The Break Up

I feel guilty just typing this.

I've left my garden. Not wholly. We still see each other now and then, on the weekends.

But it has been kind of awkward since I moved out. I show up to water the plants and collect the ripened vegetables.

To put it plainly, the garden has just let itself go. It isn't as attractive as it once was. All the new tomatoes are too heavy for the supports and the pumpkin vines are growing without regard for the other plants' personal space. I know this doesn't excuse me for leaving. If I'm honest with myself I can admit I played a role in the garden's deterioration.

I know the garden needs me and I want to be there for it. On one hand, I'd like for things to be like they were in the beginning. I was so nurturing and selfless. On the other hand, I live somewhere new now and my priorities are different. I'm now getting things my garden could never provide.

I still want the benefits of the garden though. I'm not ready to let that go just yet. Until I am, I'll keep sweet talking my babies on the weekends.

My Garden Overfloweth

I've been, thankfully, very busy lately. Hence the lack of updates.

The tomato plants are as tall as I am now. I waited entirely too long to get them into proper supports. The ideal ones are those big wire cones. I finally found them the other week at the garden center. I spent nearly an hour trying to wrestle the branches into the supports. Unfortunately, there were some broken limbs, but the plants looked to be fully recovered by the next day. Right now there are at least a dozen gigantic tomatoes hanging on the plants. They're all still green though.

The yellow squash is putting out veggies like nobody's business.

Zucchini bread anyone? soup? pudding?

Can You Dig It?

Inspirational article on urban farming: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05allen-t.html?em

Summer Harvests

These are the gifts my garden has brought me over the past few days. Looks like it is time to start giving some of these away to neighbor and friends!

And if you have been following the slug saga, it looks like I'm rid of them for the most part now that I am rid of the cabbage. I pulled out the last of it yesterday. I think that was wise. The plot is still really cramped, but getting rid of the first row of cabbage made a huge difference. I even found a couple big cucumbers hiding behind them and one giant yellow squash.

A Little Update

Summer is in full effect here in Maryland. It is hot and when it rains, it definitely, definitely pours. The plants are diggin' it though.

So far I've come up with about a dozen healthy yellow squash- all of them delicious. And a couple cucumbers have popped up, too. I have a pretty impressive pumpkin growing on a vine, as well. Now it is about the size of a swollen grapefruit and it is just hanging there, defying gravity. I'll have to get a good pic before it's brought down to Earth.

I've pulled out all but two of my cabbage plants due to the caterpillar and slug infestation. I never did use any pesticide on the plants, though once I drizzled soapy water all over them. That didn't seem to help much. The best thing I have found to do is just to put on some gloves and remove them by hand. It takes time, but afterwards they're gone and I don't have to worry about any chemicals.

And that's what's good in my garden!

The Second Bed

The second bed is filling in quite nicely. Even the first zinnia has flowered.

Caterpillars Caterpillars Caterpillars

Dear Caterpillars,
Please stop eating my cabbage. And tell your nasty slug friends to get lost while you're at it.
Sincerely,

The Budding Horticulturist

The Battle of the Slug

The slugs are everywhere, in greater numbers than the caterpillars and doing much more damage.

I bought a product called Ortho "EcoSense" to combat them, but I don't think I'm going to use it. The active ingredient in it is iron phosphate, which in and of itself doesn't set off any red flags in my mind. But then again, how would I know? Ortho isn't exactly a brand known for natural products and I'm put off by the packaging which I find really deceptive. Under the EcoSense label it says in small text, "not intended to imply environmental safety either alone or compared to other products."

If I were just going to use the product on my lawn and flowers, I wouldn't be so bothered by it. But what comes out of my garden goes into my family's kitchen, and ultimately into us, so I think I'll pass on the chemicals.

Thanks, but no thanks, Ortho.

The Caterpillars Have Cometh

For weeks now, something has been eating my cabbage. I've sat out there and watched and watched and watched, but not until today did I manage to catch the culprit.

A big, fat, green, fuzzy caterpillar has been eating my cabbage.

I removed the plants with the most damage. Maybe that was a drastic move. But it seems to me that now I have one or two caterpillars, but in a few days or weeks I will have dozens more. There are still lots of caterpillars-to-be all laid up in the remaining cabbage.

