Cucumbers and Trellis

I planted the cucumbers and put up trellises for the peas and pumpkins. It started raining again so I couldn't do any more.

This weekend I helped Cathy plant their herb garden. The squash and pumpkin that hadn't sprouted a couple weeks ago are up now.

Sometime over the weekend an animal dug up the habanero pepper so I'll have to plant a jalapeno there instead.

More Planting

I planted 3 hills of buttercup squash, 2 hills of spaghetti squash, 2 hills of summer squash, 4 hills of sugar baby watermelon, 8 celery, 8 banana peppers, 9 jalapeno peppers, 1 habanero pepper, 2 eggplants, basil, parsley, thyme, petunias, marjoram, nasturtiums, marigolds and borage. I planted a couple Roma tomatoes and marigolds in a big container in the corner of the garden.

Some animal, probably a squirrel, dug up some of the wax beans and lima beans I planted yesterday so I had to fix them.

I noticed some of the carrots, beets, kale, salsify, bunching onions, spinach, romaine, and Waltham 29 broccoli are sprouting.

There are a bunch more herbs and flowers to plant, but I'm exhausted and it started sprinkling so the rest will have to wait until next week.

Peppers Planted

The sun is finally out today! I planted 23 bell peppers, more marigolds, green beans, wax beans, and lima beans. I also put landscaping fabric where the watermelons and jalapenos will be planted.

Tomatoes Planted

It stopped raining for about 3 1/2 hours so I managed to get 28 tomato plants, 2 hills of pumpkins, and a bunch of marigolds planted.

We finally got compost!

Boy, what a difference a couple days makes! The temp was in the 70s Friday and yesterday. Today it was 80! We went to the county compost site yesterday and picked up a whole trailer load of compost and a small bale of straw. The guy working at the compost site (John) said he'd keep an eye out for any more straw and set it aside for me.
 

Kaitlyn loosening soil to plant peas

Kaitlyn shoveling compost

Today I put compost on almost half of the garden. I also planted peas, salsify, carrots, and the romaine, spinach and black seeded simpson that are in the center of the bed where the peas are planted. We're supposed to get lots of rain tonight and tomorrow so I didn't water yet.

Kaitlyn and I moved some bricks to the front flower bed where the tulips are starting to come up. After the tulips are done I'll build up that bed so people stop walking on it and I'll plant more flowers there.

Lettuce growing in pots inside

Rhubarb is coming up

Hauling compost to the garden beds

Compost on the garden bed

Kaitlyn helping in the tulip bed

Peas are planted and stakes in place

Darn Snow

It sure doesn't seem like spring yet. We got close to 6" of snow on Thursday and about an inch Friday. Today we had a bunch of snow and some freezing rain. One of these days it has to stop snowing!!! Because of the snow the compost site has delayed opening until next Saturday (4/20) so we'll plan to get compost and wood chip mulch then. Hopefully the snow will melt and the beds will dry out by then so I can plant the April seeds then.

Snow on the garden 4-10

Still snowing 4-11

Snow in the driveway 4-11

I never thought I'd need to use this in April.

I have several romaine and buttercrunch lettuce plants that are just about ready to transplant. The broccoli and cauliflower are just about ready too. I moved the lights above the tomatoes up several links.

Bachelor Buttons and Marigolds

Eggplant

Romaine

Buttercrunch lettuce, cauliflower

Tomatoes

Peppers

Plants under shop lights

Since it's been so cold I'm concerned about the borage, nasturtiums, and forget-me-nots actually germinating if I direct sow them so I started inside today in peat pots and put them above the fridge.

Strawberry Planter, Planting Templates, Garden Repair

Yesterday Al built a pyramid planter for strawberry plants that we'll put by the sinkhole and he cut boards for my hole planting templates. I bought some 1/4" dowels at Michael's and Al cut them to 1" lengths for the pegs that will make the planting holes. I measured and marked the placement of the dowels and Al glued them in place. Today the glue was dry so he attached the handles that I got at Home Depot. I also picked up some 6' bamboo poles for the pole beans.

Al with the 2nd layer of the pyramid

Al with the finished pyramid

Top side of finished planting templates

Bottom side of planting templates

Al and I teamed up to repair some of the garden beds today. On some of the black plastic edging he drilled holes and we attached the corner pieces with cable ties. We put stakes in to support a few other beds as well. The one that had bricks and plastic edging that the deer knocked over last fall we took apart and made a wood box support instead.

The new wood box support

I had to move the light above the cauliflower up since it's gotten so big. I'll probably have to move the lights up above the tomatoes soon too.

Buttercrunch Lettuce

Cauliflower, Broccoli, Basil

Found them

I found Early Girl tomato seeds at Home Depot. Their website says they have poblano peppers, but the store by Northtown doesn't have them in stock. A couple of very helpful employees tried to help me find the poblano seeds, but none of us could find them. When we go to Linders in May to get the French Tarragon I'll see if they have poblanos. If not I'll just plant a couple extra jalapenos.

