Little Rain

It rained lightly for most of the day yesterday, which was nice. Today though, it's just gloomy w/ no rain. The slightly cooler temps are nice, but the plants could use some sunlight.

The onions, radishes, and nasturtiums are doing very well. I finally thinned the radishes today. I probably should have snipped them, but I just pulled out the culls.

Onions growing fast!

The collards are still under the fabric. One plant is doing very well.

After thinning.

I found 4 dark brown cutworms feasting on the youngest carrot sprouts.  I had to replant part of them, but they all seem to be doing well again.  The onions are growing fast here, too, and hopefully they are helping to repel bad bugs. 5 days cutworm free!  I still have another round of carrots to plant, maybe in another week or so.

The volunteer tomatoes I planted in the yard are looking pretty happy.  How long will that last?

"Why are you getting more attention that me?"

All the broccoli and cabbage seedlings I grew failed. I've replanted seeds in the raised beds, and they have come up.  I'm planning to buy a few more-mature seedlings for the containers.

Also to come, planting spinach, tatsoi, chard, and lettuces.  I still have to clean out the pallet bed. Sorry, begonias!

Retry

The only greens looking remotely happy are the Collards I have under cloth. Even the cloth-covered broccoli and cabbage in the planters are dead or dying... some have been munched on (how??).  I went ahead and direct seeded the two planned broccoli and cabbage plants in the raised bed.  I am probably going to buy some seedlings otherwise. These winter seedlings have been ridiculously fragile.

The candy roaster squash in the tub looks horrible, too. I can't find any specific pests, but insects are obviously the problem. Might try spraying with basil soap water, or whatever. Fall gardening so far is very very hard.

The carrots seem super happy, and some more onions are popping up.  The radish seedlings are growing super fast! I need to thin them before the weekend.

I've withheld water for a few days from the swampy planter with the droopy native hibiscus. It's looking better, so apparently the problem was too much water... even though it first drooped in its old pot after a dry spell and has been droopy ever since. I don't know.

Okra

It's the okra plant's time in the sun now that the trellis has been moved. And below the okra, the radishes are popping up.

The first sign of onions is appearing in the carrot planter.

And a few more purple bell peppers are finishing up.

Trellis Use

I am going to try growing the candy roaster squash on the trellis. I removed the bean vines today, so it might as well be useful. This will keep the squash vines off the ground (more aeration, less insect access) and out of the way of the lawnmower. I'm sure the trellis won't be enough room, but it will help.  Hopefully this will encourage flying pollinators to check out the blooms, too.  I also moved some mature marigolds to the squash planter.

The greens I covered seem to be doing OK, so I think it might be helping.

One of the butterfly milkweeds put out more blooms. Hoping this is a good sign that it is successfully getting established.  I don't know if I will try it again if it fails again this year. I think it is finicky about the amount of water it gets, so the soil might not be best for it, plus it's in shade a lot of the summer.  The sun has swung around enough to give it more light as the days progress towards fall, so that may also be helping.

A volunteer Spanish Needles (Bidens alba) has appeared just outside of the native plant bed.  Pollinators love it, so I'm happy to see it, although it may go crazy.  I might try to move it into the native bed when it goes dormant around frost time.

More

I am trying some fabric over the collards, cabbage, and broccoli for now. The goal is to keep them a bit cooler and shadier, if that will work.  They aren't hardy enough to withstand 80s and 90s in full sun right now... larger seedlings might, or waiting to plant a little longer. I am waiting to plant a couple more cabbage and broccoli, as well as all the other greens/lettuces. I don't trust them until mid 80s are the predictable high.

The carrots are putting out their true leaves. I still have not thinned about half of them, but will do so soon. I planted 8 onions along the perimeter of the carrots, and I planted the 2nd round of carrots.  I also planted a couple of onions at the inside corner edges of the collards, and also more in one of the square feet.  So I have about 18-22 onions planted total.

I bought some seed packs today, too. Of them, I planted some Nasturtium and some radishes along part of the perimeter of the raised beds to act as insect magnets (bad insects munch them instead of other plants).  I'm keen on experimenting with companion plants, and these are things I wouldn't normally buy, so I won't miss them if it doesn't work out or if they get eaten.  I still may move some marigolds to the raised bed, too.

Below is a rough sketch of the beds plan. The only things planted so far are the Collards (I swapped the right-most position because of the okra plant), Onions, and the left and back right perimeter of radishes and nasturtiums.  I might be able to plant the rest at the end of Sept. or early Oct, depending on the temps.  I think I have enough seeds for that last row of perimeter plants on the right, too.

I have about 3 square feet of planting space left, so I bought some beets, kale, and more spinach to try.  The library seed packs only contain about 10 seeds, so I can't plant the 2 square feet I saved for the chard and spinach I already had.  I have plenty of Tatsoi seeds though.

Still need to clean out the pallet bed for lettuce, but lettuce is even farther away. I might think about it starting in October.

Collards

I planted my collard seedlings today. That's the last of the seedlings I grew.  So I have 4 collards, 2 cabbage, and 2 broccoli for now. I'm planning to direct plant some seeds, too. Might also buy a couple of seedlings from a nursery.  It depends on how much extra room I end up with.