I'm glad I've found what is eating my plants. But I'm going to have to do some research on how I can get rid of these guys without harming my plants. I'd like to do it without using chemicals if possible.

Argh.

UPDATE:
Site for identifying caterpillars:
http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/america/index.htm

When we control pests naturally we take advantage of the checks and balances nature has already had in place for millions of years. For instance, if you have lots of holes in your cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower leaves and regularly see lovely white butterflies hovering around them, it's likely the Imported Cabbage Butterfly is rearing her children on your precious crops. The natural controls for the small, green caterpillars that are doing the damage can be to plant a few parsley, cilantro (coriander), celery, or carrot plants close to the affected plants and allow them to bloom. The nectar and pollen rich flowers of these plants will draw a wonderful little beneficial insect called Trichogramma to the area. The adult female Trichogramma will lay eggs on or in the caterpillars and once the larvae hatch they eat the caterpillar from the inside out. Another one of Nature's tools is a bacterium that paralyzes the caterpillar. Bt or Bacillus thuringiensis specifically attacks many caterpillar species and is a very effective and commonplace product in most garden centers. If you want to speed up the predation of your pest caterpillar population you can purchase Trichogramma from many nurseries and online insectaries. Trichogramma work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep your plants free of caterpillar pests.

- "Vegetable Garden Pest Control"
by Don Trotter
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010903m.cfm

Bamboo Stakes

Nothing terribly exciting to report today. I stopped by the garden center and picked up some bamboo stakes which I posted in the plot for the vines to grab onto. I also broke one of the stakes into a few pieces and stuck them next to my pea plants. The whole thing is going to look like such a hodge podge of plants and supports pretty soon. Ah, well, as long as it all tastes good.

Two of the pea plants are also growing these white little blossoms. It seems a little early for the plants to be putting off flowers and fruits, but I'm not going to interfere. I will let Mother Nature do her thing.

Summer Squash

Photographed above is the third Summer Squash (Butterstick Hybrid Zucchini) that my garden has produced. The seed package says that the squash should be ready to harvest 50 days after planting the seeds. Pretty accurate! The package says to harvest them when they're between 6 and 8 inches long. They are delicious. Yum.

You can see how full the plot has become. Some of the pumpkin vines are nearly 7 feet long now. And all five of the tomato plants have blossoms on them now. When I stand beside them, they're nearly as tall as my hips.

Peas

These are my pea plants. The third from the right is actually the same one that was harmed in the initial mint attack. I didn't think it would recover, but just look at it. As these plants grow the leaves just unfold in the most mystifying patterns, like green origami. Beautiful. The support that they're attaching their vines to is just a bent out of shape clothes hanger. (Click the photo for a closer look.)


I've been to Home Depot, I've been to Lowe's, I've been to independent garden shops, and no where can I find adequate support systems for my plants! They are always sold out of what I need for my tomatoes and other plants that are growing so rapidly they can't hold themselves up. So, pliers in hand, I've turned to hangers and for now I think it's working. For my other plants I've used wooden stakes and tied the plants to them using strips of nylon hosiery. A handy trick I picked up from my parents' neighbor. The nylon has enough elasticity that it doesn't harm the stalk of the plant, but it it study enough to secure it upright.

Growing Up Fast

This is the same little squash that just three days ago had a flower on it. It is the very same one that I hand pollinated. Looks like it worked!

Hand Pollinating the Squash

Early this morning, water stopped falling from the sky, making it possible for me to get a better look at what is going on out there. Low and behold, lots and lots of flowers! And several fledgling yellow squash just growing away.

The flowers open up and in the morning and only last for the day, so I decided to take the opportunity to hand pollinate a couple of them. I summoned up all my knowledge of plant science from middle school and referenced ehow.com before getting started. The male flowers were blooming on normal, green stems while the female ones were blossoming on top of the baby squash itself. In order for the tiny squash to develop it needs pollen from the anthers at the center of the male flower.

Normally, insect traffic alone is enough to pollinate the flowers, but lots of gardening sites recommend hand pollinating just to make sure all your viable vegetables get to grow up to their potential. So I just snapped of a male flower, held the petals back and brushed the pollen onto the center of the female flower.

