Finny just posted her Garden Update and - yep - I am way the hell behind! Of course, she got her stuff in the ground back in April (a little too early for my neighborhood. She's only a few miles up the road, but her weather is quite a bit different). Anyway, I *just* got most of my maters in the ground TODAY!
Except for the Finny Farm Fam. Those guys went in last week! And today I added an Ancho Poblano pepper to the front, center spot in the bed...
And everything seems to be settling in quite nicely!
Yeah, not the greatest pic in the world. I took it in bright morning sun (with lots of harsh shadows), but the reality is: There really isn't a good "spot" to stand in, for taking pics of this bed (too many obstacles!).
So since it's such a NON-photogenic location, NATURALLY, I decided to rig up the Plant Cam!
Garden Geekery - at it's finest!
Actually, I have bolted it to the lattice fence that hides the pool equipment and that might actually turn-out to be a good spot (for the Plant Cam, anyway). Time will tell!
Anyhoooo... As I'd mentioned in my earlier post, the Canine Crew had me up at 4:30 this morning. And I think, probably around 9:30ish, I was actually coherent enough to go outside and start tackling the garden-planting chores.
First up was removing the super-leggy/overgrown veggies from the wire shelves in my greenhouse. Most had grown *through* the shelves and it required some delicate surgical procedures to extricate them! Some of the maters had intertwined with vining green-beans - FUN! (NOTTT). But I did finally manage to get them out!
Did I mention they were "leggy?!!"
Oh - and this isn't ALL of them (not even close!!!). These are actually my "leftovers" that still need to find homes (which, in some cases, might mean pawning them off on neighbors!!!).
So, in addition to the pepper, I planted several 'maters today. I decided that my old middle bed (the one that still has cabbages in it) will be my "Paste-O-Rama" bed.
Lookie-Lookie! My cabbage is actually forming a HEAD!!!
(This is exciting because I've never had that happen before - EVER!)
Paste-O-Rama Bed (Right next to the pool equipment)
A super-sunny, super-hot bed.
Again, this picture was taken in the morning. I haven't caged the 'maters yet b/c I planted them "deep" and "sideways" (to maximize root development). By noontime, with the sun beating down, they were looking pretty droopy, so I ended up draping a sheet over the 'maters til they get a little more established.
Anyway, far left corner has a "Jersey Devil" tomato. Front center-of-the-pic is a "Speckled Roma" and on the right-edge, about halfway back, is an "Amish Paste" tomato. The other maters in the back (3 or 4 - I can't tell!) are "Volunteers" from last year - no clue what they are, but I hope one is a Green Zebra (since that's the ONE mater that I killed in the greenhouse)...
Lastly, there is Artie's Bed:
Heyyyy Artie!!! Can't WAIT to eat you!!!
(There are two baby chokes on the way, too!)
Unfortunately, I think Artie is too big for this bed but "Oh well!"
So I've still got garlic growing along the edges of this bed. Up in the front, I double-planted a "Kellogg's Breakfast" (bright orange, mildly sweetish beefsteak tomato) with an "Early Girl" (plain ol' plain ol'). I think that will work out well because, well, Early-Girl is an early-bearer and should "fizzle-out" around the time that Kellogg's Breakfast kicks-in (late July thru Sept). Then, over to the right (barely visible), I planted a "Hillbilly" which - I believe is supposed to be a HUGE plant - but... That spot doesn't get a whole lot of sun, but "We'll see!"
Annnnnd... I still had a 6-pack of lettuce, so I planted that toward the back of the bed, in the shade of Artie! We'll see how that goes!
I've STILL got a boatload of stuff to plant:
Still waiting in the greenhouse!
Yeah, I know the stuff looks pretty "droopy" but that's 'cuz I just watered 'em and it's Hotter 'n Hades in there!!!
So, I still have vines to plant (squashes, pumpkins, melons, possibly a cuke - not sure!). Strawberries (need to dump my strawberry planter and start with fresh soil), a couple of eggplants (never grew those before), green beans (OMG - THREE six-packs of beans!!!) and some herbs.
Frankly, I'm amazed that everything has survived so well out there - given how hot it's been, and the fact that sometimes I kinda "forget" to go out and water 'em! I only had a couple of fatalities: Cassandra Cuke (but she was "iffy" when I got her), Green Zebra 'mater, and a Stevia (but thankfully last year's Stevia in the patio planter came back!). Everything else hung-in-there just fine and is MOST eager to get stuck in the ground SOMEPLACE!!!
I still have my "Overflow Bed" out by the back gate, but I just noticed that the drip/soaker line isn't quite long enough to cover the bed (and I've run out of soaker hose) (and it's waaaaay the hell "out there" - too far for me to drag the regular hose for a good soaking), so I've got to make a trek to Home Depot for drip-line supplies (need to do that anyway). Maybe tomorrow morning!
One thing I noticed (on the Finny Farm Bed) is that when I do a weekly deep-soaking, the daily "dribbles" are just enough to keep the surface moist and the "underneath" soil actually *does* retain it's moisture. So I think I've stumbled onto a pretty good solution. We'll see how that works when the MEGA-HOT summer days hit (might have to deep-soak "the old fashioned way" a couple times a week - but, so far-so good!)
Lastly..... I need to plant-up my Patio Pots. I have potting soil a-plenty - which is good. And Rent-A-Son-Services ripped out my dead (potted) palm trees for me. I've got a couple of dwarf citruses (citri??) that could stand to be potted up. One is a Bearss Lime, that I've had for a couple of years. The other is a brandy-new "Golden Nugget Mandarin" that I picked up with a Groupon, yesterday (it's got li'l fruits on it and everything!!!). And I need to dump the "cut and come again" lettuce in the Patio Planters because it's getting too hot and they're just bolting endlessly. I'll replace those with cooking herbs - which will be nice when BBQ season starts (Soon! Very Soon!)
Yeah, lots of stuff left to do - but "That's what Gardening's All About" right???
I'm looking forward to a most bountiful summer harvest. And ya'all can look forward to endless b*tching about "What the HELL am I gonna do with ALL THESE TOMATOES?!!!!"
Recipes galore, I tellya!!! ;-)
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