to make one big round with a hollow center. It looks like a smaller, yellow, b.b. gun ammunition cap.

Instructions to Hand Pollinate: 
1. Remove a male flower
2. Peel back the petals on the male flower to reveal the stigma
3. Rub stigma against (still attached) female stigma when open (should be easy to tell by stigma and fruit under) 
4. One male flower for every 3 female flowers
5. After 3 cut another and continue

Tomato Time...

I picked the tomatoes and pulled off the suckers. Suckers are usually the small set of leave growing in between to larger branches. Pulling these off allows the plant to put more energy into ripening the tomatoes. As you can see these were not perfectly ripe but they were close enough and they tasted amazing. I never like slightly green tomatoes but these were totally different. I loved them. I wanted leave some for the others to taste and I did but I meant to leave more. I couldn't resist eating more and more.... MMMMMM!

Chipmunk Fence

Bunnies, Chipmunks, or Rats?

Up until now we've been pretty lucky as far as pests go. I've had some personal invasions in Patch Market on my strawberry containers and on the Topsy Turvy but after I moved the containers and wrapped up the Topsy all of that ended. I have had some berries get eaten by the birds but that has been few and far between. Otherwise, we've had a bunny go for the lettuce in Potagar, once, and that's it. Those few times things did go missing we blamed it on rats. There was a storm of rats in this neighborhood last year due to the recently, more, mild winters but we actually haven't seen any rats we just assumed that was the case because they ate every single tomato in the small container garden Mr. S. fashioned last year. Anyway, so we blamed the rats, not the bunnies, because of the bite size but the rats. I was worried we were going to see another swarm of them this year, even though they were killed off by our poison and a few of the neighbors. Yesterday, when I was out put some of the fencing up I saw a tomato, a small cherry one, on the ground with a bite mark in it. I thought, again, a rat and that I needed to hurry up and finish getting the fencing up. I didn't because I ran out and needed to get the rest out of the car but I basically finished today. Anyway, I told Mr. S. about the tomato and he said something that I completely agree with "I haven't really seen even one rat but I've seen a bunch of chipmunks. They have to eat too." He is absolutely correct. I've seen at least 6 or 7 in our area alone and a few running across the street in the neighborhood. The bite marks are so small that it makes sense that they are the thieves not the nonexistent rats. So I made sure to get almost all of the rest of the fencing up to protect against them and hope that we get to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor, literally.  Mr. S. thought that we might not get many pests because we'd been lucky so far but I think I was correct when I said that was because things haven't ripened yet. Now that they're ripening the aroma will attract pests from afar and around. 

Fencing we purchased at home depot for $5 a roll. A good deal and it is not unattractive when up. I used a staple gun to hold it in place on the wooden poles Mr. S. put in but we could have bought metal hook poles that you did into the ground for $3 a piece. Next time we'll know.

The cucumber plant was close to reaching the cement drive so I put a trellis in the container and weave the long stems through the trellis just like I did with the cantaloupe plants. Cucumbers are in the same family so there vines should happily attach to accommodate vertical growth.

Vine of a cantaloupe working its way to attaching to the newly placed trellis and a very young cantaloupe melon forming (the yellow fuzzy globe). 

Ready, Set, Fruit!

Picture Update on Fruiting Plants...

Our first quarter sized patty-pan squash. There are several beautiful squash blossoms on this plant but the patty-pan's haven't developed as quickly. The plant is about a foot wide and 2 feet tall.

The infamous Tomato-berry plant. It took weeks to grown a centimeter then it shot up a foot and stayed that height for another week and produced maybe one tomato. Now its about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide with at least 30 tomato-berries. The name describes the shape and size of this type of tomato, strawberry like.

Our first cucumber. One of many. The biggest of all. It is about 4 inches long and an inch wide. It's been growing in a container for about a month and a week. 

Super Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. They are starting to ripen in this picture. The plant is about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide with an unknown number of marble sized fruit.

Super 45 Hybrid cantaloupe plant in 10x12 container with a trellis. Picture are the first and 2nd melons growing. The closest is the size of a plum and the second is the size of a kiwi. There are at least 4 other flowers with tiny pea sized and yellow globes starting to form. 

Container cantaloupe plant with 2 sizable melons and several other tiny ones. I made a tepee with a more solid trellis to hold the first and provide more space for the plants growth. Several references said that if given vertical space cantaloupes only needed one square foot (otherwise they needed 4x4 sqft of ground space). So I'm hoping this will be enough trellis space to grow full size melons.

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. 

The Accidental Pick

Sisters Birthday...

It was a beautiful and sunny day out but I didn't get to garden. It was my sisters birthday so we had plans. First it was lunch and nails then it was bar hopping so I spent my day out, resting to go out, or getting ready. I wish I'd spent it gardening because I haven't had a chance to do all the maintenance I've wanted to do since I got home.

So far I've picked a few more green beans and thinned out some carrots that weren't going to form because the roots were exposed. I did accidentally pick one carrot that was forming which was too bad but it gave me hope that I don't have carrot fly because it was forming well. Anyway, I plan on spending all day gardening tomorrow. I'm hoping the weather doesn't turn on me.