It looks like a couple fruits have already set naturally. Time will tell if my effort to hand pollinate a couple flowers will produce better developed squash. I doubt it, really. None of the tiny yellow squash have shriveled or appear malformed as a result of a lack of sufficient pollination. I think I have a pretty healthy garden growing, despite the crowding issue.

I removed two tomato plants this morning to give the others some space. One was a tiny little thing that has just failed to grow as tall and strong as the others. The other was about a foot and a half tall and was simply too closely planted between two very strong tomato plants. I replanted the big one in Bed Number Two, but I'm not sure if it will make it because I wasn't able to recover much of its root system without disturbing the other plants' roots.

Flash Flood Warnings

It has been raining and raining and raining. And raining.

I haven't been able to spend much time in the garden, but it appears the plants are doing fine without me. Lots of flowers are beginning to bloom on the zucchini and yellow squash and buds are definitely developing on the pumpkin and cucumber plants. It looks like it won't be long before we'll be eating the squash actually-- check the photo!

I managed to get some plants into my second bed before the monsoon hit. I decided to plant three rows, instead of four, to reduce crowding. I planted several tomato plants and a few pea plants in the back row. The second row is home to a lettuce plant, zinnia, onion and lots of spinach. The front row has basil, dill, cucumber, 2 zucchini and 1 yellow squash.

I wish I had thought to put the onion in the middle of my first bed, then the zucchini and pumpkin and yellow squash wouldn't be all smushed up against one another. The pumpkin and cucumber are starting to put out vines too. Are they going to choke one another with those? I installed some stakes and a little trellis for them to grab hold of; hopefully, that'll help.

Saturday Morning is for Gardening

Check it out! I got all the remaining grass out of my new bed and got all the rich soil in! And it was so much easier since the rains.

I will probably get my transplants in tomorrow. I want to spend a little bit of time planning exactly what will go where. I think I'm only going to plant three rows. In my first bed I planted four and now that I see how big the plants are growing I can see that was cutting it really close.

I'm also worried that some of the herbs I'll be planting will be very attractive to the neighborhood birds. I have basil, dill, cilantro, oregano, parsley and mint. I'm especially concerned about the mint. I think I may leave that out of the bed and just plant it in a container. The birds already got to it once. Plus from what I've read it sounds like the mint is going to grow all willy nilly and try to take over the plot. I'm considering planting the mint in a container and then planting the container in the ground to prevent it from spreading.

I'm also going to plant some leftover onion, cucumber, zucchini and tomato seedlings. And I have a freshly sprouted yellow squash plant and peas, too.

What am I going to do with my zinnia seedlings? If I have room in the new bed I'd love to put one or two in the ground, but I don't want to attract butterflies. Butterflies mean caterpillars, and caterpillars do a lot of damage.

Also- very exciting- I've got my first flowers on the zucchini plants! Hopefully, I'll have zucchini really soon. And check out the yellow squash in the foreground of this pic!

My Plants are Huge

Scroll down and compare today's photo to the one taken on May 20th. Wow!

I worried that the constant rains we'd been having had done more harm than good. Not so, says nature, not so.

Solutions

I recently posted on an organic gardening online community about the recent goings ons in my garden and asked if the others had had similar problems. Here are some of the responses:

-YES!
In fact seedlings are the fave choice for crows and that family.
Squirrels and other birds seem to be convinced that under that little plant is something the need.
I have an eggplant that has been dug up many times by the same damn squirrel!
Good luck and let us know if you come up with something.

-omg yes. I live in an apartment, and there is a small tree near my balcony where birds hang out. when I am home I periodically run out there and shoo them away. Especially the crows/whatever the giant black birds that hang out on my porch are.

If you hang CDs outside that helps deter them, but you have to periodically switch out what you keep out there to scare them away otherwise they get used to it and start back up.

-Hang a house and let a wren be your seedlings' guardian. I have heard they are very territorial and 'do not tolerate' birds and other animals in their area. I saw this tip in a forum about protecting a berry patch, and I thought it might help you.

-Several kinds of birds do this, most notably corvids (ravens, crows, magpies, and jays). I have to cover many of my beds until the seedlings have grown enough to be well-rooted, to keep the jays from pulling them all out just for fun. Starlings are notorious as well, and will usually eat what they pull. Sparrows also pull and eat a lot of seedlings sometimes; peas are a favorite target.