I'm going to try moving marigolds into the raised bed to act as companion plants again.  I also want to plant a few of my onions in with the carrots since they get along well and the onions will protect the carrots.  Cilantro goes well with spinach, so I might just put that in the bed as well. I'm thinking about buying a few nasturtiums and radishes to try as companion plants, too.

Beds a Go

The raised beds are all set for planting. The wasps had already abandoned the trellis, so with the beans clipped at their bases, it was easy to lift off and carry the vine-covered trellis to the side. I left the okra, which looks like it is healthy and making buds.

Seed Varieties I Want To Try

 Fall/Winter

Hakurei Salad Turnips
"Pixie" Baby Cabbage
Alabama Blue Collards
Shanghai Green Pak Choy
Cosmic Purple Carrots (or spring)
Oxheart Carrots (or spring)
Catskill Brussels Sprouts
Baby Oakleaf Lettuce
Little Gem Lettuce (Romane-type)
Lollo De Vino Lettuce 
Garden Babies Butterhead
Perpetual Spinach (or spring?)

Spring/Summer

Thai Purple Podded Yard Long Beans
Thai Suranaree Bush Long Beans
Rosa Bianca Eggplant 
Alabama Red Okra 
Vidrines Midget Cowhorn Okra
Cajun Jewel Okra
Sugar Snap Peas (or fall)
Goat Horn Hot Pepper
Poblano Peppers
White Cloud Pepper
Seminole Pumpkin 
Burpee's Butterbush Winter Squash
Golden Bush Scallop Summer Squash

Herbs

Delfino Cilantro

Flowers/Companions

Fiesta Gitana Calendula
Pacific Beauty Mix Calendula
Jet Black Hollyhock (probably too far south)
Chippendale Daisy Zinnia
Lilliput Mix Zinnia
Thumbelina Zinnia

Half Work

Today I put compost in the (almost) empty raised bed. Need to mix it around for planting sometime this week.  I might try to work around the okra plant, as I don't need the whole bed right now if I do some succession planting.  In the half-occupied raised bed, I clipped the beans at the base of their stems so I can get the trellis removed this week, more compost added, and collard and onions planted.  I decided to put my cabbage and broccoli seedlings in the 4 containers I had free... this worked well since only 2 of each survived. I also need to plant the second batch of carrots, probably towards the end of the week.

I also need to rip out the begonias and marigolds from the pallet bed and add soil so I can get the lettuce planted.  Speaking of marigolds, the ones still acting as companion plants are doing so well. I may try to move them elsewhere as the peppers die. I finally picked all the Serranos today, and the bell peppers will probably be done by the end of this month.  I definitely should save some marigold seeds so I don't have to buy any next year.

The volunteer black cherry tomatoes that I transplanted directly into the yard soil are doing OK. I don't know how well they will grow in un-tilled soil much longer.  I predict they will stall and stall more as it turns cooler.  Today was the first real break from the heat with temps staying in the low 80s for the high. I had my windows open!

The hibiscus is still looking bad, but I went ahead and added a cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and 2 pink swamp milkweeds () to the big pot.  Hopefully the hibiscus will pull through and be the specimen plant I had before up-potting.

And finally, a quick photo of the beautyberry in the afternoon sunlight.

Putting It Off

I keep putting off final preps in the raised beds, including ripping out the beans. There's a wasp nest on the trellis, so I'm not looking forward to dealing with that.  I might try to dig up and transplant my okra plant into a pot. It never got a chance in the sun, but I am not sure it will be warm enough for long enough for it to produce at this point.

Still waiting for the hibiscus to perk up. I bought some pink swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) to share the pot with it, if there's room. 

Batch one of the carrots are all popping up.  I'll thin them and plant a second batch in about another week. Then two weeks after that, I'm planning to plant one more batch. 

Carrot Sprouts

The carrots are coming up already. So much for 7-21 days. I assume cool, spring soil makes them take longer. These are Danvers variety. I have some Nantes, but they were recommended for spring planting for best flavor.

Males

The candy roasters are putting out nice blooms... all of which appear to be male so far.

I am regretting re-potting my beautiful native hibiscus. It is droopy and looks like nothing can save it from death. I'm afraid the roots were too sensitive to the re-potting. It had a nice cloudy day today, and plenty of water, so it is not just sun/heat. It was constantly wilted in its old pot, so I feel like I did what I could at least... It did need a larger pot. Maybe it will get well or at least come back in the spring? No idea what could be going on except shock. Roots looked healthy at transplant.

I blanched and froze some Thai long beans. Will probably continue to do that while they are still around. I'll appreciate them more after a few months without eating them. Definitely growing some again next year.

Workday

Did a couple of hours' work in the garden today. Ripped plants out of half of the raised bed, planted the first round of carrots in metal tub #2, and re-potted my native hibiscus. I might try a few companion plants with the hibiscus once it gets settled. Right now it is not appreciating the move. It is not used to full sun in the afternoon.

Blooming Squash

The candy roaster squash are starting to bloom. All are still looking very healthy. Maybe overhead watering was the biggest blow to the summer squash? No vine damage to these so far either though.

I noticed a bunch of tiny grass-like plants growing mostly in the disturbed native garden area.  At first, I thought they might be a super small, native spiderwort since they have tiny purple tri-petal blooms.  But they keyed up as Murdannia nudiflora instead, a non-native from Asia. Pretty little plant though, and honestly, it looks better than my grass.