2009 Planters: Melon, Tomato and Herbs

This planting took place May 24th, here we have a "Minnesota Midget" muskmelon that I started indoors from seed. It was alone initially, since this small tub only holds about 2 gal. of soil. In this tub, we have tomatoes 'Amish Paste' on the left, and 'Jet Sonic' on the right. In the center I planted some "early bush bean" seeds, and the upper left corner is Italian parsley seed, upper right has purple basil.

There! No screens to protect from wildlife, as I was confident that deer and rabbits wouldn't walk up onto the deck. Will I be sorry?

Well, the late frosts and low temps struck an early blow to the melon, but these tiny leaves gave me hope for a comeback.

Hmmm...still looks pretty sad. So on June 13th, I planted some more melon seeds next to this pouter. I also planted some cypress vine seeds, a 'Volcano' pepper plant, and a "Benary's Giant Lime" zinnia (both were plants I'd started indoors myself.)

By June 21st both tomatoes are very large, but the bush bean in the center never did anything (it was very old seed, and I forgot to use innoculant.) At this point, the 'Jet Sonic' tomato on the right has some curly leaves that bug me and I'm concerned about a blight of some sort.

When July 13th rolled around it just looked too funky, so I pulled it up. The 'Amish Paste' next to it was getting really big anyway, and I didn't want it to "catch anything" (I did trim off some lower branches that looked shrively.) I also planted a NOID seedling ("no ID") in the center where the bean never grew.

Here we are about July 28th, and this little tub looks great!

The green zinnia bloom is getting started-funky!

The whole planter is really growing strong!

Look at those cute melon blooms!

The basil and parsley were harvested several times over the season...

....but melon & company were harvested prematurely! Crap! July 30th the varmints demonstrated that they have no problem walking onto the deck....

....and uprooting my poor melon!

So I stuck it back in the soil and assessed the damage. *Sigh* So much for my pretty green zinnia, and I just don't know if there's enough season left for the melon to make a comeback. We'll see...

About a month later, we have renewed growth....

....tomatoes forming nicely on our 'Amish Paste'....

...lots of them! Very cool temps are keeping them green, though.

Not much color here, although green is nice, and the cypress vine seems happy...

....climbing up my "refrigerator trellis"....

...showing off the delicate blooms.

It even scrambled up the tomato branch when it ran out of trellis!

Here's the NOID plant reaching for the sky. After scouring my seeding notes I've decided this is
coreopsis tinctoria (poor thing set buds yet never got to bloom). I've seen it listed as annual and perennial by various sources though, so I guess I'll find out this spring. Late September has me feeling hopeful for more green zinnias....

.....very hopeful!

One frost got the tomato looking somewhat droopy....

....but not the melon! All those cute blossoms, too bad my season isn't a month longer! (Not to mention the near-impossibility of a frost-free October.) The zinnia flower got so close, I cut it to bring indoors and enjoy.

Then came a harder frost...

....marking the beginning of the end. I got one tomato ripe enough to eat :(

Ah well, better luck this year! :)

Exciting News!!!

The other day I got an email from Ashley with CSN stores, and she invited me to do a product review. So I visited the website to see what they're about, and I was blown away! They have 200+ sites with everything from cookware to fitness equipment, bar stools , and most importantly garden supplies! The best part: I get to select the product to be reviewed. :) Friends, I can't wait to share the results...stay tuned!

Current Events

I'd like to interrupt my 2009 veggie review to celebrate winter, at a time when most folks are sick of it. I'm planning out this year's planters, but for now they rest...

...unlike my furry friends here. I have grey and black squirrels up here, but none of the big red version we had in Indiana. (Click on the link to be schooled like I was when I read that these two are "Eastern Grey Squirrels", and the red ones are "Fox Squirrels". I'd always thought they were color variations of the same creature since they look so similar...huh.)

I'm organizing my seeds to gear up for wintersowing , and even acquiring new ones like this assortment from an awesome garden blogger's seed swap-initiated by Monica.
Look how many packets I had to choose from!

The kitties are pretty much in "hibernation mode".....