Bird netting is your best bet - just keep the birds off long enough for the plants to get bigger and well-anchored. Flash tape sometimes works, sometimes not. Corvids in particular are quite bold and will quickly adapt to most scare tactics.

from http://community.livejournal.com/organic_garden/

A Second Raised Bed

Here it is- the future home for my peas, tomatoes and other assorted vegetables and herbs!

Hit Again!

Who is doing this to my plants?? A bird? A squirrel? A neighborhood hooligan?

About 7:30 this morning, I went out to water my plants and just look at what a sad scene awaited me on the porch. One of two strapping tomato seedlings I had recently transplanted into bigger containers was lying next to its planter. I could almost hear the roots gasping for soil and moisture. There the plant lay on the porch railing, like a beached whale drying out in the summer sun.

And for what? My tomato plants are weeks, if not months, away from bearing fruit. A single leaf was ripped from the seedling. What's worse, the leaf wasn't eaten or carried away. No, it was just severed and left there to wilt inches away from the fading body.

I immediately returned the plant to its rightful place and watered generously, but it may have been too late. It has been about an hour now and the plant is leaning over to one side, looking like it has given up.

I'll keep you posted.

RAVAGED

Something terrible has happened.

Some creature has made a meal of my mint! And in the process assaulted my healthiest pea plant.

The incident occurred between 8:30am and 9:00am Eastern Time.

When I arrived on the scene, I first noticed the pea plants toppled over in their tray. The tallest pea plant had been snapped in half at the stem. Four leaves were lost as a result.

However, the fledgling mint seedlings bore the brunt of the attack. Six of the twelve young plants were lost as a result. Evidence suggests the suspect perched on the pea plants as it devoured the mint alive.

No other plants were harmed.

The suspect remains at large.

Any tips may be reported through this website.

Out With the Lettuce

Here is a pic of my garden as it stands today. In the bottom lefthand corner of the photo you can see the three new cabbage plants I transplanted. I pulled out a couple lettuce plants that were there. The lettuce just looked so pathetic I had to put them out of their misery in favor of something hardier. I think it was the heat that was getting to it. The spinach, over on the right, might also need to be replaced with something else.

Hopefully, by the weekend I will get a second bed ready for planting. It will be another 4 by 8 foot plot like this one. I have plenty of seedlings ready to move into the ground. So the sooner I get it all set up, the better.

Repurposing Containers

Problem: Seedlings are outgrowing their original containers, but I'm not ready to put them in the ground yet.

Solution: Repurpose/reuse plastic containers that would otherwise be thrown away or sent to a recycling center to increase the volume of the pots you've got.

I started most of my seeds in egg crates or in these black trays I picked up for free at the Garden Center of the local hardware store. The trays were originally used to hold several plastic plant pots for easy transportation and display. Hardware stores are glad to let you have them for free and they're great for starting seeds in because the bottoms already have slits in them for drainage purposes. However, the trays are shallow and your seedlings will quickly need more room. If you fill the tray to the brim with soil to maximize growing room for plant roots, there will be no lip on the tray to hold in the water as it is absorbed and you end up with a wet mess.

It's an annoying little problem, but one with a quick remedy. Try cutting off the bottom of an ordinary plastic container. For me, an empty tub of cream cheese worked great. Then cut the bottomless container into halves or thirds and fit it into the tray. Transplant your seedling, water, and there you go! The container is three times deeper and holds water.

No more excess water spilling over the side of the tray.

The plant as more room to grow.

You didn't need to buy a new container.

And you've created a little bit less trash.

Happy planting and transplanting.

Three Days Later

The strawberry is almost ready!

So Much Exciting News!

The dill has germinated! The dill has germinated! On April 12th I planted a lot of dill and nothing wanted to sprout. About three weeks later, I sprinkled some more seeds in the same tray- and voila! Seedlings! The second time around, I actually prepped the seeds by folding them in a wet paper towel prior to planting.

Also, the cilantro I planted May 8th has spouted. On that same morning, I planted oregano and peas. Both those seedlings are doing well. I can't wait to get a pic of the peas up because they took to sprouting in such a unique fashion. They look nothing like any of the other seedlings.

