I've just spent the last 3 hours outside in the gardens. I got up promptly at 6am because Lyrikah spent the night and I wanted to get my work done before she woke up. And thankfully, the plan worked. I even have time to spare to blog this morning!!
My vegetable garden is looking good. Everything seems to be staying alive and I have very little weeds so far. If you recall, I used the method taught me by Wes as Marvin's Organic Gardens in Lebanon, Ohio: raised beds - 8" of compost - 10 pages thick of newspapers - topped with cold compost (grass clippings and chopped leaves mixed).
When I planted I made cuts and holes the size of the plant. Now I'm wondering if that was a big enough slice in the paper. I am going to email Wes and ask him. Here's what I see happening, the tomato plants are getting fruit, but they are not growing very much, not getting much taller. A few other of my plants are doing the same thing. Now, some are not - like my beans are going crazy, peas are coming up and growing, Okra is booming, eggplant is too. But tomatoes, some herbs, greens (chard, kale) and pepper plants don't seem to be thickening in stalk and growing very tall. It's only been a few weeks, but I would have expected to see some growth.
In the front, I have a flower bed under my living room windows. It's a nice size and the guy that sold us the house planted some small bushes there. They are actually pretty nice, keep their shape and are very green. So, in front of them every year I plant some annuals. I've tried impatiens, marigolds and none have done so great - so this morning, I got up, weeded the bed, turned over the dirt, and planted zinnias and wave petunias. I picked white, yellow, orange and lavender zinnias and filled in with purple petunias. I hope they flourish out there.
We think that this is the last year for this bed as is. Next year, we are considering making a kidney shaped raised bed in the front yard further out near the street. I'll get top soil and compost brought in once I know the shape and size. Then we'll transplant those bushes, hoping to get a good transplant. In between the bushes, I'm planning on flowering perennials. Some very colorful with large flowers. I'm going to try to plan it so we have flowers all growing season from different plants. This will be a fun project for sure!
Hubby will fill the bed with tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths bulbs for early blooms. He loves bulbs!! Then he will consider summer bulbs, but he has to investigate more. Since he's lived in California most of his adult life, he is used to being able to leave the bulbs in the ground. Here in the midwest, you have to pull them up in the fall and store them in a cool, dry place - basement. Then replant them in the spring. This is primarily why I never bothered with gladiolas and the like. Too much work!! But, we'll see what he decides. He may convert to perennials!!
I still have 3 flower beds to weed, but it's getting ready to rain and Lyrikah will surely wake up soon. So, for today, 3 hrs in the garden is probably enough for me.
"...And in the end... The love you take is equal to the love you make."---The Beatles
Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts
