Time for a planting grid update. Several pepper seeds I planted never took, or else they were dug up by those pesky squirrels who seem to be having far too much fun digging in my garden on a daily basis. Plus, I added a few other things. I do still have the garden gates up around the edges of the gardens, which seems to be doing the job to keep the puppy from plowing through them like he was.That is a picture of a patio tomato that I am growing in a container and already has a few tomatoes on it - aren't they sweet? I've seen a bit of blossom drop on it also though, since our evening temps have been temperamental and got down in the 50s again a few nights.
I also made a mistake. Imagine that! Since I didn't do a full planting on all the squares as soon as I put the grids down, it took me awhile to notice I had laid out the grids incorrectly on the 4 x 8 bed and shorted myself out of 4 squares! I didn't really want to try to shift things around since I did have some plantings down already, so I'll take it as a loss and a lesson for this year. Silly as it seems, when you go to lay your grids out, make sure you eyeball to see if you have all your rows laid down before planting, or better yet, measure them out! In other words, count. Which apparently I can't do. ::rolls eyes::
Last year I messed up my green bean planting, got frustrated, pulled everything out and the new plantings of them never took. This year, since I did not plant any of those square stealing bush squash plants, I had a lot more squares to work with, so I've done several succession plantings of green beans a week or so apart. Hopefully this year, I'll see a few green beans.
I ran across some lettuce seeds today and snatched them up, and while its really too late for planting down here, I thought I'd drop some in an area of the garden that gets shaded early and see what happens anyway. It gets hot here pretty fast, so it may be a complete bust but it'd be cool to see if they even begin to take! Hopefully I will remember to plant them again in September for fall.
When I went out to piddle in the garden today, look who was there to greet me!
I don't mind telling ya, she scared the beejeesus outta me when I saw her little head poking out of those leaves in one of my flower beds! I just glanced down and there was this little head sticking up. I think she changed spots after I took her picture because I didn't see her there a few minutes later - turtles can be temperamental like that.
She finally came out of hibernation about a week ago. This is her 3rd spring with me and I'm really surprised that she is still here frankly, because there are plenty of escape routes under the fence. I knew she was a female by her tail the first year, but I really knew when I saw two little baby turtles last year. I have only seen one of them this year - it's about twice as big as it was last year and I don't think it quite knows what to think about me. Since its a young un, I'm not expecting it to hang around long, but I caught him/her through the glass of the patio door the other day. Only about a couple of inches long - ain't it just cute? I hope it hangs around.
BED #1 - 4' x 4'
| 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | |
| Superfresh Lettuce (Seed 4/22) | Mystery Plant from Compost (3/30) | 4 Marigolds (seed) (4/6) | Superfresh Lettuce (Seed 4/22) | |
| Romaine Lettuce Mix (Seed 4/22) | 16 Sweet onions (3/30) | 1 Chive (3/30) | 1 Flat Leaf Parsley (3/30) | |
| 1 Basil (3/30) | 1 Oregano (3/30) | 1 Rosemary (3/30) | 1 Thyme (3/30) |
Containers Behind the bed - 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Eggplant (3/30), 1 Patio Tomato (3/30), 1 Roma Tomato (3/30), 2 pots of Lavender (3/30), 1 Mint
BED #2 - 4' x 4'
| 1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30) | 1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30) | 1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30) | 1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30) |
| Flat Leaf Parsley (3/30) | 16 Sweet Onion (3/30) | Sweet Long Pepper Mix (4/22) | 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/13) |
| Sage (4/22) | 4 Marigolds (seed) 3 Green Bean (4/13) | 16 Crimson Giant Radish (Seed 4/22) | Lemon Thyme (4/22) |
| 16 Crimson Giant Radish (Seed 4/22) | 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6) | 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6) | Dill |
In pot to side: 1 Jubilee watermelon (seed) - 1 Moon & Stars watermelon
BED #3 - 4' x 8'
I had to split Bed #3 up into two separate charts to fit it in the blog post. The top section of 4 Rows represent the Left Side of Bed #3; the bottom section 4 Rows represent the Right Side of Bed #3
LEFT Side of 4' x 8' Bed:
| Cucumber (seed 3/30) | Cucumber (seed 3/30) | RESERVED | Row Unavailable |
| Jalapeno Pepper (Seed 4/6) | Row Unavailable | ||
| 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6) | Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed 4/13) | Row Unavailable | |
| 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6) | Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed 4/13) | 16 Sweet Onion (3/30) | Row Unavailable |
RIGHT Side of 4' x 8' Bed:
| Cantaloupe 2 Squares (seed 3/30) | 1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30) | 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | 1 Creole Tomato (3/30) | |
| Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22) | 16 Sweet Onion (3/30) |
| ||
| Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22) | 1 Big Bertha Bell (3/30) | |||
| 9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/13) | Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22) | Sweet Long Pepper Mix (4/22) | 1 Big Bertha Bell (3/30) |
4/22 - Veggie fertilizer on all the veggies and epsom on the tomatoes
Here are my two primary gardening books - I highly recommend both but especially the "new" square foot gardening book, if you want to try this method.
Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening - available for your state too! It's a perfect guide to tell you what to plant and what works best in your region, and also when to plant. I love this guide!
Oh my goodness, the only thing cuter than a baby eating is a turtle eating!!! Is that a nice loaf of French Bread the lil' one is eating? Tee hee you are just so sweet to the animals you encounter (except those poor misunderstood squirrels)...!!!
ReplyDeleteAw Holly, you know I love those silly squirrels too, but I have no idea why they are so fascinated with the veggie garden dirt this year, but for the fact that most of them I think are toddlers.
ReplyDeleteLove the garden....I would aspire someday to do this...hopefully my DH will find employment again..getting rough out here. The turtle...wow, what a cool surprise..and they came back or stayed from last year? They feel safe at home with you Mary. Squirrels, pesky critters..had to put netting or wiring over the garlic bulbs to keep them from steeling the bulbs before they had a chance. It worked.. They do love the tease my pooch, and the loose cats in the area..
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute picture of that turtle eating! I hope your gardening pays off well. :)
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