The only disappointment so far has been the mint seeds I planted in dirt and peat pots- no dice. Though the mint I planted in the plastic greenhouse on peat pellets sprouted just fine and continues to grow slowly but surely.

I got news this morning that the seeds I planted in FL early this month are thriving in the heat and humidity down South. Perhaps I can get my family to send photos. My mother is planning to transplant them into containers and cultivate them on the porch.


I think my first fruit will come from the strawberry plant I bought. Check it out in the photo. Yum, can't wait!

As of Today

Here is a pic of the existing 4 x 8 foot plant bed. I've got (Row 1 is the top one):

Row 1- pumpkin, spinach and tomato

Row 2- zucchini

Row 3- cucumber and yellow squash

Row 4- onion, cabbage and lettuce

A New Bigger Bed

There is some talk round these parts of building a new plant bed 8 x 8 feet square. Developments to follow.

Today is overcast and drizzly. The rain is a welcome change for my cabbage and lettuce transplants which can hardly keep themselves upright in the heat we've had the past two days.

Over a Month into the Project

April 3rd, I planted my first seeds and I'm glad to say most of those are already in the ground. I may have rushed them in my enthusiasm to get that first cucumber, but all appears to be well in the garden. And I have plenty of back up seedlings if the first troops are defeated.

The next problem to solve is really, where am I going to put all my extra little plants? This week I should buy some containers and more soil.

I also need to think about what kind of system of defense I am going to construct to keep the rabbits out of my plot. I'm thinking some kind of wire netting stapled to stakes and put up like a fence around the perimeter of the garden. I want it to be easy for me to move aside so I can get in for watering and weeding (and eventually, harvesting!) without too much fuss.

I put some new dill seeds into the same tray of soil that has refused to give the gift of life to the seeds I planted Aptil 12th. I find it hard to believe they are taking this long to germinate. Something must have gone wrong, though I'm not sure what that could be.

I did the same with the tray mint seeds that haven't sprouted. I just sprinkled in more teeny, tiny seeds, dusted in a little soil, watered it and now I'm hoping for the best.

Come on dill and mint! We're all rooting for you!

Back from Florida!

My transplants are just where I left them, for the most part! With the exception of one wilted cucumber plant and two pumpkin transplants that vanished without a trace. The act of the vanishing pumpkin plants really is peculiar. I planted four and they appeared equally hardy. . .but so goes the way of nature.

Today has been the first sunny day here in Maryland in nearly two weeks and I took full advantage by getting into the garden and doing some more transplanting and light weeding. I have serious doubts that the spinach and lettuce will survive the high summer temperatures, but I put a few of them in the ground anyway. I also transplanted two more zucchini plants, three more tomatoes and some cabbage.

I planted some new seeds I picked up in Florida, too- peas, oregano and cilantro. Those should sprout real quick. The peas and oregano that I planted at my parents' home in Florida germinated in just 48 hours.

The seedlings I left indoors while I was gone also fared well under the care of my aunt. The plants that grew the most were there lettuce, zucchini, and tomatoes.

The only duds of this entire endeavor has been the dill, which I planted weeks and weeks ago and has shown no interest in sprouting. The mint I planted outside of the mini green house hasn't done well either. Although, the mint seeds I grew in the greenhoused peat pellets are still growing strong. Tiny, but strong.

Storms should roll through town again tomorrow, we'll see how the new transplants do and I'll get a pic up of them real soon.

New Planting

I've done some planting at my parents' home in Florida. On April 30th I put some mint, oregano, cilantro and basil seeds into peat trays and covered them with plastic wrap. outside temperatures have peaked at about 90 each day since then. The soil under the plastic gets even hotter so I'm careful to vent the the covering. I must have done something right because the basil and oregano germinated after just a few a days under those conditions. Hopefully, the mint won't be too long now and then it'll be mojito time for everyone.

The weather in MD is still abysmal, I'm told. I'm anxious to get back and see what days of chilly weather and nonstop rain has done to my transplants. Yikes.

Florida Plant Shopping

Will They Survive Without Me?

A number of my plants are in the ground! I hope they're still there when I get back from my mini-vacation to Florida. It looks like it will be cold and rainy everyday that I'm away. I'll try not to worry too much about them. They are only plants, after all.

