July 18 Garden Update
Now that the longest tax season ever is finally over, today was a day for some much-needed garden attention. Fortunately, the garden has managed reasonably well on its own, in spite of unusual heat and dryness. Working at home, it is at least possible to water them enough to prevent death.
Tomatoes have posed a problem the last two years - they have grown too well, and have become a bit unruly. Despite attempts to trim them back, they grew very tall. That worked out badly last week when a big storm came. In addition to taking down some big branches in the neighbors' yards, they bent the taller plants at a 90-degree angle - tangling them all up with their down-wind neighbors.
I tried to convince them to straighten up, but they are stubborn. So now I have a big tomato tangle.
This year's tomatoes have a problem that is new to me - the bottom of some fruit rots before ripening. The internet says it's a calcium deficiency, so I had the internet send me some calcium stuff to spray on the leaves. I applied it today, so we will see if it works, or if it is just internet witch-doctory.
In spite of everything, there is a lot of fruit, and I ate the first ripe one today.
Makes it all worth it. Many more to come.
Meanwhile, the cucumbers growing up a trellis on the back of the tomato bed survive...
...and we have the first aspiring cukes:
If I have cucumber success, that will be a first for me.
In other news, corn:
Beans - had the first green bean serving this week. Yum. The okra that takes up most of the bed in front of the bean trellis is doing OK, and I hope we will start to see pods this week.
The second planting of radishes (below, far right) is struggling after a spectacular and delicious first crop. I planted a third round today. Carrots are generally doing well, though the last batch I plantedin the front left of the picture below, isn't thriving. Onions are wonderful, eating them regularly.
Finally, nothing to do with gardens, but the hummingbirds have discovered my new feeder. It livens up a long work-at-home day to look up and see one getting its sugarwater fix. Little buggers are too quick for me to get a picture yet, but here's the feeder.
Happy plants to you, dear reader.
Tomatoes have posed a problem the last two years - they have grown too well, and have become a bit unruly. Despite attempts to trim them back, they grew very tall. That worked out badly last week when a big storm came. In addition to taking down some big branches in the neighbors' yards, they bent the taller plants at a 90-degree angle - tangling them all up with their down-wind neighbors.
I tried to convince them to straighten up, but they are stubborn. So now I have a big tomato tangle.
This year's tomatoes have a problem that is new to me - the bottom of some fruit rots before ripening. The internet says it's a calcium deficiency, so I had the internet send me some calcium stuff to spray on the leaves. I applied it today, so we will see if it works, or if it is just internet witch-doctory.
In spite of everything, there is a lot of fruit, and I ate the first ripe one today.
Makes it all worth it. Many more to come.
Meanwhile, the cucumbers growing up a trellis on the back of the tomato bed survive...
...and we have the first aspiring cukes:
If I have cucumber success, that will be a first for me.
In other news, corn:
Beans - had the first green bean serving this week. Yum. The okra that takes up most of the bed in front of the bean trellis is doing OK, and I hope we will start to see pods this week.
The second planting of radishes (below, far right) is struggling after a spectacular and delicious first crop. I planted a third round today. Carrots are generally doing well, though the last batch I plantedin the front left of the picture below, isn't thriving. Onions are wonderful, eating them regularly.
Finally, nothing to do with gardens, but the hummingbirds have discovered my new feeder. It livens up a long work-at-home day to look up and see one getting its sugarwater fix. Little buggers are too quick for me to get a picture yet, but here's the feeder.
Happy plants to you, dear reader.
posted by Joe at 7:03 PM
1 Comments:
Nice garden! I'm jealous. Our soil is rocky and lean, so it'll take me years to get anything. Then the animals (deer, elk, cows, rabbits, skunk, etc.) are ravenous so it's all a matter of highly advanced fencing.
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