A couple of things have happened since I last wrote about the garden. I got a few more pictures of the shed cats and I also took a picture of freshly harvested zucchini that became my lunch. I also finally cut the fence around the plum stick in half and put half around the grafted plum in back. But today, today I harvested some zucchini:
I've become a common enough sight for two of the cats who hang out under my shed that they no longer automatically run and hide when I appear. One, a tawny gold cat, still is skittish and will hide if I move toward it. The other, a black and white cat, is now willing to sit still while I check the plants each morning and afternoon, and only gets worried if I go around the shed and out of sight.
So, I've been away and haven't updated the plants report for way too long, so now we're going to see the most dramatic changes so far. First off, I have already got two fruits off the Tiny Tim Tomatoes, and one that was overripe. They are small and cute and nicely tart for tomato.
Not a lot to say this time, I guess. Well, yes, there is some news. New plants and such. But for the most part everything is going along the way I hoped. My soaker hoses are actually soaking instead of spraying randomly, and even the plants I thought weren't growing appear to be growing if I compare them with last week's pictures. So I guess I just need a little faith and a little patience.
I have managed the impossible. I killed a zucchini plant before its time. I'm sure it was a combination of the location, the watering, and the cats. But it's dead, Jim. You grab its tricorder and I'll get its wallet. In the meantime, the Plum Stick continues to grow.
Well, the zombie zucchini continues to make me wonder. Will it survive? Will it die? Have I succeeded in the impossible: killing a zucchini plant before it produces too much fruit for a family of 9 to eat in a summer? I'm not sure, and I'm sure I won't know for a few more days yet. In the meantime I'll keep watering it and see what happens.
I'm not feeling very well about my plants this week. I think I'm messing up. I need to get on the ball and deal with the problems of the plants... I need to get back to watering them regularly. And I have a little terror of the plants that I put outside. I think they will die, but then I remember last year, and... Argh. Ok, let's start at the top, right?
I really should have gotten up and gone out to mow the yard the instant I was fully awake this morning. We've got brilliant weather out there, and it's supposed to get into the upper 70s and low 80s over the next couple of days. A nice change from the series of storms that have been hitting us the last few months. And the yard needs a mow. But I waited, and when I went out to get my pictures I could tell it was already too warm for me to successfully do any mowing. If I get some energy, I may try to clean up the garden plot, but no mowing today.
Eric had an unexpected day off on Monday, and it was clear and sunny, so we mowed the yard and trimmed as much as possible. It's still not too bad today, though if it's dry over the weekend I ought to mow again. I think mowing is one of those jobs that will never be done.
Well, I was going to mow today, but it's looking pretty unlikely now. The weather report said clear skies and sun for the rest of the week, so I watered the trees yesterday with a deep watering, figuring that the ground would dry out enough for me to mow today... then this morning it rained for two solid hours. The ground is soaked. The grass is too wet to mow now, and I'm not sure it'll dry out before this evening. Oh well, at least I can still get a few pictures, right?
Today was an outside chores day for Eric and I, and so I got the mowing done and he got the trimming done despite both of us suffering from a long-lasting and incredibly annoying cold that is keeping us from being at 100%. I wanted to mow the yard and then go prep more of the garden plot area, but after I finished mowing my chest hurt and my heart was racing and I realized I had to stop for the day. An hour and change later I still don't feel quite right. No more cold medicine and then outside work for me, I think.
Well, tomorrow I plan on going out and mowing, but today I finally got around to transplanting most of the windowsill seedlings into larger pots. And I've learned a few lessons for next yet. Number one is ONE SEED PER POT. Seriously. I can't bring myself to kill a plant I've grown from seed, so I should just put only one in a pot to begin with. Number two is that I should never ever ever use outside dirt, only potting soil. I'm actually having to weed my seedlings because the outside dirt I used had some weedseeds in it. And number three is that the windowsill can just fit seven pots, so that's all I should try at a time.
Ok, well, I guess it's time to do the actual update of the plants. You can see previous reports here, although I put the pictures of some behind a cut so as to not clutter my front page too much. I'll be doing that here as well, after my first report:
As I last reported, I've planted a handful of seeds this year, instead of just tomatoes. So I'm going to give you all the current status, but first I'll tell you about what's been happening the last couple of weeks in Stepford House...
Last Monday, after Saturday's Scare, I mowed the yard for the first time to make it look less like an abandoned home. I set Moby the Mower on a higher height, and did a cursory overall mow. Today I did the second mow of the season, still on the higher height, but I think I covered more of the yard this time than I managed last time.
On that Monday last I also started to break up the dirt in my "garden plot" and get it ready for planting. It'll be a few more days before I can plant, because we are having a late frost, but soon enough... soon...
So I'm sure you are all just on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear about my planting adventures.
As you know, last year I planted five tomato seeds (Moneymaker) on March 31st. The first seed broke through on April 9th. They eventually turned into monsters and provided buckets (literally) of tomatoes. I vowed not to make the same mistakes this year.
I also planted a stick on May 6th that I was told would grow into a plum tree. It grew an impressive array of leaves and some tiny branches over the summer. The leaves fell off for the winter, so we'll be watching to see what happens to the plum stick this year.
So, what's happened so far this year? On a visit to Costco, I noticed they had plants, and I told Eric that if they had a grafted plum tree, I would buy it. Sure enough, they had a grafted plum tree with three varieties of plum on it, so I puchased it and we somehow got it home. We planted it in the back yard on March 19th.
On March 24th, I planted eight seeds for the windowsill. I planted two varieties of tomatoes (Moneymaker and Tiny Tim), a variety of pepper (Yolo Wonder), and some zucchini (Fordhook). Two seeds in each pot. I have watered them regularly each morning, and on the morning of April 1st I saw the first signs of life from the zucchini and the Tiny Tim Tomatoes.
In the morning, they were barely peeking through, but by the afternoon, both Tiny Tim's were up and visible and the zucchini was making sure I knew that it will have to be transplanted sooner rather than later.
Pictures after the jump.
Poirot and Zucchini and Bread. The comments are lots of fun. I want to make Zucchini cookies now.
Kobe Bryant likes dark comics.
Metafilter links to some intense audio from a runaway train. Spoiler: no one dies, but the engineer was blamed despite staying on the train to warn people at level crossings, when he could've jumped off earlier.
Calorie Counting: why restaurants ought to be required to post calorie counts. Calorie Counts: why restaurants shouldn't be required to post calorie counts.
Speaking of food, that may not be the fish you think it is. Two teenagers discover through DNA testing that various types of sushi aren't what was advertised.
Your printer is lying to you.
How we trust people.
Michael Sensei celebrates Ozma's birthday.
Here's a great article about a science teacher trying to overcome ignorance in the Bible Belt. And on that topic, Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions.
Green Lantern watches the Olympics. And while the Closing Ceremonies didn't seem to be faked, there is an accusation that the arrangements for national anthems were stolen by Chinese musicians.
Pug Recall (from the Onion).
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