Time for an update!
We've had a great run of nice weather for a few days, and I was finally able to play in the dirt! Someone threw the switch and it's summer here.
All the tomatoes are finally tucked away, except for the Garden Gem on the deck. Whiteflies have discovered it, so it will get a couple of Neem treatments before it joins the others. I still need to locate cages for the last 3 tomatoes. Sigh. Every year I say I will grow fewer plants and I still have 9 plants. Still, that's down from the even dozen I
wanted to grow last year. I found a Paul Robeson at the Herb Faire (YAY...my all time fav slicer) and picked up a "Juliette" last Thursday as a backup saladette, just in case the Garden Gem doesn't make it. I took some suckers to root, just to be on the safe side.
Here's the side with most of the tomatoes.......
I ran out of dirt after getting the Aleppos and the Piment d'Espelette in the ground. When I figure out how much more I will need for the rest of the peppers, cukes and herbs, those Christmas gift cards will be put to good use. And, here's the side with most of the peppers....
Last Thursday a girlfriend, my sister, and I made a day of it visiting 7 greenhouses in Amish country. I swear your dollar will go three times as far there and get you healthier plants, to boot! My purchases included the balance of the herbs I was looking for, along with some experimental perennials. Experimenting whether or not the deer will eat them! They include a pretty pink Astilbe, and red and blue salvias and some Monarda (bee balm) for the hummers.
Then, yesterday, a garden friend and neighbor calls and says, "Do you need any tomato cages? I have four tall folding cages and two short ones." Talk about timing! The tall cages complete the tomatoes and I'll use the shorter ones on the eggplants, which I ended up buying Thursday, as my Amadeo never popped. Until this morning. Now I have 7 eggplant plants. And, fortunately, a nephew who is a vegetarian and getting all my extra peppers and tomatoes, too. Am I the only one who has a problem culling?
Fast forward to today, Tuesday, and I've gone through 2 more bales of growing medium, and all the peppers, except two, are planted, but their pots have been filled. They are the NuMex Sauve Orange pepper plants I started last year and I found whiteflies on them, too, so they, also, are in quarantine. Most of the herbs are still waiting for dirt and I still need to put some support in those last peppers planted. The crucifix-looking trellis I cobbled together just isn't going to cut it. The pole beans are in, but I need to wait to get the cucumbers planted. The gas company decided they need to replace the wifi transmitter on our meter and guess where it is. Yep.
Right behind the cucumbers. Fortunately, it's fairly low to the ground, so if I need to cut the deer fence, it can be easily, and discretely, repaired.
Ready for a tour?