The rest of my seedlings are inside the house, next to the East-facing sliding glass door and are being watered by my aunt.

The above photo was taken on 4/28

Transplanting

The time had come.
I thought the time had come.
I decided that the time had come for moving some of my seedlings into the ground.

I put the pumpkins in first, then the zucchini, then the cucumber, then some yellow squash, followed by the onions. And for good measure I planted a few onion seeds directly in the bed.

My biggest misstep in this whole process was definitely planting some of the seedlings too close to one another. If I had it to do again I would be sure to put just one seed in each little planting compartment, regardless of what the seed packages recommend.

The bottom portion of the egg crates were perfect for planting. The top portion- not so much. I realize now that the drainage holes I made in the cartons weren't very effective. Next time I'll make them much wider than the width of a pen tip.

I was surprised by how complex the root systems were of the pumpkins and cucumbers. If any of my transplants fail, I predict it will be the cucumbers. The seeds were sewn too close together to begin with and separating the roots for transplanting was very difficult.

I was out there early and it looks like it's going to be a hot sunny day. If I have time this evening I'd like to go out and put a couple tomato and cabbage seedlings in the ground. The tomatoes aren't that big yet, but they seem sturdy and I'm curious to see what will happen.

The photo above shows two of the zucchini seedlings that were growing in one planter compartment. I had to gently tease them apart. I'm glad I thinned them out last week. Originally there were four plants growing in each compartment. Below is the pumpkin going in. Those seeds were planted April 12th.

Prepping the Bed is Hard Work

This is the bed as it stands at the moment. I woke up this morning and worked in a bag of last year's top soil and two enormous bags of gardening soil. I took a break to head to the garden center and pick up a few more bags of hummus + manure and two more enormous bags of gardening soil. Those two bags are still sitting in my trunk because I haven't figured out how to get them from the trunk to the garden while my cousins are still asleep. But once those are in I'll be ready to do some planting.

I've been evaluating my seedlings trying to figure out which are ready and which still need some time. I definitely overplanted so that will work in my favor. If I transplant a couple prematurely I'll have some back ups standing by if it doesn't work out, my understudies. Though I'd like to avoid transplanting too early if at all possible. I wish I had planted my seeds earlier this spring, then they'd all be ready. Anyway, the zucchini looks ready and maybe the cucumber too. And the pumpkins won't be far behind.

Zucchini is on the left, yellow squash on the right

The Beginning of the Pumpkin Patch

Planted April 12th

Happy Earth Day

Nearly everything I have planted is growing taller and taller by the hour. The only varieties I haven't seen sprout yet are the pumpkins (which I expect to break the soil's surface today or tomorrow), the dill, and the mint.

Predictably, the zinnias I planted in the little plastic greenhouse germinated before the ones I planted in an open air tray, as has the basil.

The lettuce seedlings that I thinned out seem to be doing well. I was worried I'd disturbed the root system in the process, but they seem fine. I also trimmed some of the zucchini plants. In the photo, they're the second row from the top right corner. You can see the ones that I clipped on top of the tray. The leaves and stalks are much thicker than any of the other plants' and they really seemed to be inhibiting one another's growth sitting in such close proximity. So, clip, clip, clip!

The big underdog of the bunch has been the tray of tomatoes, pictured in the white tray on the bottom left. I left them out in the cold rain early on, but now there are 13 little plants growing. They're tiny and so frail looking, but I'm still rooting for them.

Thinning Out The Seedlings

What's wrong with the tray of lettuce seedlings in the picture on the left?

They're all growing on top of each other, next to each other, underneath each other. . .you get the picture. This morning I fetched my weapon of choice, a pair of sharp pointy scissors, and summoned up the courage to snip the stalks of the very plants I had nurtured from the seed. This was particularly difficult since I'm not a violent person, but it was necessary.

For the lettuce, I tried to give the strongest looking seedlings some room to breathe and grow by removing the surrounding sprouts. The strongest ones have already grown a third leaf and were the tallest and greenest seedlings. I only thinned out half of the tray, in case it was too early to do this. I was careful not to disturb the plants as I trimmed, but it was tough as they're still pretty delicate. If the thinned out half continues to thrive, I'll do the same thing to the others. (The second photo is the after shot, click on either of them for a closer look.)

