2017 garden

My mom is having the same problem....an entire package of seeds and only ONE sprouted. Not doing as well as the single plant she bought but neither is growing very much.

My zucchini is finally growing like it should. Tiny flowers on my sweet pepper plants. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts growing well so far.

Somebody tore apart my anti-critter garden spinners--again. A neighbor mom turned in earlier this week for letting her grandkids mess around with a 90 year old neighbors large birdfeeder threatened both of us with "and this had better not to go the office either" and when I asked "or what?"....."You'll find out." B_tch! Of course the threat went straight to the office and at his request to the police.

Ugh... Ugly people.

My tomatoes, peppers, beans, and potatoes are all doing great. I see little tomatoes on the plants now. They should be ready by July. I am SO ready for fresh tomatoes.

What nasty people. Glad the garden is doing well.

So far it is....I even have a tiny rhubarb plant coming up from last years pot.  I thought it had died.  Pepper plants have open flowers now and moms tomatoes do too.  Zucchini is growing visibly bigger by the day.  Didn't realize Brussels sprout plant leaves were so big, they're even bigger than the ones on the broccoli plants.  I need to plant more spinach since the first batch is nearly done producing.

I'm sure there will be more flack from the b_tch when she finds out we did go to the office and the police. No police report....yet. I also reported it to the building managers boss so he knows what's going on around here. They are going to learn like several of my bosses in the past did: I don't take to threats.

My spinach is nearly done producing so I guess it's time to plant some more seeds. More of my pepper plants have open flowers on them now.

anybody got any catnip seeds to spare?

None yet. My plant is starting to flower. i'll keep an eye on it. Maybe I can collect some seeds.

I have miracle sugar snap peas. The temps have been in the 90s with good summer humidity. Usually peas give it up in this kind of weather. Mine are popping lots of flowers and pea pods. I think it's great. I use them as snacks when I'm playing in the garden.

I had to pull up the lettuce and arugula. They were starting to bolt and get bitter. Oh well. On to summer veg!

I actually found catnip seeds at Walmart of all places! It was tucked in with the herb seed section. That's what is doing so well in the big plant pot by my front window. I get morning sun so it's doing well. Not going to seed yet.

Raining like gangbusters as I type this, hope the predicted hail doesn't show up. All of my pepper plants now have flowers, half are open. Spinach is about done, will plant some more seeds. Lettuce never did come up. Zucchini growing by leaps and bounds now, no flowers yet.

Something is eating little holes in my Brussels sprouts and regular broccoli plants. Suggestions? I want to get rid of whatever is eating those plants but not hurt our little pollinators or the nearby spinach and zucchini. I've been snacking on the spinach as I weed the plot, just rinse it off with the hose and eat it. Can't get any fresher than that!

On the Brussels sprouts no. They can have mys share anyway.

Mine too!

My tomato plants are setting fruit, but some seem to have some kind of yucky stuff on the lower leaves. I'm not sure if it's blight or something else. I have them mulched pretty well, so I thought blight wouldn't be a problem. Hoping I can stop it in its tracks.

Mom has several tomatoes growing in her garden. I have two tiny zucchini growing in my patch so far, along with a pea sized head of broccoli. I took a pic of it. ALL the pepper plants have flowers now, several of the Italian broccoli have flowers too. My carrots are about 4" long and I took a pic before I ate them tops and all. The tops taste like a cross between carrot and celery, would be better cooked lightly though.
I also have a tiny apple orchard growing in two egg cartons. The entire batch of apples I bought last week at Walmart had the seeds sprouting in them though the rest of the apple was still good. So I planted them. So far so good.

Becky, if I sent those pics would you post them in here for me?

Sure.

