Succulents update

I moved the majority of my smaller succulents into communal bins, so that they would take up less space than individual pots.

The larger specimens still got to keep their own dwellings, but they all got fresh soil, and some were upgraded to larger pots.

My housemate brought home a tomato plant that is thriving on the deck, as well. We're not sure what type it is because it was a volunteer from a neighbor's yard.

Garden update

I'm excited about the potato plants dying - it means that it's almost time to dog up the spuds!

There have been a couple of attempts at flowers and fruit from the strawberry plants, but not much success yet. I've started giving it small amounts of liquid fertilizer.

The Lily of the Valley plants that have been here for a few years are once again blooming.

The peas had died back after the first harvest of ten or so pods, but now one of the plants is sending up more shoots.

Nothing is happening with the raspberry plants.

The weeds are growing like, well, you know. The foxglove and columbine are dying off. The lupine never grew much, which surprised me since it's a common plant on the nearby hills.

I think it's too hot and early to plant anything right now... Not totally sure though; I'm just an amateur!

Lint roller

I washed the fabric I bought (to pre-shrink it) with my bed sheets, and it all came out covered in pet hair.

So I lint rolled five yards of fabric, front and back.

Next time, I will take the fabric to my parents' house, which is pet-free and equipped with a fancy new washer and drier.

"Machine wash with like colors."

Hmm...

Soil quality

Most of my prefered garden vegetables are fall, winter, and spring crops (spinach, carrots, radishes, scallions). With the intense heat of summer, my gardening tasks have actually decreased. I got a small harvest of shelling peas (delicious!), but the strawberries have barely grown since I planted them months ago. I think the main culprit is the cheap (in both price and quality) soil I bought. With the quantity that I needed to fill up all my containers, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm (wait for it) paying the price. The "soil" is mostly tiny woodchips.

The carrots did not like it either.
On the bright side, the worms have been very busy eating up everything I put into into their original bin, and it's almost all completely broken down into rich castings. They've also been busy multiplying, so I had plenty of worms to move to a second bin and start the process over. Come fall, I will mix the finished worm castings with some of the woodchippy "soil" and some higher quality new soil, and my next batch of crops should be much happier.

Quick garden update: flowers blooming

The foxglove is looking beautiful! Aphids are landing on it here and there, but I check daily and crush any trespassers between my fingers.

Beautiful bell.

Also, some weird-looking bug that sat there for a few days.

Forget-Me-Nots growing through the vegetable pen.

And speaking of veggies, the potato plants are growing sizable, which makes me so happy.

And I'll be eating fresh peas soon!

The dahlia plants are growing but not producing any buds. I don't know if I'll see anything from them this year. Darn.

Monthly garden update

I came back from a two week vacation to find most of my garden doing quite well. We had a lot of rain (5 inches in 2 days!) while I was gone. That has been followed by lots of sunshine and warm days. The plants are happy!

 

Foxglove reaching up for the sky!

First columbine flower!

Dill also reaching up for the sky! This thing might end up going to seed soon. I can't keep up. Also aphids are eating the top fronds.

 

Potatoes!

 

Radishes! The back row was ready for harvesting!

They didn't grow as large as advertised on the package, but they've been in the soil for 2.5 months, and were supposed to be ready to harvest after 3-4 weeks. I suspect that the cheap soil I bought isn't providing enough nutrients for the veggies/fruits, as the carrots, scallions, and strawberries are also growing very very slowly. I should add some compost or liquid fertilizer. Not much to lose at this point, if I mess up.

I ate the radishes with some sandwiches. They tasted just like radishes. I'm not actually a big fan so this wasn't as exciting an experience as eating my homegrown spinach and peas.

The spinach plants are not happy. The outer leaves are yellow and the inner leaves are stunted. Some of them are starting to bolt. I guess spinach season is over for the year. :(