....but the wild birds don't have that luxury. I'm fortunate to host so many doves....

...they're just lovely!

Spring may be on the way, and I'll be happy to get back in the garden. But there is a calm and beauty to the clean white winter landscape that I'm actually going to miss. Really! :)

Blogging As A Biz-nass

Why do people write blogs? Some for fun, some to keep a record of a hobby, project, family event(s). Many blogs have advertising content, and others are set up to advertise an established business. In the current economic climate I think many people are brainstorming money making ideas, and I am no exception.

Awhile back, I came across a website called Daily Blog Tips that's loaded with excellent advice for maximizing one's internet presence. Since I began my blog purely for fun, many of these concepts were totally new to me...things like domain name selection, keyword optimization, etc.. When I signed up for the website's newsletter, I got to read this very informative and well written eBook that really laid things out in simple terms. As a blogger with very little internet or marketing knowledge, the eBook was an easy read and really got my wheels turning. So if you're considering "getting serious" with your little corner of the web, check out the Daily Blog Tips website. You'll be glad you did! :)

Salad Planter 2009

I take my salad very seriously, so when I planted the "Pot & Patio Lettuce Blend" in this saddle planter, I left nothing to chance. This wire cover worked out well, and it also protected some spinach ('Bloomsdale Longstanding'), as well as Golden Purslane and carrot "Little Finger" . Planting was done on May 10th, and by early June we have lift-off! On June 21st a thinning was in order (not the first one).....

.....there! This little garden was the most productive of all my container veggie experiments....

...with the succulent leaves of purslane as the star of the show. Who knew a "weed" could be so delicious?

Well I've been schooled!

The carrots grew amazingly well in this tiny planter, too....

.....and the greens just wouldn't quit! This particular harvest contained a surprise that I only noticed after I took this picture....

...aphids! I've heard about people eating bugs, but I passed on all that and this harvest became worm food. (Just the other day I found a link that said I could mix a few drops of peppermint essential oil with water and spray for aphids. Sounds safe and kind of yummy, I'll try it this year.) I didn't feel too badly about sacrificing just one salad though, since our cool summer made the harvest last and last.

By September there are a few more carrots...

....even Gizmo was interested!

Then October gave just a few more leaves before the frost shut it down. One thing I learned from growing my own salads last summer...

...plant a lot more this year! Staggered plantings will help keep the harvest going much more regularly, so I'll have all the supplies I need to eat a salad at least once a week...maybe more!

Veggies 2009: The Cucumber Story

Our tale begins on May 23rd with these freshly transplanted seedlings I grew myself: two swiss chard 'Bionda Di Lyon', one cabbage 'Caraflex', one lime basil, and cucumber 'Tasty Jade'. This planter was not protected by wire.... ...an obvious mistake on May 31st! Rats!

The deer visited several planters, so I got out the seed packets to sow new seeds for damage control.

By June 12th we have germination....

....even the poor cucumber victim is showing signs of recovery. I added another cabbage plant and a 'Volcano' pepper too, as the other victims didn't fare so well. With the help of this wire cover, the plants are making progress until June 29th...

...when a digging varmint found its' way in! Sheesh! Oh well, cover the holes and carry on...

....alright! This is more like it!

D'Oh! Poor cucumber gets trimmed where the wire ran out. Will it keep growing ok? Yes! Way to rally!

I forgot to mention that I'd also sown a cypress vine in here too, and it grew very nicely...

....taking up so little space and providing these cute "hummer magnet" red flowers. Nice!

First cuke harvest is August 18th, and there were many other veggies ready then too...

...nothing like your very own homemade salad! Fresh, well-washed, chemical free-all the things a restaurant salad is NOT.

And the cuke goes on.....

....until the final harvest on August 29th...

....just a few this time. Add a jalapeno and some sweet juice from making slaw....

...and I have some "fridge slaw hot pickles"!

I took them out a couple weeks later, and all I can say is that I need to make that again! There will be MORE cukes planted this year for sure! (All the other veggies in this planter were successful too, and the wire made all the difference-lesson learned :)