Garden Progress Journal - 6/2/11

Can you believe half the year has gone by already? What the heck is that all about??? Geez.

I haven't done a garden update in a while. Here's what's going on in my back yard.

We had a playdate and while the grown-ups were inside chatting, Bubba and his buddy decided to dig up a couple aloe vera plants and have a dirt fight. You should have seen how dirty they were! It was kind of funny, actually. Luckily it was just aloe which is very sturdy and not something I really cared about like the strawberries or thyme.

I made a little wall from some cinderblocks and used it to hold my potted plants. They were looking kind of rough being in the direct sunlight all day. Here they get sun in the morning and early afternoon, then shade during the hottest part of the day. It seems to be working for them.

The zinnia plants are starting to gain some height. I wonder how long until they have flowers?

Check it out - I'm growing a tumbleweed. HA! It even comes with it's own critter. Yay - not.

The arugula has gone crazy and is getting ready to bolt. I think it may only have a day or two left and no way I can eat that much salad. If you're local, can stop by tomorrow, and want some free arugula, send me an email. I hate to see it all go to waste.

Here's the other side of the bed. The marigolds are doing nicely. I dug a few up and potted them. There's one on the garden cart in the first photo with my succulents, one in a pot with the herbs, and a couple in a pot in the tomato bed. I can see why bugs don't like these things - they freaking smell NASTY!!!

I will say though, it pleased me very much when we went peach and veggie picking to see rows of these in the fields. They must really work.

Behind the marigolds, under the zucchini plants, there are carrots.

The freaking pumpkins. They're going to take over the yard by the end of summer!!! I can't believe how long the arms of the plants are. Those little tendrils that I thought were so cute a few weeks ago are now a thorn in my side. They grab onto everything - other plants, the bougainvillea, each other - and hold on tight. It's amazing how tightly and thoroughly they manage to wind themselves around stuff. I have spent a lot of time very carefully unwinding them from things so I can spread out the vines so they don't choke each other off.

It's starting to get blossoms, but only female ones so far. I have found one baby pumpkin at the end of the longest vine but it has not blossomed yet.

The potager. I love how neat and tidy it looks. The sunflowers are getting some height, which is nice. The cilantro has sprouted little flowers, which is odd to me because they're not very big. I've bought cilantro at the grocery store all my life so I know how long they should be and they're maybe half that. I need to Google and see if I can still use it or if it's like the arugula and unusable once it's bolted. That would be sad.

The other night I wanted some oven roasted potatoes but didn't feel like running to the store for rosemary. Then I remembered - I have some in the back yard! It was so cool to be able to just go out there and snip a little off my plant. Love it.

The tomatoes got a shade cloth a couple of weeks ago. It's so freaking hot here already. I hate it! We bent some PVC pipe over the bed and secured them by sliding them over short rebar stakes in the ground. A piece of shade cloth from the hardware store and some binder clips to hold it all together...

...and we have tomatoes!!! I was so freaking excited when I made this discovery, I may have done a little happy dance right there on the stepping stones. Only the Romas have fruit at this point in time, but the heirlooms are starting to blossom too. These are, I think, the most expensive freaking tomatoes in the history of mankind. Anyone who tells you that you can save money by growing your own is a giant freaking liar. I haven't even bought them cages yet!!!

At least I know that they are truly organic and I have the satisfaction of saying that I grew them myself. That counts for a lot in my book. :)