A First

While inspecting the garden this morning I discovered the first tomato that had set. So, of course, I had to immediately take some pictures. While loading the pictures into my computer I noticed what might be a second tomato. Went back out to the garden to double check and YES there was a second very little one above the larger one. The weather has been in the nineties and so every thing is growing really well. This particular tomato plant has grown about 8 inches in the last 8 days.

If you enlarge the first photo you can see the small one on the same stem and above to the right with a wilted blossom still hanging below it. What fun to see the progress.

This photo is a close up of the first discovery.

P.S. Haven't found any worms on the broccoli since last week, maybe the egg shells really work.

Made changes and planted more

Lots got done today. Tom got out early and leveled the ground around the strawberry patch so we could put down the weed barrier, but we didn't get to that.

Wasn't careful where I put the broccoli plants, which can get as high as 24 inches, so we decided to undo the domed cover and change it to what is called 'covered wagon'. That meant removing the bird netting and undoing the center tie.

Next Tom then changed the criss cross PVC to two side arches and put a brace across the top. Thus making it look like a covered wagon.

This freed up the corners to make more room for the broccoli to grow (happy day - no worms found today - maybe the egg shells really work). We then spread a new piece of bird netting from back to front. It took awhile to work the net behind the tomato plants and fasten it to the white tape divider and fasten it along the sides. When that was done I tied the tomato plant back to the trellis net. The peas and beans plants beside the tomato plants are not yet big enough to climb the trellis but at least we have it ready so they can.

As an experiment I planted two zucchini seeds and two yellow crook neck squash seeds in two little hills. Quess what, all four seed have sprouted by today. So the birds won't get to the seed pods I made little tents out of mesh fruit bags. Both of these are summer vegetables so it will be interesting to see what happens.



Had a very thorny rose bush at the west end of the grape arbor that Tom seemed to catch his arm on every time he walked by. It was really old and scraggly so out it came. Now we have a nice planting area to put in something that needs a trellis. Probably wait until next spring.

OUR FIRST HARVEST!!! From seed to vegetable. Picked two plump radishes which tasted good in our dinner salad. (Don't forget you can click on the photos to see more detail.)

Took the shade covers off the strawberry patch today. This second planting is looking good. Found a good use for some nice stepping stones that were a gift. (see in the photo)

Waited until late afternoon for some shade and then did some planting. Bought two hot pepper plants and put those in. Then planted the following seeds: short carrots, beets, radishes, spinach, spagetti squash and some soy beans just to see how they do and taste. Those are all the little white stakes. There is one square left which I will plant with more carrots in a couple of weeks.


A very productive day!!!

Tracking progress

It's fun to watch the plants grow. The shade covered lettuce and peppers have reached the bottom of the shades and have been in over a week so we will see how they do today exposed to the sun. I've trimmed off two batches of lettuce so far. In the right photo it shows I've trimmed off the lower leaves of the broccoli so I won''t have so many leaves to check for worms. Only found two yesterday and two today.

On the left is the tomato plant that is really growing. At least two inches higher since Monday. In the lower left of the photo you can see the peas starting to grab hold of the netting. The right photo shows the artichoke putting out new leaves.

The summer squash plants came through the transplanting in good shape and are putting out new growth. No photo but noticed a zuchinni seed that I planted about two weeks ago is poking its head through, also the garlic cloves that were also planted two weeks ago are sending up shoots. In the right photo is a view of the marigolds that are thriving and the new lettuce seeds starting to grow.

Little bit of backyard - Lots of front yard

In about 1/2 hour I had watered, picked off worms, and thinned some of the veggies, then I inspected the tomato plants for progress. Most of them have either blossoms or buds.

Tom made another batch of Mel's mix and he stored it in three large trash barrels to be ready for quick use.

Have been neglecting the front yard, so while Tom was mixing, I spent time cleaning up the flower areas in the patio. Even used the leaf blower to get all the leaves piled for easy collecting. How do you like the beatiful flowers. The flowers are fake (can't get anything to grow in the shade) and the Texas Sage is for real. Even washed down the stucco on the front of the house.

About three p.m. I went out to cut lettuce for our first garden salad. This, of course, is from the transplants (which have grown a lot). Also picked two small bell peppers and chives to put in a stir fry dinner. It was easy to remove the shade covers to be able to snip off the lettuce leaves and then put them back.

This is the final results of my first harvest. Romaine, curly and bibb lettuce, and two small bell peppers and chives. Just thought I'd mention what fun it was to use my mother's old metal colander which is probably as old as I am.

By the way we enjoyed the salad.

