Garden Update

To the non-gardening inclined this is a boring phase in the garden. But if you’re a gardener you know how exciting it can be to see your plants getting thicker, darker and bigger every day For both sides I’m kicking off with a shot of pea flowers, and the rest (including some shots of my gardening buddies) is under the cut.

(Keep in mind these pictures were taken at different times so some show bare soil, some show mulching, etc and because of the rate of growth this time of year if you compare photos it might look like the plants have reversed growth)

Plot # 1 Peas & Zucchini, carrots on the side.

I grew squash last year, but the peas are new for me. What have I learned so far? I should have planted twice as much and a month earlier. Not only has harvest been a few pods a day, but because of how they grow “crowding” means something different to peas than it does to squash and tomato-type plants. I easily could have planted twice the number of plants, maybe even three times as much and been just fine. Also, they’re fruiting now and yet the smallest two are really taking the heat badly. The bigger ones seem to be ignoring our last two weeks of near 90 degree weather, but the three on the edge are yellowing and fading.

Zucchini are goring like weeds (really, I highly recommend them for beginning gardeners because they’re pretty easy and fast and prolific.)

My son’s carrot box.

Plot #2: Tomatoes, ball peppers, cucumbers with grapes on the side.

This one is looking real good now that it’s all papered and I laid down a layer of straw to weigh the paper bits down. There’s been noticeable growth in all the plants, even the ones I only put in over the weekend.

The tomatoes are flowering. These I started from seed.

The bell peppers I bought from the store are flowering too, so yeah, your plants will look better at the beginning if you buy them from the store (where they were greenhouse grown), but in the end they’ll look the same and there’s not much difference in fruit production.

Cucumbers with their first true leaf.

And if you follow me on Twitter (or pay attention) you’ll know that Friday I found out Lowes was having a Memorial Day weekend sale and I got a pair of grape plants for $5. I’m so not sure about these guys. I knew a lady when I lived in Georgia who had a grape plant, but it was a frail, weedy thing, that didn’t really fruit. I know the climate between there and here is enough to make a difference (and her style of gardening and mine are very different), but I’m nervous about this one. But they have turned from little sticks with roots on them to green-leaved alive little things in only a few days, so apparently I’m doing something right.

Upside Down planter: Cherry Tomatoes

Something is very wrong with this one.

Growth is strong, there’s no sign of rot, aphids or leaf damage, but the plant is well…

Strong growth or not, this is not normal tomato behavior. I can only think that it’s from too much water, given that we had about a week solid of rain, and the pot still hasn’t dried out at the bottom, where the plant is. I’m not wanting to let it get too dry, because the dry-wet cycle would just be very bad, but I have only watered it twice in the past week of full sun, with half as much water as I used on the upside down planters last summer.

I haven’t given up on it, since it is still growing well and seems strong, despite the weird color. Perhaps it’s also because of it being in a potting soil mixture instead of in the ground, so the chemical make up might be affecting it. (If you have any ideas, feel free to share them.)

Now, how about some cleansing flowers?

And a few buddies that have joined me in gardening this week.

That guy above is a male five lined skink (in breeding colors). There are a ton of them around here, always sunning themselves on our garage wall, or on the paver stones that border my gardens. This guy is a real trooper. The scars you see on his side are from where he tangled with our cat last year. I rescued him then, and then when the cat caught him out sunning last week he ran right up my pant leg to get away. Then he was nice enough to hang out with me for a few minutes (and a few photos). The males are territorial, and I think he’s the reigning male in our yard because I’ve seen him a few times before this, and almost daily since his second rescue (he dropped his tail in the fight with cat, so between that and the scar on his side he’s easy to recognize). I have every intention of leaving him a wild animal, but he’s definitely become a gardening buddy so I’ve begun thinking about names.