Friday, October 08, 2010

The Rest Of The (Nasty) Story

Along with the SeedGROW project, I'd planned to (and did) grow several varieties of nasturtiums around the yard as companion plantings to my vegetables. This has worked out very well, as I haven't seen a single significant insult from bugs on my veggies. Anywhere. So here are the other nasty stars of my 2010 veggie planters....first is "Alaska Fancy", with beautiful mottled and variegated foliage, sporting red/orange flowers. It has grown and bloomed quite well all summer, even in the hottest weather (mostly due to our delightfully cool evening temps all summer.) But lately this plant has really taken off! Not to be outdone, look at the yardstick next to these peppers-have you ever had peppers plants get this tall?! I sure haven't, and even better they are still alive, blooming, and trying to set fruit! 

Yea, this nasturtium is happy, eh?
Here's another Alaska Fancy, not quite as robust due to more shade. In the same pot is an "edible-podded radish" (Rat-tail radish, Raphanis sativus), and it's still alive and blooming also!
The nasturtium looks a tad puny, but much happier than it did much of the season. (Again, shade...bad plant mommy! :)
This small coir-lined wall planter is rather amazing, as it contains nasturtuim 'Moongleam', Greek oregano, sweet pepper 'Pimiento De Padron', and a red malabar spinach (added mid-June).

All I did to help things along is add some "Soil Moist" crystals to help retain moisture, and everybody's happy (except the spinach, it seems to need more sun and the full season). This particular nasturtium was especially eager to trail along.....and along....and along!

This coir hanger also had some "Soil Moist", nasturtium 'Tall Singles Mix', alpine strawberry 'Ruegen', and hot pepper 'Numex Sunrise'. The pepper only produced a few small fruits (not enough sun), but the nasturtium and berries did quite well.
Similar story here-nasturtium 'Tall Singles Mix', alpine strawberry 'White Soul', and sweet pepper 'Italian Frying'. Add some "Soil Moist" and let em' go!
One more planter in the theme-nasturtium 'Tall Singles Mix', alpine strawberry 'Yellow Wonder', and sweet pepper 'Sunrise Orange'. This pepper only produced one lone fruit (sun shortage again), but the berries are still going and the nasturtium was especially amazing. You see, the blooms started out solid red/orange....
....then changed to this nice assortment of variations about mid-August....
....and much to my surprise they began to switch back just this week!

 My last nasturtium planting outside of the SeedGROW experiment planters was in this wooden trunk: nasturtium 'Tall Singles Mix', watermelon 'Katanya', Italian parsley, and tomato 'Siberia'. This time, the nasturtium turned out to be this bright yellow, and it trailed out into the yard like the watermelon did.
 It's still going strong this week, and producing lots of seeds for my upcoming nasturtium caper recipe experiment...


.....that I'll use to extend my season after the party's over.

9 comments:

meemsnyc said...

What a great update! I got a packet of nasturtium seeds as a gift, I can't wait to plant them in the spring.

lisa said...

I think you'll really enjoy them! They were super easy and versatile in my garden, and seemed to enjoy all their pot-mates and situations. The only effort I put in aside from watering was to pinch off some yellowed leaves and old flower stems here and there...and only when I really felt like it :)

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

You know, I meant to do that this season, based on seeing it here last season... and didn't. I will next season for sure--I've finally accepted that my soil is not ideal for veggies. The huge trees from the neighboring nature area have huge roots that suck the moisture out of my soil. I'm going to plant any and all veggies I do next year in containers, and will remember the nasties 'round the edges. I love all your containers and shelves, etc.

troutbirder said...

They are, indeed, fun and easy to grow... in the right spot obviously. :)

lisa said...

Monica-Thank you! I have a lot of trees and very sandy soil, so containers are key for my veggie success. Another big plus with containers-you can just change the soil if you don't feel like practicing crop rotation (or if soil bourne diseases become a problem). Plus they're fun! :)

Troutbirder-For sure :)

Anonymous said...

Now you've got ME thinking 'nasty' thoughts! ;)
v.

lisa said...

LOL! They'd likely be toast by summer for you, but as veggie companions they'd still do the trick.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...I happen to have a free pack of seeds, so I may just try that. Maybe on the north side of a building?
v.

lisa said...

They like full sun and cool temps, so in your climate I'd suggest trying them in several spots and see what happens :)