Carrots that weren't going to form, a radish, and the accidental pick. 

The container tomato plant in Patch. 

Picked another 25 beans and still have more to pick. 

Ripen Up

Red, Red, & Red...

It was dark and cloudy out today because of the tropical storm that was coming our way. It seems that it took a detour a little later but either way the sky was dark and not great for gardening. Even so I went out to check on everything to make sure that if the storm did hit hard that all of the stakes and trellises were deeply held and that the containers were on steady ground. When I finally got around to checking on Patch I instantly noticed the brightest most perfect strawberry I had ever seen. It was the perfect strawberry red with a wax shine. It looked like the apples the big companies wax before shipping but of course it wasn't waxed it was just perfect. After taking a look I looked over all of the other strawberry containers. No e of the strawberries,except for the one in the 5G container, were ready for picking but they were a nice shade of pink turning red, a few not all. I ran to grab my phone, clippers, and harvest basket and harvested my first berry. I went to lunch with my Mom shortly after and brought the berry with me to show her but she thought I was giving it to her. I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't so she tried the first PM strawberry. She said it was sweet but probably needed another sunny day of ripening or two not so sunny days, like today. I had planned to wash it, cut it in half, and share the first taste with Mike but I'll do that with the second berry.

Harvested berry.

Pinkish red berries ripening in 5G.

Ripening berry on the Topsy.

Green Arrows...

On my way back in from lunch I went over to look at the green beans because they were a little droopy. I noticed that our first beans are finally coming in. It's amazing. There so cute and small but look just like what the mature beans will look like minus the fuzz. Exciting! I need to tie them off with string because they won't hold, at all, once the beans get any bigger.

Each flower becomes a bean.

Bigger beans on another plant.

Tomato in Patch...

I noticed my first growing in the container in PM today. It's very small but I'm glad to see that the container seems to be sufficient. 

Color Everywhere

There are different colors of fruiting plants popping up all over the garden. 

Our beautiful and light green tomato-berry.

Dark green and striped super fantastic tomatoes.

First baby yellow stuff-able patty-pan squash blossom.

First sign of pink/red on the ripening strawberries. This one is from the Topsy.

Touring

Giving the Tour of Potagar...

I gave my mom and older sister Angela a tour of the garden when they were dropping me off, after getting our nails done and some Starbucks, at home. I walked them through from the driveway eggplant all the way to the Topsy Turvy full of soon-to-be strawberries. I showed them the things I planted in containers yesterday like the eggplant and pepper. I told them about how the heat had caused the watermelon leaves to quadruple in size over the last, now, 5 days. I showed them where the tomato-berry plant used to stand and how it stands a foot taller. I routed the purple and beautiful green arrow green beans towards them so that there view of the color and blossom was not obstructed. I showed them each and every new tomato; told them how the first one had doubled in size and said, "isn't it funny how the growing tomatoes look like they just came out of the fridge. They look crisp and cool." That was said to very little if no response from  either party. Then I moved on to the Lemon Balm and reminded my Mom of how small the plant was just 2 weeks ago when I broke off a leaf for her to smell and get familiar with. When we got to the onions my sister did say "Look Mom green onions. I don't know that the green shoots are green onions but the onions planted are Texas sweet and yellow. I did appreciate the enthusiasm though. I hadn't gotten much so far. After the little lift we moved on to the squash. I pointed out the baby crooknecks and told them about how stuffed squash blossoms are a popular dish. I then showed them how they would grow up the tepee'd trellises to make a hanging vertical situation. Mentioned how it would be nice to see the patty-pan's compared to the crooknecks. Then we moved on to Patch.

Touring Patch...

When we moved into Patch Market I felt like the interest peaked just slightly as I showed off my iceberg lettuce heads and pointed out that they hadn't started compacting until this week. I pointed out my limp and possibly dying slips, that I'd grown from a potato. I showed them the carrot greens and told them about how I planted more radishes just for them. Both my sister and Mom ate the last batch. I moved on to the strawberries proud as can be. I pointed out every large strawberry in the 5G container and mentioned that I was hoping for ripened berries by next week. Finally, I moved over to the Topsy Turvy and spoke about how they weren't as good as the 5G but that I had a lot of berries and they were getting better everyday. I also mentioned that I was surprised considering the Turvy is made to grow strawberries specifically. When were about to turn and walk back the way we came I remembered my tomato plant and pointed it out quickly. I didn't think they cared to see more so I said two words and lead the way back to the car to bid them adieu. 

It's funny... 

They weren't uninterested they just weren't as interested as I thought they would be or at least as fake interested as they should have been. I would have liked a couple "oohs" and "ahhhs" but that's not them. My mom isn't one to gush and my sister, although much more enthused then my mom, isn't into gardening. I actually wasn't upset by her reaction as much as my Mom's but to be honest she'd been a little quiet the entire trip. So it may have had to do little with her excitement or interest. I was disappointed that she wasn't more phony but that's okay. I'll keep asking them to tour and bring them veggies. I am happy that my sister wants my veggies for her new endeavor into juicing. That made me very happy, but like I said her reaction was pretty good and maybe even better than I thought thinking about it now. It was my mom because she asks about my garden everyday, which I like, but I thought she asked because she was interested not just to ask. Maybe she was just in a weird mood. 