Guess this is organic gardening

Have kept the birds out but not the cabbage moths. Noticed the broccoli plants were being eaten up, so I went on the internet and "googled" broccoli and moths. Took a while but finally found some non insecticide methods to control the problem. One was to physically remove the worms that had hatched and the other is shown in the bottom photo. Putting egg shells around the base of the plants is supposed to trick the moths!!!

I did the first method, since I only have four plants. I took a toothpick and flicked the little pests into the plastic cup. Then I tied them into a plastic bag and took them to the trash barrel. Will have to keep doing this until there are no more. Another thing to do is put some kind of fine net (like a bridal veil) over the plants. Will probably make them look like little ghosts in the garden, but it is supposed to keep the moths out.

Fortunately, I had a lot of egg shells in my frig, since I put them back into the carton every time I use an egg. Weird, I know, but it's just a habit of mine. If this works then I'll almost believe anything.

Trellis training

Since the tomato plants won't stop growing I went out Saturday morning and started the trellis training. First thing I had to do is move the bird netting into the dome to release the peas and tomatoes from that covering. Fortunately, I had enough play in the netting that I could twist tie it to the square foot tape along the ground and then to the inside sides. Hope that makes sense. If you enlarge the pictures by clicking on it you can see what I did.

Next thing to do was tie the tomato vines to the trellis net, so I made some strips by cutting up old nylons. Then I gently looped the strips around the main stem and pulled it toward the net. The early girl plant had grown so much that I had to tie it in two places.
















Learned recently that if you cut off the non fruit bearing branches of a tomato plant that more growth will go into producing fruit. So I wouldn't shock the plant too much I just cut off a few that you see on the ground.







Just had to show that the hanging tomato plants are holding their own and even starting to put out buds. Click on the picture to see the tiny bud up close.

My watering technique

Watering a square foot garden is really easy and conserves water since Mel's mix is such that it absorbs as much water as it can hold and the rest runs out the bottom. The roots can then absorb as much water as they need. By keeping the mix just moist the roots never get waterlogged. As the garden gets bigger it will take a little more time and water but right now I can hand water everything that is planted in about 1/2 an hour with 7 gallons of water.

Above, I show my gallon milk jugs lined up along the wall full of water that has been warmed by the sun. "The Book" says plants don't like cold water (just like you wouldn't like an icy shower). My method is to empty one jug into the sprinkling can and carry a second jug to the area I am watering. That way I don't have to make as many trips to the faucet. A 4 by 4 foot square take about 1 1/2 gallons.

I don't even have to remove the bird netting that covers the two domes. Just water right through it and wet the areas where seeds are germinating and where the plants are more mature I am able to water right at the base of the plant. This avoids getting the leaves wet.




Where I have covered the newly planted veggies I can reach under from all sides and water each plant.

All the bottles have been used so I line them up and fill them with the hose and then put them back in the sun to warm up. "The Book" suggests putting a large water filled bucket at each square and then simply dipping a cup in and watering each plant. May try that some day.

Just had to take another picture of the two tomato plants that are doing so well. They both have several blossoms each. Guess I won't be able to wait until next week to change the bird netting but will have to start training the plants up the trellis tomorrow.

Sun protection

Not wanting to lose the veggies I just planted last evening, I got up this morning and made good use of the small auto window screens I found at the Dollar store. This time I had Tom cut the dowels into 12 inch pieces and used more for each screen, in fact I thumb tacked some of them together on one dowel. We have a gentle breeze blowing this morning but hopefully not strong enough to blow the screens over this time.

This is a top view of the sun screen.

Don"t believe I've ever taken a picture of the garlic chives that I planted about three weeks ago. It has really taken off. Next time we have a baked potato and sour cream I'll cut some for added flavor.

Will just be watering for the next few days.

Instant garden

Went out to Summer Winds Nursery today (senior discount on Wed.) to buy some artichoke transplants and the vegetables looked so healthy I decided to do some instant gardening.

The left photo shows me planting bell peppers and several varieties of lettuce transplants. On the right I'm planting some healthy looking strawberries because my first try was on a hot day and a lot of the plants died.

Bought a couple of artichoke starts and Tom reworked our planter boxes under the grape vines and put in Mel's mix. This is where our original artichoke plant was but it gave out.

Here's another view of the lettuce and bell peppers and in the back corner a couple of summer squash plants. Don't know how they will do but I put them back there so I could let them sprawl over the edge of the box. At the right is a much healthier looking strawberry patch.

Thought it would be fun to include a picture of some very large navel oranges on our tree located in the middle of the boxes. Must be almost two dozen on the tree this year.

Checked on the tomato plants and found several more blossoms. There's hope for a good tomato crop this fall.