This year's crops are smart. It took me three years to learn how to plant WITH the weather, not just what I want. I have several types of lettuce, a few jellybean tomatoes, lots of nasturtiums, some stubby carrots, a good 2 dozen or so sunflowers for heat protection in June and July, and some green onions, as well as a generous assortment of wildflowers and herbs mixed in. Originally our first planting was going to be sort of a checkerboard design, to help prevent disease and give the space texture. I was going to put string markers down and everything, but my toddler "helped" and it turned into a haphazard garden. I think I like it better that way. :)
Kid2, showing off his belly again. He's so proud of it. |
The best part about buying plants in the late afternoon is that all of the leggy/dying/ruined ones are pulled from the displays, and put on the same shelf, and are easy to find! I love leggy tomatoes and peppers because if you plant them deep you get giant and healthier plants. Gardening ain't always pretty people! The plants I bought today were long, but not long enough to "trench plant". I strip the bottom leaves off of a tall (lets say 8-9" from dirt to tip) bent-over, worthless-looking tomato seedling. Bury it in a hole that only leaves about 4-5" of plant sticking out, and throw some eggshells in with the dirt. The buried stem will shoot out hundreds of roots, way more than what is in the potted area at the very bottom, and you'll get a super healthy, super stable plant. As the eggshells break down they will release more calcium into the soil. Invest in a quality caging system, because that sucker is gonna GROW. You never know, you might end up with a tree!
Admit it, this would be a REALLY cool problem to have. |
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