I also thinned out two thirds of the tray I think is cabbage. The seedlings are a bit hardier and I'm pretty convinced they were ready. While I was at it I snipped some of the spinach plants which had wilted on the hot day and never recovered.

In little plastic greenhouse news, the mint and basil seeds are sprouting.

Sunday was cloudy and the plants stayed indoors, as they will today and tomorrow due to rain.

Below is a shot from just a few minutes ago of the whole lot. The cabbage is the row at the very bottom, the spinach is above that, and on top of the spinach is the zucchini which are my favorite by a long shot. They're huge! All of a sudden they just sprung from the soil, wearing their seeds like birthday hats before growing into these thick, beautiful little plants.

Wilting Spinach

It has been a very busy day in the garden.

I woke up and planted the parsley seeds I'd been soaking all night. Then set out for the Home Depot and purchased some 8 foot long wooden planks to frame my garden bed and some soil and peat. I also solicited some advice from the other shoppers- home gardeners sure are a friendly bunch.

My uncle brought the leveler and power tools and together we built a lovely frame. We planned out how we'll level the bed, since it is a bit sloped. More photos to come. We may need to build a second bed for some of the plants that need a lot of room. I'm envisioning a pumpkin patch. That shouldn't be such a hard sell.

This was the second sunny day in a row and the warmest day we've had all year. Temperatures reached the mid 70s and I knew my babies where feeling it when I noticed my spinach seedlings passed out in their tray. I moved them to the shade and am hoping for the best.

Everything I planted April 3rd is sprouting! And the first seed of the April 12th batch is just shy of peaking through the soil's surface. And the winner is- cucumber!

Send happy thoughts to my spinach!

Update: It has been a couple hours since I moved the plants into the shade and the spinach seems to have mostly recovered. All but a few of the sprouts are standing up straight again.

AND I forgot to mention that the zucchini has sprouted and they look amazingly solid. You can see them on the lefthand side of this pic. The photo was taken a few hours ago, now several of them are standing up and open.

More Planting

Got up early this morning and planted some of the seeds I bought yesterday- the mint, basil, and zinnias. The mint seeds were the teeniest tiniest things I have ever seen. It'll be such a miracle to see a plant come from something so small. I planted a tray of each of those three varieties as well as sprinkling a couple of each on separate peat pellets in a mini plastic greenhouse. We'll see if the greenhoused seedlings have a real advantage over the open air ones. This time I took special care to label each tray with the variety and date planted. I was also careful not to plant any seeds too deep in the soil- especially the super mini mint seeds.

I wanted to plant the parsley too, but the package recommends I let them soak overnight. Tomorrow I'll get those planted.

My other seedlings are doing well. The April 3rd bunch look pretty strong and those I planted on the 12th still haven't sprouted, but I'm sure they will soon. Sometimes they move so fast I wish had a video camera pointed at them at all times.

Happy Weekend!

The Big Red Hope

The tomatoes are coming, the tomatoes are coming!

Turns out I haven't killed the tomato seedlings I planted April 3rd by leaving them out for a couple wet, chilly nights. Today there are a total of four little sprouts coming up from the soil.

The sun has been shining all day and temps have reached 58 degrees.

I also made a trip to the garden center again today. I bought a soil test kit, some herb seeds (parsley, mint, and basil) and zinnia seeds. The herbs I plan to keep in little pots and maybe gift a few to friends once they mature. I also bought a couple trays made of peat that are a little deeper than the egg cartons I'd been using. They can be planted right into the ground so it won't disrupt the roots when they're transplanted.

And I bought a tray of these little peat disks that come in a little plastic greenhouse tray. All you do is add seeds and water and supposedly they just grow up faster than you can say "little peat disks that come in a little plastic greenhouse tray."

We shall see.

New pictures will be up tomorrow afternoon. Check back!

Day 12

Weather: 48 degrees and rainy

6 of my 7 trays spent the night indoors and I have a feeling that is where they'll stay, at least until the sun comes out tomorrow.

It looks like there is some hope for the tomato tray. One little guy sprouted up this morning and has been standing up taller and taller by the hour- so pathetic, yet so triumphant! Check him out in the corner of the egg carton at the top of the photo below.