I have loads of green tomatoes on the plants, a few peppers getting bigger, and potato plants looking promising. The bean plants are doing well, and should be happier now that I've pulled the pea plants out of their bed and they can spread their roots a bit more. And... my fig tree is making lots of figs. YUM! The one I thought died last year has a baby sprouting from the roots. I don't think it will do anything this year, but it's a good sign that it came back. It's growing like crazy in the warm weather. Leaves look good.

Oooo, what does a fig tree look like? Pics please!

Pics of my windowsill apple orchard, carrots, broccoli, and zucchini sent! The broccoli head has grown nearly double in size in only 2 days! My hand is in the broccoli and zucchini pic for size comparison. I have small/medium hands BTW.

The rhubarb I thought had died has come back to life. Teeny tiny leaves are now just above the ground in their pots. No harvesting that this year either.

It will be a few days until I can get them posted. Super busy weekend! I got them, and the garden looks great.

I can still send you a shot of my entire garden patch. It's only 4'x8' (outside dimensions) but I have a LOT in there!

Posting for Fiff. Her gorgeous garden.

That is gorgeous.

That's how big my carrots are now. Twice the size they were only two weeks ago. Second pic: the zucchini end of the patch (at the left edge of the pic are 4 pots with Italian broccoli in it). Third pic: the carrots, spinach (going to seed--planted new seeds next to each row), and Italian broccoli. In the wire cages: red, orange, yellow, and green bell peppers with lettuce just starting to come up between them. Between the two tall trellis': Brussels sprouts and regular broccoli. Beyond that is the zucchini and the plant pots.

I never knew regular broccoli had such big leaves! They're even bigger than the leaves on the Brussels sprouts and zucchini!

The tiny pots you see in the far background are in front of my mom's livingroom window. She has two kinds of lettuce, cat grass, radishes, and an iris plant in them.

Becky, did you get the pics of my windowsill orchard?

I think so. Let me check again.

My friend's garden went bonkers. She has hundreds of pounds of cucumbers all ready at once, and blooming to produce more. She gave me about 20 pounds yesterday. OMG! I am giving everyone cukes. I have a recipe for good salad, and sliced one up, added mint and sliced lemon to a gallon of water to have refreshing drinks for later. It is amazingly good.

Her garden also has LOTS of white potatoes. I got about 20 pounds of those. I have a storage plan for them, so I hope I have some put up for later. I don't do anything special to preserve them besides have a bucket with sand in it. I tuck them into the sand and keep them in a cool place. The sand seems to help preserve them longer than just sitting out. I didn't know that the store potatoes that seem to last forever are sprayed with a preservative.

My garden is getting ready to give me tomatoes and peppers. I had the first tomato on Thursday, but the rest are taking their time. I planted slower ripening ones this year. Need to remember to get some quicker ones for next year. I want my BLTs.

Too bad you don't can. I wonder if you there is such a thing as refrigrator pickles.

There are! I'm making some today. They don't last as long as canned, but will extend the pickles I haven't snarfed down as salad.

My poor tomatoes have a small case of blight. I found a spray I can make that might help. Main ingredients are baking soda and Castile soap, so it isn't bad to eat stuff that's been sprayed. One of the plants has blossom end rot, but I think that's something wrong with the particular plant since all the other plants are fine with their fruits. I'm not going to take the plant out yet. I might get a few good fruits off it, but since that problem usually is a sign of calcium absorption and not a disease, I'm not worried about other plants getting it.

That's too bad about the tomatoes. Let me have the recipe for the cucumber salad.

It'll all work out. The plants already look better, and the fruits are doing well. Just trying to save the leaves.

Cucumber salad
1 pound peeled & thinly sliced cucumbers. (I like to take the seeds out too.)
1/2 small thinly sliced red onion
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 sugar
pinch salt

Salt the cucumbers and put in a sieve for 10 minutes to drain.
Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt in a pan and heat until sugar is dissolved.
Pat cucumbers dry, add all ingredients to the warm dressing. Put in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Serve with crushed peanuts sprinkled on top.

Thanks. I'm going to try it for the Lair.