Apropos of Nothing v.15

I just cleared a little area, maybe 2x3. You should see the HUGE pile of weeds that it resulted in. How can so many weeds come from such a small area. Quite a diversity of weeds too.

But it's cleared, I went through all the dirt and pulled out all the buttercup roots I could find. I planted yellow double hollyhocks (there were already a couple in there that I carefully weeded around), a baptisia carolina moonlight, a veronica darwin's blue, some native violas, and some of the lady's mantle Julie and Sharon brought me last weekend. Fertilized and watered. Just came in to make grilled cheese sammies and then will go back out, lay down newspaper and mulch on top all around the new plantings in hopes it lasts weed free more than a few days.

Yesterday I got about 20 more tomatoes in, for a total of almost 40! I even have 4 tomatoes on one of the plants!!!! And the majority are staked or supported in some manner. I have a good recipe to make sauce and then I freeze it to use throughout the year. My goal is to someday have a year where I never have to buy tomato sauce.

It sounds like you've accidentally put an image in your file over top of the spreadsheet. So deleting lines on the spreadsheet won't help. Click on the box to activate it (you should see border) and the hit the backspace key.

Kathy

My hubby is quite good at Excel but this has stumped him. First time he hasn't been able to rescue me. Jim is not real computer-saavy about a lot of things but he uses Excel in his job (he's a project manager for a commercial subcontractor who does doors and hardware) so he knows quite a bit from using it over the years. He's taught me pretty much everything I know about it (which is not much at all).

Holy moly, that worked, Katie! Thanks!!!

Agent 59 saves the day! :)

Ok, very quietly I will say HURRAH FOR YOU PONY! Doing what you need to do in a sane and sensible way is great.

Thanks, Willow. Nice to know not everyone thinks I'm a disgusting villian. :)

Gwen, send some of that sun up here will you!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm in the middle of planting my tomatoes out too (finally)... I've got the 16 Big Beefs in the ground (I'm an optimist ;)) but still am waiting for DH to finish the planter for the 20 Stupices still on the back porch...

I didn't realize that this was "your" thread, pones. But by all means I'll stop reading.

Kur, 16 and 20 of one variety? You're worse than I! Mine are a mishmash. Some I started from seed myself (those would be the smallest), some were from Lynn, a couple I bought at the Master Gardener plant sale, and some I got from a MG in town whose group sells tomatoes as their fundraiser and he brought me some extras. The most I have of one variety is 6. I still haven't hit upon any varieties that I know will be winners so I can plant a lot. I always like to have cherries (for eating while in the garden), heirlooms, and romas.

Well said, Willow. Dealing with reality as best you can is a whole lot better than trying to ignore it and hope it goes away.

Hehehe, last year was the first year in a long time I got brave enough again to try growing tomatoes… I was tired of losing ‘my babies’ to the blight. So I decided I would be less emotionally attached if I bought them at nurseries. I limited myself to two Big Beefs, 2 sungolds, and one weird purple cherry variety of some kind. I put them in the most sheltered and sunniest part of my yard, right up next to the house… it is always 10 degrees warmer there, because the heat bounces off the light-colored siding. Well, they loved it, and we had a bumper-crop of Big Beefs, just off those two plants. I didn’t like the taste of the sungold (which is weird, because people seem to love them) maybe they got too hot? And the purple tomatoes were inedible… So this year, of course, I went hogwild with what did work. I started the Big Beefs from seed as well as Stupice (to hedge my bets in case of a short season)… I also had great success last year with four eggplants in the same location… So this year, of course, I have 18 ‘Gretel’ and 15 ‘Udmalbets’… ;)

Looks like a great spot for heat-loving veggies. With any luck at all, you'll be inundated. Harvest party at Kur's?

I'm amazed that some of you are just now putting your tomato plants in! Mine have been in since May 11th. Just harvested some turnips and blanched and froze them. I had to order more 1-pint freezer bags; they seem to be the perfect size for many of my veggies and that's mostly what I use. I do try to save them from year to year but I had never harvested and frozen turnips before so I had to make up new ones. Kur, your setup looks really nice. We had some rain last night - 3/10ths of an inch - and the weeds are sprouting again. They need so little encouragement, the dears!

Bea, Poor poor Sweetpea! (And Momma after she saw the bill!) I hope she is feeling better today. At least if the teeth were bothering her, you now have the knowledge that she will be a much happier pup without them.

I don't want to go back into dangerous territory, but I did want to say two things. Pony, you have a very thoughtful man... he is a keeper for sure. I also know how much you care about all living things and I want to say that I admire you for having the strength to do what needs to be done to protect you and yours... I have the strong feeling that you can't hurt anything without significant emotional cost to yourself at the same time.