Photo Update

It rained all through the night and morning, soaking my store bought strawberry plants and two trays I'd left out on the porch last night. Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day so I can only hope we'll get some sunshine after that. I'll keep the saturated seed trays under the porch awning during the showers.

Below is a photo of my best developing seedlings, planted 11 days ago.

Fresh Bedding

My plants are no where near ready to be transplanted yet, but today I wanted to start getting their future home prepared. My main concerns about the plot are that it might be too small for the variety of plants I hope to have and that it sits at the bottom of a slightly sloped yard. Ah well, we'll see what happens. I'll do my best to level the plot and I plan to create raised beds.

Tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be chilly and rainy so maybe I'll make a trip to the garden center and pick up a pH testing kit and a couple bags of soil.

Still no sprouts visible in the tomato tray, unfortunately. The spinach is coming along great, as is the lettuce and one more tray of something that I forgot to label. Oops. I think it is either onion or cucumber.

I transferred the young strawberry plants I bought to hanging baskets this morning. I think they'll do better there away from weeds and pests. I also removed a little flower with a green little berry from one of the plants so it can focus all its energy on getting stronger before it starts bearing fruit.

Day 9

Lots of exciting news to report!

My spinach seeds have germinated! It must have happened in the blink of an eye because I examine these trays constantly and suddenly there they were- 4 little grass-like stalks breaking through the soil.

The lettuce tray has by far the greatest number and most developed seedlings.

This morning I went out to the Home Depot to purchase stakes and twine so I can start preparing my plot. My uncle and I went out and roped off a sunny area next to the fence, the area of which is still being negotiated. Right now it stands at 4 feet x 8 feet. I'm concerned that is much too small, but he says I don't need much room and I can always expand later if I need to. It is still early in the process and there is plenty of room in the yard for the garden to grow if necessary. Tomorrow I plan to clear the grass and check out the soil underneath.

I also picked up two little strawberry plants, which feels a bit like cheating since I didn't plant the seeds myself. Ah well, I'm excited about the prospect of lots and lots of strawberries all the same.

Today I planted some more onion and cucumber as well as new trays of dill, yellow squash and pumpkin seeds.

I made an effort not to plant the seeds to deep in the soil, just barely pressing them down with my finger tips. Hopefully that will help and temperatures won't fall below freezing tonight.

Happy planting!

It's not Idaho, but you still can grow potatoes

By John B. Saul

Courtesy of The Seattle Times

This article details how to grow over 100 lbs of potatoes in an area as small as 4 square feet. Looks a little bit too labor intensive for me, but if the mood strikes me I might just give it a try.

A NY Times Series on Gardening

Blogging on Gardening

Follow the above link to read the first article in an occasional series on starting a vegetable garden.

The Garden To Be

Happy spring!

It has been a long and dreary winter, but we made it through. I've spent a lot of time looking forward to this season and have decided to get in touch with my inner gardener this year.

A little over a week ago, I went over to the garden center of our local hardware store and picked up several envelopes of seeds. I just grabbed whatever looked good to me. I have absolutely no background or expertise in gardening or horticulture, but I figure I'll give it a try. The garden center employee I consulted was more than happy to give me several trays to plant my seeds in, free of charge. I also commandeered an egg crate from our kitchen to plan the little guys in.

In all, getting started cost me about $20. The trays were free and we had some soil left over from last year. The packets of seeds ran about $2 per variety.

I enlisted the help of my nine year-old cousin and together on April 3rd, we planted a few trays full of tomato, lettuce, zucchini, onion, cucumber and cabbage seeds. I plan on documenting their growth with this journal.

7 days later we noticed our first little sprout! The tomato seedlings appear to be the first to peak out of the soil, but the lettuce seeds aren't but a day behind the tomatoes.

I've been keeping the trays out on our back porch in direct sunlight. Although, the tomato packet recommended keeping the seedlings indoors near a window, so I bring those in at night and on chillier days. Today has been particularly rainy so I brought in both the tomato and lettuce trays. I'm a little worried the other trays are getting too much water, but the sun should come out this afternoon and hopefully that will just solve everything. I don't want the little guys to drown before they even sprout!