Baby Steps (More Garden Ramblings)

Well, it doesn't exactly *feel* like Baby Steps (or so my body is telling me!), but I did accomplish a "fair amount" in the garden today...

Still have more to do, but I'm getting there!!!

First up:  The Bean Bed (nee The Overflow Bed).  Yesterday I managed to dump some old potting soil out there, and I rigged up a tepee of wooden stakes.  This morning, I dragged the wheelbarrow out to the patio and "freshened" the soil in my upside down planters: dumping appx 1/2 of the old soil into the wheelbarrow, which was subsequently dumped into The Bean Bed.  Then I planted some upside-down 'maters and topped off with new potting mix.

So I guess I should have said First up: The upside-down planters! (still "Works In Process")

I still have a little lettuce and spinach "hangin' in there" on the top. As well as last year's Stevia...

And on the bottom of this planter, Prudens Purple and Indigo Rose maters *literally* hangin' in there!

The other upside-down planter (no pic) has Sun Sugar (sweet yellow cherry tomatoes) hanging down, and a couple of herbs (thyme and sage, I believe).  I've still got a few more herbs to plant: Tarragon, chives, and another Stevia (I'm coming to the conclusion that you can't kill Stevia with a gun!).  Surprisingly, no mint, and it looks like I didn't buy any basil this year (no worries, I have some growing in the kitchen).

I'm not optimistic that we'll see many tomatoes from the upside-down planters.  Haven't had much luck in years' past and - on the rare occasion that a tomato does appear, the dogs invariably find it first!

In the bottoms of these planters, I'll stick some of my leftover runner beans and let 'em trail up the legs and, if necessary, let 'em grow onto the gazebo behind the planters (undoubtedly against my better judgement!  Certainly against Finny's advice).  I have truly run out of plantable real-estate unless I start moving into my ornamental beds (and I really don't want to).

Okay...  Second up!  The Bean Bed!  This is located by the far back corner of our yard - next to the palm trees and nanners.  And, thankfully, I did find a hose that would reach so I could give this bed a good soaking...  This bed is mostly "newer dirt piled on top of rock-solid clay" so it's gonna be a challenge to keep watered...

Beans, beans and more beans...

And a couple of vines!

So I set up my tepee yesterday and I expect (*hope*) to be overrun with beans soon.  Clockwise from right:  Flagrano (French Flageolet), Buerre de Rocquencourt, and (lest you think I'm a total Fru-Fru-Snob with all my fancy un-pronouncable french beans), Kentucky Wonderbean!  Toward the back, I planted Dana's Zuke (friend of mine started a zucchini from seed and gave it to me).  In the way-back, I planted another Artichoke.  That spot's gonna get plenty of shade so I'm *hoping* Artie II will be happy back there!  And up toward the front, right, a Hercules pumpkin that I started from seed.  I'm gonna encourage him to trail over the fence and outside of the bed, next to Roly-Pig.

There are two drip-loops strung through this bed and I really-really hope they'll be adequate.  Dragging a hose out there is a real PITA!  I think I'm gonna top-dress with a bag of steer manure, then mulch on top of that.  Fingers are crossed................

Next up:  The Finny Farm.  

Finny's Maters are all settled-in and growing quite happily, and I've added a few more plants...

Clockwise, from the right-rear corner:  Indigo Rose 'mater, then in the middle there's an Anaheim pepper, front right is Stephanie Stupice, front center is an Ancho Poblano pepper, front left is Brandy the Yellow Brandywine 'mater, middle left is a Crook-neck squash, and rear left is Colin Copia 'mater...

So far, so good on the water situation (Yay!).  But I did end up giving it a good soaking when I added the pepper and cuke today...

Thennnnn...  There's the "Middle Bed" - aka "Paste-O-Rama"

Maters include Jersey Devil, Speckled Roma and Amish Paste, and they seem to be adjusting "okay."  Not exactly thriving, but not dying either!  I still have one more paste tomato in the bathroom windowsill (San Marzano) that I started from seed.  I'll probably stick it in one of the cages and wait for the snails to devour it! (a sacrificial 'mater, as it were!).  And the three Unidentified Volunteers in the back are doing amazingly well...  I did harvest one of my cabbages, earlier this week (Yay!).  Gonna give the other one - maybe - another week, then I'll yank it too.  Anyway, today I added a Home Depot Cuke (front center of bed), and a Neon Eggplant, more toward the back on the right-hand side...

This bed is - shall we say - a bit over-planted???

Lastly, there is Artie's Bed:

Maters in this bed, double-planted Early Girl + Kellogg's Breakfast and Hillbilly, are not looking super-happy, but - again - they're not dead either!  The lettuces are hangin' in there.  And I added a Baby Black Chu Chu eggplant, over on the left-hand side near the metal whirlygig.  I've never grown eggplant before so I have no clue what to expect!  We shall see.......

So what's left?

Welllll...  I've got a few strawberries to plant.  LOL - some have already started producing fruit (in spite of being left un-watered, in the greenhouse, in their itty-bitty 3" pots)!  I dumped the soil out of the strawberry planter yesterday, and want to start-over - but I might not have enough potting soil left (Oooops!).  I still have a couple of tomatoes (Ananas Noir and - jeeezus! - another Stupice!).  Gonna have to put the 'maters in ginormous pots, I'm afraid.  Also, a few herbs, destined for the tops of the upside-down planters.  Appx 9 "leftover" runner beans...  And a couple of dwarf citrus that really need to be potted-up (Bearss lime and some kinda Mandarin orange)...

For now, everything is OUT of the greenhouse (which tops triple-digits during the day now)...  Tomorrow is gonna be a Sailing Day, so I doubt I'll get much more gardening in this weekend.  But the rest of the stuff I have to do just involves a trek to Home Depot (for soil and amendments), then sitting on my duff on the patio to stick everything else in pots!

Nevertheless, I am pretty pleased with my progress.  I'm trying my best to forget about "The Good Old Days" when I would've had EVERYTHING done in, like, half an hour! (And still planned an afternoon-trip to scale Mt. Everest!!!)  (Sucks getting old!!).  Hell, I'm just glad I've still got my garden!!!