seeds

Planted today:

Bell Pepper- California Wonder (10-21 days)
Peppers- Hot Mix (10-21 days)
Tomatoes- Beefsteak (7-10 days)
Cheery Tomatoes- Sweetie (7-10 days)
Cantaloupe- Sweet 'n Early Hybrid (7-10 days)
Zucchini- Burpee's Fordhook (10-14 days)
Rosemary (15-25 days)

I put the Rosemary at the end of the long beds, next to the Fennel. It's a perennial too, so it seemed like a good spot. I don't know if it will survive winter, though. Turned the compost pile, not hot anymore, dug out the bottom of it and made a row/hill planted w/Zucchini interspersed w/Nasturtiums. Clipped tall grass from edges and mulched the Peas, S Lettuce, Broccoli and Chard with it. Weeded all the long bed, and found several volunteer S Lettuce from last year, also a small plant that looks like Sage coming up in a random spot. I also think I saw some Oregano sprouting. Lots of stuff growing, so picture day!

Top to bottom, left to right:
Onions, Garlic (both getting tall), Potatoes (I didn't think they were going to grow at all, but each one is sprouting!), Nasturtiums in the pot, S Lettuce volunteers, R Lettuce, Chard, Peas, Broccoli, Sunflor, Beets, S Lettuce bed, Cukes, Radishes

sunflower seedlings

Rain today. Took the cloches off the Sunflor seedlings last night, and put out more beer traps and surrounded the seedlings with mixture of coffee grounds and crushed eggshells. No more seedlings eaten this morning, and the beer held a half dozen pill bugs and one slug.

peas!

Some Peas are up, and a few of the Sweet Peas along the fence. Broccoli seedlings still small, Lettuce growing strong (and vivid bright pale green so cheerful), Chard growing noticeably, and I think the Carrot and Beet seedlings are up, too. Only a few Spinach sprouted.

pill bug downer

Tons of pill bugs drowned in the beer. No more missing Sunflower seedlings.

sunflower seedling

The Sunflor seedlings are getting eaten. Each night one more is a bare stalk, leaves gone. The hair did nothing. I put cloches over the remaining seedlings (milk jugs and water bottles with bottoms cut off) and put out shallow dishes of beer.

seeds

Planted two Sunflor seeds to replace those that got bitten off by something. Ten of those robust seedlings in the row along fence now. Read in Trowel and Error that hair clippings can deter bugs from young plants, so scattered some around the others. Planted Basil, Green Beans, Cucumber, Marigolds, Sage, Cilantro, Oregano and Chives. Broccoli is sprouting, and Chard, seedlings very small. A few Spinach coming up next to the hearty Radishes.

Marigold- Naughty Marietta (8-14 days)
Cucumber- Bush Champion (7-14 days)
Garden Bean- Tenderpick (7-14 days)
Sage- Broad Leaf (7-10 days)
Cilantro- Corriander (7-10 days)
Oregano- (10-21 days)
Chives- common (7-14 days)
Basil- Sweet (7-14 days)

layout

The long bed has been redesigned, divided into little plots with walking paths between lined with whatever I could find to smother weeds- bits of bark from the dead stump, pebbles, broken little twigs.

planting

Very nice and sunny so a lot of work outside. Turned over the compost pile. Mixed some of it into the bottom of porch pots, and potted Petunias and a new flower to me, Calibrachoa, in them. Look pretty sorry now, but soon they'll perk up and grow!

Planted a second set of Radishes, between the rows of S Lettuce in the raised bed. That one area of the bed the top of soil crusty and cracks. Why not the rest?

Transplanted the surviving three stalks of Basil into the garden, next to garlics. They look pretty sad this morning. Second thoughts, perhaps too cold still at night. Made a little cloche from plastic milk jug w/bottom cut out to cover them, keep warm at nights until recover.

Dug out new positions for the steps from driveway to our porch, so it meets the gate, now. Planted Nasturtiums in the nice, round patches left behind- two varieties. Planted Catnip, Mint, and more Nasturtiums in pots by the front door (one that the Basil vacated).

Nasturtium- Cherry Rose (7-10 days)
Nasturtium- Jewel (7-10 days)
Mint- Spearmint (12-16 days)
Catnip (14-21 days)
Radish- Crimson Giant (4-6 days)

plans

Thinned the Radish seedlings today. Trimmed grass along edges by hand, and mulched the Onions w/the clippings. Gave them a drink of half-diluted fertilizer, too. What I thought was Celery coming up isn't- it's orange day lilies. I know because they're bigger now, and just behind the row of tulips under kitchen window, a small scattering of seedlings coming up- either the Celery or the Cauliflor I planted, not sure which yet.

Made a gardening calendar, hung on the wall. Noted down which dates the first seedlings came up, and then counted the days for when they need to be periodically fertilized, or dressed w/compost. Last year I just stuck all the seeds in the ground, and fed them sporadically w/a little general liquid fertilizer, and organic mulches of cut grass. That was about it. This year I'm reading up, and planning to give the individual crops more particular care; as well as I can w/limited experience to feed them at the times needed most, and prepare soil conditions, sites w/the proper sun/shade, etc. Hopefully see better plant health and yield.

planting

Planted in the raised bed:

Carrots - Danvers Half Long (14-21 days)
Beets - Detroit Dark Red Med Top (14-21 days)

Planted in the long bed:

Snap Peas - Super Snappy (7-14 days)
Sweet Peas - Sweet Dreams Mix (10-14 days)
Parsley - Extra Curled Dwarf (14-21 days)

I did not make rows of the Carrots but raked and patted the bed, then scattered them as evenly as I could, and poured boiling hot water over before sprinkling fine layer of soil back on top. Read that the hot water helps them germinate faster. The Beets in rows like usual, six short ones- three dug into shallow trenches w/half-done compost at bottom, three in between those scraped just out of the soil like normal. See which grows better.

The Lettuce and Chard are coming up in the raised bed; no sign of Broccoli yet.

Dug through the pile and raked two bucketfuls of half-done compost into the last part of the long bed. Raked the loose leaves from what was put down before and added back to the pile. I didn't turn the pile completely over, but stirred everything about from digging up the middle, and the kids threw water into it from puddles.

potatoes!

Planted Potato starts and some seed of last years' Cabbage (which we never ate -it never formed heads- but just fed back to the garden) in the new plot by the small back patio.