Category: General

Midsummer Plot

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Left side of the plot: calendula, kale, Swiss chard, leeks, winter squash, tomatoes, basil, flowers

Today, I spent three hours weeding my plot. Way overdue. I kind of had neglected my plot a bit in the past few weeks as I was more focused on the communal bed outside of the garden. It was a cool (70F) and overcast day, a welcome break between the heatwave that ended yesterday and the upper 80s predicted for the next coming days. Perfect weeding weather. Things are coming along nicely with the hot weather and now with a few days of showers and thunderstorms. I had fertilized the tomatoes with banana peel water last week, and they seem to have doubled in height since.

Right side of the plot: garlic, beets, zucchini, Thai basil, cucumber, cucamelon, rhubarb, flowers
Swiss chard, still fenced in together with the kale to fend off the rabbits
Butternut squash
The holy vegetable garden trifecta: tomatoes, basil, marigold
Zucchini

Sowing, Staking and First Harvests

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This morning, I sowed more flowers in my flower patch (Zinnias Queen Lime Blush and Queen Lime Red, and Cosmos Rubinato and Sensation mix) plus nasturtium (all over the plot) as well as a row of Golden beets. I also staked all my eleven tomato plants. I noticed that one (Black Prince) had a broken stem. It looked like it was cut in half. I will replace it with a new Black Prince seedling that I still have on my back porch. Luckily I had started two seedlings for each variety, and all germinated. A few days ago, I harvested a few of my overwintered leeks (which I roasted for dinner last night together with carrots, Brussels sprouts and potatoes and served with a bright Chimichurri) and some rhubarb (which I turned into a strawberry rhubarb compote and enjoyed over vanilla ice cream). I need to harvest the remaining leeks soon to prevent them from flowering.

Nicely sized overwintered leeks

Front Porch Preparation

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Container asparagus

Today, I finally transplanted the asparagus. It was very root-bound and definitely ready for a larger pot. I planted it in three large grow bags and sowed Zinnias (small mixed, and Giants of California mix) and cosmos (Rubinato and Sensation mix). I also planted one Dahlia tuber each (Top Mix Purple) into two medium pots and surrounded those with Nasturtium (Alaska mixed). Those five containers will go on my front porch, which I plan to revive this year. I put them on plant caddies with casters for easy moving and to prevent the floor boards from being water-logged.

Nicely germinated a few days later (May 27)

Re-Potting Zinnias and Kale

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Today, I repotted the Zinnias I started on April 19, and the kale. I had sown a handful of Zinnia seeds (three different varieties, Queen Lime Red, Queen Lime Blush, and Giants of California) into three different pots and today just isolated them into separate cells.

Zinnias before …
… and after
Most of my seedlings. Still to come: cucumbers and squash.

Re-Potting

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Today, I re-potted my tomatoes and the Swiss chard. I have 16 tomato plants total (two each of eight different varieties) and eight cells of rainbow chard, two seedlings each. In other news, my supermarket ginger in the blue-green pot (in the back of the picture) is finally waking up. You can see the big long shoot. And there is another one. I am sooo excited! The Zinnias I sowed three days ago are starting to sprout. And the sun is shining. Spring!

Yesterday, I cleaned my back porch, rearranged furniture and planted some herbs (parsley, chives and cilantro) and flowers (osteospermum and violas) to get the porch ready for spring. The intermediate state before full-time summer use.

Viola “Tiger Eye”

Garden Plot 2024

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This is my current garden plot diagram. I think it covers everything I want to plant this year. I have garden fleece and just ordered hoops and garden staples today, so I can build tunnels to protect my seedlings from rabbits and birds. Last year, ALL my bean seedlings were eaten by some critters; the plants did not stand a chance. I am planning on a different outcome this year. Fingers crossed.