Gwen, I want some of your sun too! Actually, even better... you keep it today and then send it our way tomorrow when I can actually get out in the garden myself! I look forward to seeing pictures of your new garden.... sounds like it will be very pretty. You and Kur have gone tomato crazy! I hope the weather changes so that you will actually get a respectable harvest for your efforts. Our little plants on this side of the state are looking pretty pathetic, so it was fun to fondle those in our EWA garden last weekend.

Kur, it sounds like your garden is in the optimum spot for vegies, and it looks wonderful.

Greenhouse Gal... we have a much shorter growing season for tomatoes than you do, although our wet icky spring has set lots of us back at least a couple of weeks in terms of planting out. We have some summers that we are lucky to get any fruit on most of the tomatoes.... just tons of green ones that never get the chance to ripen. I put out my tomato pots a month ago and the plants have just been sitting there shivering and wishing for sun.

The reason some of mine went in so late was that I didn't have the bed ready. I had the plants in the first bed over a month ago. It's just taken me this long to get to the next bed. Last year I had them in quite early, right after May 15. It was great because we ended up having that really nice June.

I still have beds unplanted. Is it too late for broccoli? That's what I want to plant next. And lettuces. Oh, corn too. And pumpkins.

Lettuce can be started throughout the summer. We usually have our corn in well before now, but we are in the same boat with readiness. I was finally able to till the garden the weekend before last, and it was still almost too wet. We planted some of the corn, but Mom still has a bunch of it (fourth planting....darn mice!!!) in the greenhouse just germinating. I would think that brocolli would be fine as it is a short season plant, but beware the slugs!!!

Julie, we had a wet, icky spring too, but I do usually put my tomatoes out in May. That must be very frustrating, to watch your fruit get big and green but not red! That happens to us sometimes with figs, if the trees have died back to the ground in the winter. The figlets form but too late to ripen!

I planted Zamboni broccoli raab and it's doing beautifully, if you like your greens slightly bitter.

This message was edited Jun 25, 2010 7:11 PM

I put my broccoli out a few weeks back and it is now just sticks. Darn slugs is right! Fortunately they then left the neighboring peas alone, which are now blooming nicely.

My first dahlia bloom of the year! It's a NOID I got from Pixy. :)

Gads... pretty! My dahliahs are maybe six inches tall...

This was a huge tuber that made it through the winter, I have a couple of them, and they're several feet tall already. All the ones I planted out this year are still under a foot tall.

OMG I'm dying waiting for these to bloom- sooo many buds. These are Vermeer lilies.

Another clump of the same lilies- the other end of the bed.

A big giant hug to all of you. I would imagine we each have strong and sometimes vehemently differing points of view on a lot of topics. What I have always liked about this forum is that people have felt safe in posting things that have meaning to them and accepted that there are as many points of view on any given topic as there are posters here. I don't think it is necessary for us all to walk lockstep with each other on any given topic, whether it be guns, killing of wildlife, religion, abortion or any other controversial subject. What I would hope for, however, would be basic respect for each individual's right to hold their own beliefs. I doubt that Pony would expect or want us each to go out and purchase pink handguns for ourselves. What we DO share is a love of gardens and we are all a part of this connected world through these forums.

Sorry. I have been off for a bit and was surprised to come back and find that things had taken a bit of a veer towards the judgmental.

Only for a second. I don't think our ranting have any lasting effect on anything. We just love to chat.

Sweetpea is feeling much better today. The meds are upsetting her digestion a bit and she had a few accidents in the house today. Lucky me! It was so cute this morning when I put them out back for their first walk of the morning, sweetpea was so thirsty as she could not have fluids after her surgery that she went straight to my patio plants and was trying to get water from the saucers. Did not think that was a good idea..so the water bowl was brought out for her enjoyment. She will have to be a pumpkin on Halloween. She is a real snaggle tooth now!
I just found out that my niece/god daughter is expecting her first child. I am so excited to be a great aunt.
Yes I am Aunt Bea...in my family. Silly.

Aunt Bea! Hehehe... I love it. :D

Glad to hear Sweetpea is recovering, even if her smile is a bit snaggletoothed. :)

My little Caladium 'Florida Cardinal' is doing good- I need to put it in a nicer pot, though.

Gwen, I think you can still get away with getting Broc in since it won't crop until next spring, and if you already have the seeds for the corn and pumpkins you might as well give them a try particularly if you can give them a bit of extra cover to really heat them up (a row cloche to get them germinated quickly). And thank you for the comment on my statement.

