the beans

are coming on quickly, more and more. I have to pick every few days to stay ahead of them!

I do have one cherry tomato plant- I thought both had died but this one was just smaller for a while and then it grew up winding among the others so I forgot it was there. It's not very productive. However the sweet 100's and the cherokee purples, are my only tomatoes that are doing well at all.

All the big ones seem afflicted. The skin feels thicker or coarse and grainy, and some have dark cracks and when I slice them hoping to just cut away the bad half, too much inside is rotted black to save any. There are small dark stink bugs about, I am not sure if they are the culprit.

And something has done away with nearly all my swiss chard! I swear I had six plants on that side, and then one day it was down to three- I assumed the others had got rotted or eaten by the insects, rabbits. Today I went out there and there's only one. Not even a root stump remainder of the others.

Odd thing is- the leaf beet chard in the other bed is untouched- well, except for a few bug holes. I cut a whole bunch today for a dinner recipe, and half the bed is still green.

Collards are also doing poorly, between whatever is turning the blue leaves purple (a deficiency I think), whitefly and cabbage moth caterpillars riddling the leaves. I cut a bunch to eat the other day anyway, just wash it well and cut out the worst of the insect damage.

Cut a lot of the small young leaves as well, just to get them ahead of the bugs!

We are finally putting up the garden fence. Got the posts in today, before it was too hot, and then thunderstorms came through. Will have to finish setting the wire on another day. I've been laying cardboard and mulch over more of the grass paths, after cutting it short as possible. It's starting to look purposeful.

herbs and tomatoes

Finally have a few large tomatoes to pick- I get them early and let finish ripening on the windowsill (otherwise the squirrels eat holes out of them). Some are oddly shaped this year! 

There is also an oddity in one of my basil pots. A seed came up looking the same as all the rest, but grew tiny leaves. They have the same flavor (maybe a little sharper) just small for some reason.

As for the other herbs, well some have failed me. Dill is pretty much done- gone to flower and now dying off. That's usual. But my pot of summer savory on the deck, only has two surviving plants out of the six or eight I stuck in there. The pot of dill never did well either, and the parsley is only a few small leaves, really struggling. These did so much better when in planters on the deck railing.

Chives, thyme, basil and mint are doing well. Tarragon is sprawling in the herb bed (this French type doesn't seem to grow upright like the Russian one did I had before), sculpit is putting out its balloon flowers, and green onions continue growing. I hope to eat more of those soon.

green onions

First cutting. Not many- I only have three onions growing there. But cutting them is supposed to encourage the bunching growth, and this was just enough to sprinkle over some portabellas cooked in a tamari sauce for dinner.

We're continuing to eat carrots from the garden almost every other day- because that's what I have the most of, that's doing well out there. Beets once or twice a week, chard about as often now. Their regrowth has slowed down, I think because of the heat. I somehow lost half my swiss chard patch last week- there are only three plants on that side remaining. Were a bit smothered by some of the carrot foliage falling over- did the shade and heat do them in? or bugs got it, I don't know. 

The peas are done. The tomatoes are slowly coming on- my sweet 100's completely died (dunno why) but I have a handful of cherokee purple cherry tomatoes every few days, and larger ones too- beefsteak and others. I pick them when they are just starting to turn color and then finish ripening on windowsill, otherwise the animals/bugs get them.

Had a second helping of turnips, once again cooked with peas and salmon. My husband really likes that dish so I definitely have to grow more turnips next year. Seems like such a homely vegetable, but it does so well without any care! Cut the first lot of collard greens to eat tonight- the leaves are on the small side, and not great-looking. I've read that the purplish hue is probably from potassium deficiency in the soil, though they're still fine to eat. Funny, I planted more blue collards than yellow this year- because in the past I have preferred the blue ones. But the yellow ones are looking much healthier, so I should have done it the other way around!

A few purple podded green beans. I picked a small handful (enough for just one serving) last week, and only two ready-sized beans today. Missed half a dozen the first time around that are now too fat with seed maturing- so I will leave those to dry on the vine and be my seed next year. But now there are no new beans forming. I'm not sure if this is because of heat stress, or because my leaving some pods to ripen made the plant think its job is done.

