Today it reached nearly 90 degrees - the hottest day of the year so far. Luckily, I get to spend these hot days in air-conditioned luxury and also have a wonderful manfriend who picks me up from work with ice cream bars in tow.
With all the moisture we've been having lately, the garden love, loved this warm day. Everything's pretty well planted (and sprouted) now. There are still three little tomatillos that need to grow just a bit bigger before they get transplanted to their "big boy" pots and I've replanted some carrots and beans to fill in gaps after the initial sprouting.
Here's how it all grows so far:
Tomatoes |
I realized this morning that I have five little pepper plants this year: two jalapenos and three bell peppers. So watch this space for tales of "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew." (And yes, that was a children's literature joke. Being an English major is awesome . . . ;)
When I took this picture of our straw potato bed this morning, I was going to be all "wah, wah - no potatoes yet," but after our sultry day, that simply isn't true. After work today, I found the first three potato shoots poking through the straw. Success!!
Growing up, we had cutworms in our garden one time and let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight. Nothing fells your dreams of homegrown produce faster then when cut worms take down your broccoli seedlings like timber. Since cutworms only attack at the base of young seedlings, a simple paper cuff about 1 inch in the dirt and about 1.5 inch above the ground should deter even the most determined cutworm.
So far no cutworm problems (whew!), but if I could keep the chipmunks from digging up all of my squash plants in their crazed efforts to plants as many sunflower seeds as possible, I would be a calmer gardener.
We're to the point in the year when the neighbors passing by like to stop to gaze at our gardens. I can't take much credit for the current beauty of the perennial bed - Andy and his mom are the flower gardeners around here - but it's nice to think that our gardens bring beauty to others' lives as well as our own.
How does your garden grow?
Your garden is looking good. And yes it is always a challenge keeping the bugs and critters from destroying our treasured vegetable plants. This spring, it's the slugs. They have turned my Napa cabbages into lace work. I have left them to eat it to the center in hopes that they will leave the rest of my garden alone. So far it's working. LOL
ReplyDeleteOooo everything is looking good! I've never tried straw beds for potatoes! Does it work well? We're trying potato mounds for the first time this year. We're hopeful!
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