And Kur, I agree with you completely about the feeling personally responsible for the fruitful life of your tomatoes which sucumb to blight - I feel like a bad mother when they get hit! Purchased ones just don't have that resonance. A touch of gardening madness there.

Pony, I don't see you as a villain. I was very careful to continue to see you as a person, as separate from the object which makes me uncomfortable. Please don't lump me into other's comments.

Oh, Laurie- no... your post was fine. I should have been more clear.

Phew, thank you.

*long distance hugs*

Laurie, what do you mean the broc won't crop til next spring? It should definitely crop this year if we don't get so much heat that it bolts. Shouldn't it? Please say yes!

Today I'm off to be a docent at the Whidbey Island Garden Tour. I'm going to be in a garden that is chockful of edibles, ornamentals, and natives.

Last night I got to tour the rest of the gardens that are on display. One of them was an acquaintance's garden which I've heard about but never seen. It was gorgeous, esp since her house is to die for.

All the gardens were lovely. I thought of Julie at the first garden because they had a 'fairy room.' The photo of the iron fairy on a stick is blurry but I wanted Julie to see it, so am including it anyway.

And her is the house belonging to the woman I know from a garden club. I did not get a really good shot of the main house. The photo in the lower left is the garage and I assume above-garage studio. The house sits to the left. There were always people standing in front of it, so I didn't photograph it. I LOVE the color of this house. It's actually similar to the color of our kitchen.
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/
The photo on the bottom right is I think what they would consider the 'front' of their house as it faces the water. The house sits on a bluff above the sound facing west, so they get very nice sunsets. Anyway, to the right of the photo and not included in that shot is the cutest little Juliet balcony on the second floor.

The photo in the upper right is the chicken coop. Yes, you heard me right. Their chickens live in style! Okay, part of it is a garden shed (their shovels live in style too) but the right side is the chicken coop and then they have a covered chicken run that comes off the right of that. In front is a parterre. All very quaint and French/European like.

On the top left is a row of ceonothus and I don't know the name of the yellow plant, but I have some in a pot and I'm going to pair it with some ceonothus. It was a stunning combo.

They also had a really nice plant called Portugese Laurel (aka Prunus lusitanica for you Latin types) that is a tall evergreen bush with glossy leaves and currently covered in fragrant white blooms. Must have one of those as well.

What I really want, tho, is the house...
This message was edited Jun 26, 2010 4:41 PM

Omigosh, I can't stand that chicken coop! Wonder how they felt when the chickens started making themselves at home there with all their droppings. We were a mite discomfited knowing that our gorgeous brand new clean coop, with the lights and automatic door, was going to be enmired in chicken manure... But what a great place and I love the iron fairy, too. What does she use her studio for?

Lovely house and garden.

I don't know which Brocolli you are growing Gwen, but mine over winter and are the first crop of spring - usually early to mid march ( I grow purple sprouting, sweet stem, and a calabrese). there is one called rudolph which I believe comes in for January, but I've never tried it - I think it takes a warmer winter than we have. I don't know of one which is a summer cropper. But trust me, sow it and wait - it is really worth it, tastes marvellous, and you get to harvest when so little else is around. And it looks great.

Tip: I make up netted tunnels for protecting mine from Cabbage white butterflies - they just love it and the caterpillers can strip a plant over night.

Wow, been away for a bit. Missed much it seems.

Beahive, hope Sweetpea is recovering nicely from her Dr. visit.

Congrats Pony on the Anniversary, thoughtful hubby, nice gift, not my colour though. Hope you never have the need to use it for more than target practice.

Greatly dislike racoons, disease carrying, mean, mangy and very persistant. Might like to deal with them for a bit instead of the black bear looking for food since the berries aren't ripe yet. He doesn't scare easily and is spending more time than I'd like on/at/near my property. Willing to trade your racoons for a recently spotted cougar though.

Gwen, love the "friend's" house, especially the coop. So would like to have one, maybe not quite as fancy. Might like to return as one of her chickens in my next life.

Laurie, will try your Broccoli suggestions this fall for first spring harvest.

Loving the weather today... sun for the first time in a long time. Rest of the tomatoes not sold went into the ground this morning. 58 tomatoes this year.... now if Alex would just eat them.

Gee I go for a motorcycle ride to Alaska and miss out on all the fun. Pony 100% behind you. I shall never regret protecting myself when a simple gun makes them leave. No death just a round fired gets them away. I have been married to the dammage of rape.

Good Lord, that chicken coop is nicer than my house. o.0

Ladybuggfan, Yikes. All you're missing is a tiger. And thanks, I hope so too. Honestly, pink isn't my color either, but I seem to be acquiring things in pink anyway. My mud boots and fishing pole are also pink. Hmm.

Steve- thank you. That's exactly it.