Lost one small asparagus plant. Two others are doing great (so far as I can tell) and the third is half the size of the others. 

Nothing else to report. We're having hot days in the upper nineties again. On the days where I happen to wake up too early- at five or six am- instead of trying to go back to sleep I get up (even though still tired) and go out to the garden before it is hot. I have just enough time to put out the compost, weed a few beds, harvest food for the day and water the garden with the hose, before temperatures rise and the sweat starts rolling down my back just standing still.

first carrots

These are the short'n'sweet variety. About twice the size of my thumb. Mild flavor. So nice to just walk out and yank food out of the ground! 

Ate the first few tomatoes today, too. Still pulling beets every week, and cutting chard every other day. There are a few peas as well. Turnips look ready but I haven't eaten those yet. Have yet to use the collards- yellow chard looks fine (not great) but the blue collards a lot of leaves are purple and I'm not sure why.

how all my plants are doing-

My beets are looking nice- healthier than ever I think. Some of the leaves get pale, bleached-looking patches I've read this is probably leaf miner and the best thing to do is just remove those leaves, throwing away the bugs on them in the process. I've been doing that and the incidents of bleach-patched leaves is reducing.

Carrots are also nice and thick now. Added more straw mulch and there's few weeds. Those bits I had pulled up earlier thinking they were carrots, turns out is a sedge. Still pulling some.

Tomatoes are planted out, around the tokyo bekana. About twice a week I cut all the tokyo bek (it grows back quickly) and we eat it sauteed in butter and salt. After cutting out the worst bits with slug holes, it's just enough for one side dish. I ought to set a slug trap again- the coffee grounds doesn't seem to be much deterrent.

Some of my tomato plants had yellowing leaves (see just lower left of center) at the end of their time in pots. But the new leaves are growing in a healthier green- as you can see on the upper part of this plant- so I think they'll be okay. There are some flowers appearing (top right)!

We have begun eating the chard:

Lettuces and tatsoi are starting to bolt, we're having a few days in the eighties now. The last cutting I took of lettuce was a bit bitter, blanched that out in cold water all day to make it edible, but now they're at end. On the right in bed 5, lavender on the near side of it is awfully scraggly- it suffered this past winter- but after flowering I will cut it back and hope it regrows nicer. 

On the far end, sorrel is overwhelming the bit of lemon balm. Which is okay, I never really use the lemon balm. Sorrel is sending up flower stalks which I regularly cut off. I will probably have to divide this plant soon, it's getting too big! There's green onions there in the middle and some sculpit, but too small to see from the overhead shot.

and the lower center plant is purple clematis climbing the deck post- just at the end of its bloom time

Turnips are doing okay here in bed 9, but collards remain small. I think it is because I made the mistake of putting layer sticks and wood bits over the cardboard when I started this bed years ago- nothing has done well in 8 or 9 since. Why do people recommend that so much? It definitely hasn't work for me. Other sources tell me that wood buried in the garden bed can tie up nitrogen for five to seven years! I am not positive of course, that's the reason my plants falter in this bed (tomatos did poorly here several years ago) but I'm not repeating the experiment.

In that round repurposed planter in the corner, I've put out the hyssop.

More later

tomato plants

are in the ground! A bit sad-looking as it was a colder day, but better than shock from the heat. And it rained soon after.

cat damage

It is still just cold enough at night that I bring my tomatoes in, or keep them in all day round the clock- they've grown so tall no space under the cage so I had to prop it up on children's building blocks. Must be really happy in the mini greenhouse, because other tomato plants that have been in the coldframe right next to it, half the height and a bit yellowing on lower leaves. Unfortunately, my cat Eliza won't leave plants alone. Even the pot of wheatgrass I have just for her, I have to keep out of her reach and give access too just for five or ten minutes every other day- she chews it down to nothing. She's been sticking her paw through the cage bars, pulling the green bean stems towards her, and eating the leaves off!

Half of these had leaves. It's very frustrating. I had to put plastic panels against the cage sides to prevent her from ruining all of them.

I've also had to re-think my garden fence plans (no it's not built yet). It was going to border the lower deck in a way that would allow the cats access to the ground there, under the deck and through the garden. Now I'm going to just fence a loop around to the edge of the stairs, and access the garden myself from under the deck (I don't think a rabbit will go in via that way, the squirrel might?) Cats are confined to the deck only- and the gate at top of stairs. I've put short fencing around the lower railings so they don't lean out so far- always afraid they might try to jump one day.

