Garden update end of July

I trimmed a sucker off one of my tomato plants then put it in a bucket of water for about 2 weeks.  These are the roots that developed.  I planted the rooted sucker in the pot shown below - it'll be interesting to see if it produces any tomatoes.

See the zucchini hidden in the center of the photo above?  It's round shape is quite unique.  The zucchini is shown below with 3 cucumbers.  Perhaps I should have let the zucchini grow larger before harvesting it.

The sweet peas are finally blossoming and are mixing nicely with the climbing nasturtiums.  Nasturtiums are easy to grow from seed but they sure attract the aphids.  I'll have to think about whether I want to plant them next year.

This borage plant growing in the pot really attracts the bees.

There is a huge hollyhock at the back of the vegetable garden.  As you can see it also is a bee magnet.

Sweet Alyssum is my favourite flower for the veggie garden.  These were started inside are are the result of only one plug in the seed tray.  Allysum requires very little water and blooms all summer.  It's fragrant and attracts beneficial insects.

This is a ladybug on a giant pumpkin leaf.  At least the aphids on the nasturtiums attract the ladybugs.

Potato harvest

Today I harvested the first half of the potatoes. I was quite pleased with the result, which was much better than last year. I think the variety, using bagged compost, fertilizing, and regular watering all helped. I've got the potatoes drying on a bed of newspaper in the workshop where it's dark and cool.

July update

The weather's great right now. The hollyhock, clematis, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes are all blooming. Today I pruned the tomatoes, getting rid of some of the suckers and lower branches. Hopefully more of the tomato plants energy will go into producing fruit. You can see tomatoes beginning to form in a few places.

Earthbox update

The combination of snap peas and tomatoes seems to be working well in the Earthbox. The peas have climbed up the tomato trellis and are now producing. The tomatoes, planted later, are showing their first blossoms. In some places the peas have attached to the tomatoes for support. The chives just keep on coming back year after year. I'm impressed by the Earthbox system. Having a large self watering container gives you a lot of options and requires little maintenance. I really like the wheels, which make it easy to move the planter under cover in poor weather.

Planting out basil

I started these basil transplants from seed April 22nd and today I decided they were big enough and the temperatures warm enough for them to be planted outside. I scattered them throughout the garden trying to find places where they might do well. Originally I planted the seeds in a 6 pack with 5 or 6 seeds to a cell. I made a point of separating the plants when transplanting. It'll be interesting to see if the plants can recover from the shock of such harsh treatment.

Planting cucumbers in a square foot garden

These are four cucumber plants grown from seed.  Hopefully they'll like climbing up the large tomato cage.  I've added some stakes and wrapped remay cloth around the plants to protect them while they're getting established.

Planting tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets

Yes there really are tomatoes under the red plastic

Rain is coming so the bags are closed at the top

The driveway can get quite a bit of sun

See the little tomato at the bottom?

This is a self-watering planter, big enough for 2 tomatoes

Remay cloth keeps the tomatoes cosy in the self-watering planter

I'm trying a number of different things here.  I've got 6 different tomato varieties growing, most from seeds purchased from the "Rusted Garden".  There are large saucers at the bottom of the 5 gallon buckets.  These will be kept with water in them so that the soil can wick it up and remain moist.  (I drilled lots of holes in the bottom of the buckets.) The perforated red plastic is designed to keep rain off the plants and to provide an optimal light spectrum.  In each container the soil is covered with cedar mulch to act as a barrier, preventing any spores in the soil that might cause early blight from reaching the plants.

Planting tomatoes in a square foot garden

Patio tomato bag planted using a Grow Pot

More bag planting

Two tomato plants fit nicely

Protected from the spring rains

Recently I planted two tomatoes in a square foot garden.  I used the bag planting technique so that the tomatoes would be protected from any diseases existing in the soil.  Locally we get a lot of rain so it's important to provide shelter for the tomatoes or they may get the early blight.  There is still room in the square foot garden for some swiss chard and dill.

Planting potatoes

Picked an early potato, "Satina", in hopes it will produce in our mild, sometimes damp climate. Chitted the potatoes on a windowsill for about 2 weeks, then planted them. Probably planted them to late - May 1st. Filled containers with 4-5 inches of sheep manure and mixed in some all-purpose fertilizer. Placed the potatoes, then covered with 2-3 more inches of sheep manure and watered. I will hill up the potatoes when the shoots have shown quite a bit of growth.

Next stage in protection

Eventually cloches will become too small or the temperature too warm. A next step in protection is to use open topped cloches. These can be made of old plastic pots with the bottoms cut out. If temperatures turn cold again crop cloth can be draped over the tops.

Early season crop protection

A variety of cloches and wire mesh/crop cloth can be used to protect early season veggies from cold, rain, and pests. Pop bottle cloches work well. Peas wrapped with wire mesh then covered with crop cloth seem to like the protected environment. A simple cold frame made with an old window keeps greens sheltered. The goal is to help the fragile seedlings get established. Early in the year starting seedlings indoors seems to work best.