Wednesday, August 13, 2014

What's Growing Finally!



I FINALLY have a sweet pepper growing! YAY!


Look how nice my kale is now that the rabbit is gone!


Ground cherries are growing like crazy! 


Holy crap! I finally got a female squash flower! WOOHOO!!!! I can't wait! There were male flowers blooming today also thank god! Now let's hope nobody eats it before it can grow!


Belamcanda flava 'Hello Yellow". Finally caught it in bloom! I kept missing its blooms only to find shriveled up flowers daily!


Gotta love scrub pants! Built in scissor holders for tieing up my tomatoes! :D 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Underwatering Peppers & Neem Tree Seedlings



I walked out the other day and saw my whole tray of hot pepper seedlings looking like these two! I immediately let them soak in the dog pool and promptly forgot about them! O_O I rescued them this morning only for it to rain all day! The stalks seem ok, but I did this to another seedling earlier this year and it still has not leafed out yet. I'm hoping these guys will survive as they are the only ones I have left since I was stupid enough to not label the others and now have them all mixed up! I gave two to my BIL b/c I had no idea what they were anymore. I just promised him that they would be hot :)


My baby Neem trees are getting bigger! Some have gotten their first leaves! One of them is a twin! I am having pretty good germination rate so far. I got 25 seeds! 

Monday, August 11, 2014

Journaling, Squash, Kale, Tomatoes, Springtime Nursery

I was looking back at my blog last night as I saw a new tomato had ripened up to see what it was that I had planted (Pineapple). I have been really bad at documenting this stuff on here! Luckily I did write a few notes to myself on my phone! I need to do better. Better labeling and better journaling!

So yesterday, I went outside to check on the squash....looks like both my acorn squash withered away. Guess I won't have any acorn squash this year! My baby watermelon has now disappeared also. It was about the size of a pea. There is absolutely no signs of any squash whatsoever! My kale is doing well now that the rabbit is dead. If I didn't mention how the rabbit died....apparently a neighborhood cat dismantled it while I was at work. I came home to the dog going nuts around the yard sniffing its tracks out. When I went to investigate, I found a baby still in its sac, a large intestine, small intestine, liver and a scalped and gutted rabbit all in separate areas!

So it turns out my volunteer tomatoes (at least one of them) is Red Currant! Gotta love those heirloom tomatoes!

The other thing I need to do is space out my plantings some more. It is so deceiving in the spring when your plants are little to judge how big they are going to get. Next year, I also have to rotate things around now that I have the space to do so! They always say to not plant tomatoes in the same spot each year. I haven't had an issue, but why chance it when I can rotate?

I think I forgot to mention Springtime...the nursery. Back in May, I had ordered $100+ worth of Hakone grass. It took them a month and half to inform me that they were out of stock! Seriously? I really needed them too...now my project is at a stand still! Humph! I've been keeping my eye out at garden centers and nurseries and no one seem to carry any either? Guess I will have to look for it again next year with the same vendor. I'm not usually a fan of mass plantings, although it does have a dramatic effect, I just like too many different types of plants to do such a thing. :)

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Garden Writers’ Association

Waking up at 6am on a Sunday morning is not my idea of fun. However, when I was asked by Phipps to volunteer from 8-11am when the Garden Writers' Association came to visit I jumped at the chance. Did I regret it this morning when my alarm went off? HELL YEAH! But it was so nice to meet all different people from all over! I got to meet the owners of Brent and Becky's Bulbs and Terra Nova Nurseries from Oregon who gave me an amazing catalog that I had to give to someone at Phipps, but before that happened, I had to ogle the eye candy within those pages! Can we say drool worthy??? I also had a nice chat with a man named Mort from Rhode Island. He does garden videos!

So the point of this post....Someone asked whether I was also a garden writer. The answer was no, I was not. However, then I was asked if I blogged. Why yes I do! But...not really! Why? Because this blog has always been my journal. I am inept at keeping a hard copy journal in today's world. I want to write in it when I want to and usually I am on the run. Also, this way, I don't have to find space for a journal and all the clippings I might put into it! Take a pic, BLOG! I never did think of this as "garden writing", but I guess it is in a way!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

No Squash + No Heat = Odd, But Beautiful Summer

It's been a very odd summer. Not that I am complaining since it hasn't been very humid! I have even seen blue skies more often this summer!

Although I still have yet to see a winter squash grow in my squash patch. I see lots of blooms, but no female flowers to be pollinated with. I have, however, harvested a bunch of hot peppers and continue to do so, but I am getting close to the end of my harvest as it has been so cool that the plants aren't flowering much.

The tomatoes are doing well with the exception of the fact that even though my soil tested high for calcium, I am getting blossom end rot! So I have had to pick those off to give the others a better chance. I've added some generic Tums to the soil. That has always worked for me so I guess I should never be with out! I even added ground up egg shells, but I guess that isn't in a usable form yet unlike the generic Tums. I've learned my lesson and will never be without that with my tomatoes!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Best Thing About Gardening...



Neem tree seeds sprouting!


Dyakia in bloom! Opened up yesterday!