I watered the plants in Patch, this evening, after they left. Mr. S. watered the PS plants this morning.

How does your Garden Grow

In the HEAT!

The plants have absolutely boomed. I was 1000% right. The heat has changed the garden completely over the last 4 days, for the better. 

Tomato Plants...

The tomato-berry plant that didn't grow one inch taller for two months has grown about a foot in height and has put on about 4 more blossoms. Mr S. pointed it out to me and I was shocked. It's completely shot up. 

The first tomato in the far right and front plot has doubled in size and all of the tomato plants are breaking out of there tepee stakes. I had no idea they would get so big and be so strong. The tomato plant in the back, on the right, has completely cured itself. It use to had rust and now its a beautiful vibrant green and large plant. The tomato that was taken down by my wooden "Charlie brown" box trellis has overcome its shock and grown about 4 inches in width along with all the rest. It's amazing, truly. 

Plants are so big there breaking the tepees. 

Carrots...

The Danver126 carrot plants have shot up in part I'm sure to the thinning and most of all because of the heat. They are at least 3 inches taller and much fuller. The red core Chantenay's are doing the same. They haven't grown as tall as the Danvers but they are filling out and looking lush. I think the red cores needed the warmth but don't have the same properties a the Danvers. I specifically chose Danver126 carrots because they are one of the few varieties that likes the warm/hot weather opposed to the usual  cool/warm weather carrots enjoy. So it makes sense that the Danvers are thriving just a little more. 

Seascape Strawberries...

The 5G strawberry bucket, the container I thought was a dud, is doing better than the rest. Te plants are at least a foot tall, the berries are bigger and closer to being ripe enough to pick, and there are at least another 20 flower buds ready to bloom on top of the 30 strawberries already growing. It's unbelievable because it was the slowest to start but has changed so quickly and surpasses the rest. 

The 8G bucket is just doing okay. It has a few strawberries but the plants are much shorter and the berries much slower. They'll definitely produce a few tasty morsels but I don't think I'll be getting a pint from each of the 4 plants in that container. I may be wrong like I was with the 5G container but its doubtful. They should have rooted and strengthened and started to grow, in height at least, by now. 

On the other hand, the Topsy Turvy is doing very well. It has at least 20 berries growing at the moment and another handful of buds in the waiting. The plants are about 10-12 inches tall and the berries are big. Not quite as big as the 5G bucket just yet but big enough. The Topsy Turvy has finally found a stable spot. The hook is holding and the plants seem to thrive from that and the heat. 

I wouldn't be surprised if I was eating my first berry by Weds. of next week. 

Biggest berry in the 5G bucket.

Bush Sugar Baby...

I planted the watermelon plants in the recycling bin container a few weeks ago and like the tomato-berry plant the little seedling hasn't grown almost at all since the transfer. I was worried that I had shocked them or that the day of chilly weather had stunted them permanently. That wasn't the case though they needed that long hot day heat just like Smart Gardener said they would. The watermelon plants have absolutely tripled in size. They have four huge leaves that were not there Sunday. The heat has awakened them and they are ready to work. It's great. That's really all I can say. I've been looking forward to eating two main items from my garden; watermelon and strawberries. So I'm excited to see that they are finally moving. 

Original size at transplant and for the few weeks after.

Size after 4 hot long days. Still looked like the above on Sunday. 

Cucurbits...

The patty-pan and crookneck squash plants are doing pretty well they aren't in the best spot for there needs. The raised bed tends to become completely shaded after about high noon. So they haven't gotten to enjoy the hot days as much a the other plants but they are still thriving. The patty-pan plant has 4 new squash blossoms. The left-back crookneck has 2 yellow baby squash on it that have grown about a quarter of an inch and the front-right crookneck has new blossoms and one baby squash growing. So they are doing well but would be doing better had they been able to enjoy the direct sun more. 

The cantaloupe in the container had grow significantly in width and height and has 3 new blossoms on it. The cantaloupe still in the Bonnie store containers need to be planted, desperately need it. They have blossomed and grown and I'm sure there running out of room but the bed they were supposed to be in has an enormous amount of grass growing in it. Way more than that of the problematic squash bed. That's why we haven't transferred but need to.

Left-back crookneck plant.

Cucumber flowers. 

Everything Else...

Everything else is growing well and has loved the heat. Even the lettuce and spinach have remained crisp and are standing tall. The sweet potato plants in Potagar are doing amazingly but the ones I planted in Patch yesterday don't seem to be doing that hot. They were all wilted and dead looking when I went to water them today which is weird because sweet potato plants absolutely love the heat. They were the plant that required the latest transfer date. So I don't know if it was the slips or the overbearing heat right at transfer but they aren't looking too hot. I hope they make it.

The lemon balm has doubled in width and is a beautiful shade a green with a beautiful fragrance. The basil is taller than ever and the green beans finally have beans forming.