Starting Seeds

Better late than never...
The starting of tomatoes and peppers.
14 varieties of tomatoes
6 varieties of peppers
I also direct seeded 16 ft. of pea pods
 

Need help with sick tomatoes

I picked 53 pounds of tomatoes today.  Sounds great, right?  Wrong....  26 pounds of those tomatoes are bad, and I don't know why.  I need the help of my fellow gardeners.  This is a sample of what I am consistently finding.  They are all my Roma tomatoes only and in one particular bed that is not part of my regular garden.  This bed has not been planted with tomatoes previously and is a relatively new bed that has not had the benefit of compost like the beds in my garden.  I know that there is a deficiency in the soil because I have seen a few fruits with blossom end rot as well.  Weird thing is that someof the tomatoes are fine and can be right next to an infected bunch.

 It starts with just a small spot on the skin that spreads... 

Then a fungus type of growth starts.  If there was even a small spot starting on the fruit, I got rid of it.  I didn't want to take a chance. 

 If this is something that I can fix this year, I would like to do that.  I do try to use organic practices for fertilization and control of pests.  I would appreciate any help that you all can give!

Reclaiming the garden

We had a beautiful weekend, and I was able to get a lot of work done in the vegetable garden.  A busy work season, combined with busy kid's activities, and the horrible biting gnats had made it a challenge to get outdoors.  Weeds were the prevailing crop, but I was determined to regain control.  With the help of my dear husband, we got the garden back to where we could feel proud of our accomplishment....as well as tell that veggies were being grown there!  There were a few things that I had not gotten in the ground yet, so I was able to get that done.  I planted eight okra plants, one hill of crookneck yellow squash from my aunt in Alabama (I love heirlooms....especially ones from my own family!) and a hill of zucchini.  I still need to plant cucumbers, beans, and black eyed peas.  It is getting late, but better late than never!

On the left is some of my volunteer dill that I have let grow. Dill is one of those plants that if you don't keep ahead of it, it becomes invasive. I don't think I have ever seen it labeled as such, but my garden in spring is proof of the fact. On the right is my sage. I severely cut it back in the spring since it was becoming very woody, and it came back very nicely.

Another view of the veggie garden. I planted seeds for more Bachelor Buttons, Zinnas, Sweet William, Stock and Wildflower mix along the right side of the fence. A couple of my poppies have come back this year which made me happy. I thought that they had died out. I would like to also get some Larkspur growing there again. I love flowers mixed in the garden. 

My stand of Roma tomatoes.  Far from the regular garden.  Hoping to have our strawberry patch in here next year.

A Roma tomato in the making....

Some funky fungi that I found while weeding.  A lot of different shelf type fungi seem to grow on the wood of the raised beds, but this was something I had not seen before.  While I was weeding, I encountered lots of different spiders, centipede looking creatures that were quick to get back underground when disturbed, and found that lightning bugs seemed to like my beet bed.  The rabbits must like beets too.  Many of my plants had the green tops munched off. 

Some sort of weed.  The flower was pretty though.  I have never seen it before.

Red raspberries.  There do not seem to be nearly the bees around them this year.  I have seen more wasps than anything.  I don't think I have seen a single honeybee.

I have no idea what this is.  Some sort of dried fungus from last year?  Nest from some sort of insect?



Mid-May frost??

The forecast tonight is for clear skies and a low of 35* with patchy frost.  Our average last frost is usually the end of April and planting tomatoes after Mother's Day is generally safe.  Key words here....average, usually, and generally.  I cannot remember ever having to cover my tomato plants in all the years I have been gardening.  Today will be a first.  All of those milk jugs that I have saved and cut the bottoms out of and stacked...okay, so some weren't stacked so nicely....in my potting shed are being put to use.  I hope that it works!  I kind of wonder if it didn't get a bit chilly last night because the leaves on the tomatoes were a bit spotty today.  Almost as if they had been wind burned although they have been hardened off and out in the sun for awhile.  We have had some pretty fierce and chilly winds though....more like March.