They really enjoy being out there and Eliza begs sometimes, pawing the glass and meowing hopefully.

cold

Last night a serious freeze. All the more tender plants came inside again- 

tomatoes fill the cage

sharing space with some of the new things I haven't figured out where to plant yet- the asters, lobelia, blue-eyed grass and rattlesnake-master

In the smaller cage on the bench, seedling trays where summer savory

and hyssop- so very tiny!- have just come up. Basil also began to sprout

Outside I had already put in the ground some obedient plants, and they were very droopy so put cloches over- it helped them perk up immediately as you can see the next morning

and then I also covered them one more night to save from the freeze and they did fine

things growing

First true leaves of parsley!

My tomatoes have grown taller than the coldframe.

There's a few nights of frost still expected, I'll have to bring them in.

And move the plant cage again- it's now out on the deck protecting some things from my cat! I put a bit of fencing around the lower part of the deck railings, so the cats don't lean out so far looking like they'll jump. They really like hanging out on the deck with us now. But Eliza chomps all the plants. The foreground pot in here is of sprouted wheat I pulled out of the mulched beds and stuck in dirt for her- but I have to keep her from chewing it down to nothing, give her access to it only occasionally. Also protected are- thyme, chives (which she chewed a lot of) and dill. The mint pot is unsheltered, she leaves that one alone.

I also had to block her from getting onto the greenhouse shelves and biting plants in there. With the coldframe window.

The cats especially like being on the deck right now because there is a bird nesting under one corner of it- on top of that carpenter bee trap I hung.

Today I managed to get a few photos of it- I think they're house finches. The male has a rosy chest and head.

From above, you can put your eye to a crack between the boards and see straight into the nest- five small very pale blue eggs. I can't wait to see the baby birds hatch! 

cold nights

again. I go out in the evening to cover the lettuces and chards with small cloches, and bring the tomato plants (and a few others) inside for the night. Most of them are now too tall for my screen boxes to protect

so I'm glad I found someone else giving away an old animal cage- much larger than the other one I have! which I took off the base and can just set over all the plants (to protect from my cat).

It just makes me so happy and content to see them growing and healthy.

fixed

my coldframe. A temporary repair. 

All the boards across the back are rotting, so it was loose and wouldn't support the window lid when propped open. (That's what I get for leaving it outside in the weather all winter).

I just took off the top horizontal board, and the top half of the backstops/verticals. I thought there was not enough solid wood on the ends of the side boards for the screws to bite in again, but they're holding fine.

Put new vertical backstops on,

and now it is serviceable again.

Well, there is a gap on the back under the top board- I plugged it with a small plastic pane and a piece of foam. It will probably make it through this spring, then I have to replace more pieces or rebuild the whole thing entirely.

Not bad that this thing has held up for seven years! with one paint job halfway through. And I didn't buy a thing this time- leftover wood from other projects, tools we had on hand, even reused a few screws that came out of the rotted wood. Though my husband says when I really need to rebuild it, we'll go buy new, properly treated lumber to last longer.

potting up

the tomatoes. Can't believe they've grown so much in less than a week! There were so many, looking so healthy I only sacrificed a few to the compost (see bottom right corner).  This is the tray that got mixed, but I figured out how to tell the young plants apart. The 'sweetie 100' cherry tomatoes have smooth-edged emerging leaves (at the proximal end of the stem), whereas on the black cherry tomatoes it's already toothy.

I potted up a bunch of extras to either sell or take to the plant swap:

And kept the eight largest/ nicest looking for myself- you can't see them well though because already under the screen box and I didn't feel like taking them out again (it's kinda wedged snug)

Current plant protection measures- for recovery time from transplant shock and cold nights only- after this they will be spending more time outside. I have plants under the short white benches on top of the long bench, shielded by the wire shelf piece, and on top of the benches more plants covered by the mesh boxes I made. And more still, on the floor under the old animal cage. 

Whom I am protecting them from:

I think it's working well- though I can't fit very many more plants in there (and of course they take up more room since now in individual pots).