I started the rest of the peppers (minus the poblanos) and set them on top of the refrigerator for warmth to germinate. When Kaitlyn and I moved the aloe vera plant to make room for the peppers it came unpotted (the whole plant came out of the pot, including the roots) so we had to repot it. Hopefully it will survive on the living room window ledge.

2013 Seed Starting

I started celery seeds & put them on top of the fridge to germinate.

Celery started in trays

My new shelves with shop lights

Pulled lots of weeds, harvested carrots & beans

I harvested a bunch of carrots, wax beans, and some peppers today.  There are still a bunch of carrots ready to harvest, but I'll leave them in the garden until we're ready to use them.  Al took Kaitlyn to Hazel's birthday party so I could get some gardening done.  I want to get as many weeds pulled as possible before my surgery on Friday.  I managed to clear the rest of the walkways and weeded around the beans.  The pumpkins are spreading out so far I can't get through the end of a couple walkways, but we can get around other paths so it's not a huge deal.  We should have some nice pumpkins from those plants.

Today's harvest

Cucumbers are planted finally

I finally got the cucumbers planted!  I was intending to fill in that last bed before planting the cucumbers, but it's been so hot I haven't been able to dig the soil in there.  I just decided to plant the seeds with the soil how it is.  Then after harvest I'll fill in that frame.  I also planted some sunflowers and dill down the middle of the bed between the rows of cucumbers.

Planting peppers

Delana helped me in the garden today. She helped me pull some weeds and then dug holes so I could plant the bell peppers.

Delana helping in the garden

Bell peppers are planted finally

Storms predicted & planting beans

It’s SO hot!  It’s 93 and very humid and they’re predicting severe storms sometime this afternoon & evening.  Kaitlyn helped me weed the beds for the beans, kale, peppers, & part of the pumpkin bed.  I got all of the wax beans, lima beans, & some dill planted.  There’s a black seeded simpson that came up on its own in the second bed from Jayne’s fence.  The amazing thing is it’s in the exact space it should be to mark the end of the row where it would have been planted by the kale & lima beans.  I was going to do some more digging to fill in the other planting beds but it’s too hot so I did more weeding instead.

Raised beds & Asparagus

Yesterday I sank wide boards all along the back line of the garden and along the side by the compost bin.  Hopefully that will keep some of the animals from digging their way into the garden.  Of course I twisted my ankle getting out of the garden last night.  Ouch!

Today I finished digging dirt into the planting bed for the asparagus and got the asparagus planted.  I also finished putting the boards along the side of the garden by the compost.

I got most of the bed for the cauliflower & broccoli dug but my ankle & hand are hurting too much to dig any more today.  

More Garden Work

I pulled some more weeds and dug enough to fill the planting boxes for the peppers, pumpkins, the small box next to the pumpkins, and about half of the box where the cauliflower, broccoli & celery will go.  I should be able to plant the broccoli and cauliflower in that box in the next few days.  It’s supposed to rain with possibly severe storms tomorrow and Wednesday, so those probably won’t be planted until Thursday or Friday (whenever the weather allows).

Kaitlyn helped me plant pumpkin seeds in the garden box.  We planted two hills with 4 seeds each.  Once they sprout I’ll thin them to the strongest two per hill.

Rhubarb and Hostas

I helped Mom split her hostas on Sunday and she gave me some for our yard.  Heidi also split her rhubarb so she gave me several plants.  Al tilled up a couple feet along the outside of the garden fence for the hostas and rhubarb.  I just got them planted - hopefully they'll establish well.  Some of the arugula is coming up already!

Arugula

Onions

Hostas & Rhubarb

Hostas & Rhubarb

Progress

I made lots of progress so far.  The onion plants are planted, seeds for the carrots, peas, beets & various greens are planted.  More progress has been made on filling the frames with soil.

Moving the chive plants

Kaitlyn with the chive plants

The first plants in the new raised beds

Kaitlyn helped me move some of the chive plants to the first raised bed so we can finish digging where the chive plants were.

Filling raised beds & seed report

Buttercup Squash

I dug more soil into the planting beds and cleaned up some more.  Kaitlyn is having fun collecting the rocks that I dig up. J  I finished the second bed and started on the third before I was too tired and we had to come in to eat & get ready for Girl Scouts. 

I planted cauliflower, and more habanero & jalapeno peppers, rosemary, sage and marigolds in seed trays.  I moved the seed trays with mostly herbs to the corner by the red onions to make room for the new seed tray.

Several peppers are starting to come up!

The buttercup squash and broccoli are really doing well!

Most of the tomato plants are up now & doing well!

Broccoli & Sage

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Getting ready to start seedlings

I collected all of the plant signs & markers from the cabinet in the garage & washed & sorted them.  Planted some of the herb plants in seed trays – sage, thyme-6, basil, rosemary-6 & parsley-10.  

Talked to Mom & asked if they’d like any plants so I know how many seeds to plant.  They’d like 1 each of sage, thyme, basil & Roma tomato (for the topsy turvy planter).  Sean & Melinda will take 1 of the Sweet 100 tomatoes and George & Dody will take a couple.