 It rained steadily all weekend, so I wasn't able to plant my marigolds around my tomatoes.  The bunnies seem to find them tasty though.  It isn't very well seen in this picture, but my husband has brought out the fake owl.  I have some extra plants of the Roma tomatoes that I can replace with, but hate for them just to become an extra snack.  Cat hair and cayenne pepper are coming out soon...

 My other tomato beds.  These two raised beds are outside my main garden as well.  Anyone that feels insecure about posting pics with weeds?  Feel insecure no more...I have weeds for all!  We haven't gotten around to papering and strawing our pathways this year....and it shows.  Oh well, if I had a perfect garden, something else in my life would have to give.  It's all about balance, right?  :)



MORE tomatoes.....

Well, I have created a record in our house for tomato planting.  I have successfully planted 48 tomato plants.  Yes, you read that right...48!  I am hoping for some great canned tomatoes, salsa, and sauces this fall.  I may be cursing myself for doing so by fall...forget may be, make that WILL be....but they will sure taste good this winter.
We are getting a nice steady shower today that will get them well watered in and off to a good start.
Bill bought some marigolds for me to plant around them.  I like to companion plant as much as possible, but the marigolds also lend some color to an otherwise green only color scheme as well as being a deterrent to nematodes and other pests.  I would also like to plant some basil in with them.  It reportedly improves the growth and flavor of the tomatoes.

Tomato planting and miscellaneous

Getting ready to plant Roma tomatoes.  This bed was originally placed here for strawberries that we were going to transplant from our garden.  Needless to say, a virus killed our strawberries, and we haven't gotten around to planting strawberries here yet.  This year it will house my Roma tomatoes.  I love that part of my gardening is encroaching on my husband's "Man Cave".  The attached patio was my addition to it also when he built it.  I make sure that it gets flowered up well in the summer.  :)

Getting ready to plant...One tomato plant raised from seed.  They were in need of another "potting up", but it was close to planting time, that I chose to let it be.  When planting tomatoes, I always plant them deeper than where they were before.  Tomatoes grow roots from their stems when they come in contact with the dirt.

Here is the same plant on the left that I have removed the lower leaves from and placed deep in the ground.

The end result....a shorter looking version of the same plant that will be stronger in the end.

This baby bird just about met the end of his life from my shoe....I saw him open his beak wide just before I stepped on him.  I haven't seen him since. 

The end result.  Our beagle decided to run through the bed as I was planting, so I brought out the cages. 

Now a bit of miscellaneous around the yard and garden....

Rescued volunteer Johnny Jump Ups.  I had started some of these from seed last year and they have reseeded themselves into the yard.  Bill started seeing them and transplanting them into a container for me to use this year.  The picture on the right is yet another sprout in the yard waiting to be rescued.  I am all about free flowers!  :)

We have two apple trees, a Wolf River and a Honeycrisp.  The last two years we have gotten one apple on the Wolf River only.  This year we had lots of blooms and a closer look shows apples coming!  Now to read up on how to control pests without having to use pesticides....

Our peach trees were also full of blooms and starting to produce mini peaches complete with fuzz.

Yet another first...I bought this pink peony plant from a friend's plant sale last year.  Very small and no blooms last year.  This year it looks fantastic and lots of buds.  I can't wait to see it in full bloom.  The blooms are complete with ants.  :)

One of the many iris groups that I have that is getting ready to bloom.

I have no idea what these flowers are.  I am thinking some sort of a Narcissus.  When my grandma in Alabama passed away, my husband dug up some of them that seemed to almost be growing wild on her property.  I now call them "Mama Tate flowers".  I think of her every time that I see them. 

Our dwarf cherry tree is also producing well this year.  Lots of baby cherries.  I'm sure that the birds are just waiting for them to turn red so they can feast on them.  I hope to beat them this year.

My husband's favorite flowers....Lily of the Valley.  They are growing wild in a hosta bed that I have around one of our trees.  I cannot pull them up.

And last but not least....my trusty gardening gloves.  I have had many garden gloves through the years, but not of them could hold a candle to these.  My daughter's gave them to me as a gift...I think they came from Wal Mart.  They are great!  I pruned raspberries with them without a single thorn poke or scratch.  My arms and legs did not fare as well.  I have thrown them in the wash, and they come out ready for more.

Happy Gardening!