Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Gardening Update – May 4, 2010

The lovely weather recently, coupled with the obvious impatience of the cucumber plants to be planted in their final containers, has gotten me and PWM outdoors to do some gardening.

I planted Cucumber Diva and Cucumber Sweet from Park Seed this year.  Both types were growing in the fiber pots (remember, we’re saving those peat bogs!!) like gangbusters.  I didn’t really want to plant them outdoors quite yet because it still gets a little chilly, but they gave us no choice.

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We actually purchased two of the commercial Topsy Turvy planters this year since last year’s upside down growing experiment could have been more successful.  We decided to plant one Cucumber Diva in the Topsy Turvy and then one of each type of cucumber (one Diva and one Sweet) in ice cream buckets.  We chose ice cream buckets instead of the 5 gallon buckets that we used last year because they are smaller and we’ve seen yards where others are successfully growing plants in them.  We also used the Topsy Turvy planters to guide us to make some other changes, like making drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket and making a large watering hole in the top.

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PWM putting the potting soil in the bag.

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PWM watering the cucumber plant.

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A gratuitous picture of PWM – isn’t he handsome!!

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Yet another gratuitous picture of PWM.

 

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PWM getting the ice cream bucket ready to be a cuke-growing receptacle.

 

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Our cucumber growing set-up!  

Inside the house, I have the tomatoes and all the other seeds growing except for the oregano (it’s too early), the pink petunias (I just got them today), and the things that will be sown directly into the ground. 

I think we will plan to sow the carrot and green bean seeds either right before or right after my trip to Florida.  Yesterday, Wild Man and I weeded the second SFG (square-foot garden) bed and today I turned over the dirt very well (and, carefully, around the strawberries).  The last frost date for this area is the middle of May, so next week would really be the earliest for the green beans and carrots, I think.  I kind of wish we had decided to grow onions.  If PWM and I do a box in his mother’s yard next door, I’d like to do it this fall and start some garlic.  So, lots of thoughts.

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Rosie Girl’s raspberries are growing like there’s no tomorrow – they really are weeds around here.  In fact, we have to pull the now growth that comes up outside the box.  She says that we can expect berries this year on last year’s wood and that the bush will continue to spread to fill the box.  I’m taking her word for it – this is her project!!

That’s our gardening for this year so far.  So, what are you up to?  Post a comment or a link!!

1 comment:

Kimberly said...

Yea, yea, yea!!!! You guys are officially gardener converts!!!! :) It makes me happy! I remember a few years ago I encouraged you to grow some herbs indoors and you said that you didn't have a green thumb--HA! You do!!!! Look at all the cool stuff you're growing and from seed too!

As far as what we're growing, let's see: 9 Big Boy tomatoes, 3 Roma tomatoes, 12 rainbow peppers (green, red, orange, yellow), 4 cucumbers, 1 eggplant, 2 zucchini, 3 yellow squash, 1 blue squash, row of stringless green beans, row of Jade green beans, 12 snow peas, 9 sweet potatoes, 4 pumpkins, 3 butternut squash, 2 watermelon, 1 honeydew melon, 1 cantaloupe, 1 cherry tomato, of course my row of strawberries, 11 blueberry bushes, and fig bush (I don't anticipate getting anything from our 2 apple trees and pear tree). Now as far as herbs, that's pretty much ongoing except for the 3 basil, cilantro, and 2 stevia plants. I have 2 rosemary bushes, 4 oregano plants, 2 lavender plants, lovage, pineapple sage, tons of german thyme, lemon balm, and chives. I also plan to plant a bay tree. :) So, needless to say, I'm going to be busy! LOL
HAPPY GARDENING!!!!