Keep forgetting to post

 Just updated a Saturday post and now for Monday/Tuesday. It's actually overcast right now at 7:30 pm on Tuesday which is good. It was mostly sunny earlier and now definitely not looking like summer weather. I watered anyway because I'm trying to get out there every other day (just realized I left the other hose unhooked on the spigot, oh well).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still waiting on the cucumber to fill out, I have to really have patience with that because it's still very bumpy and prickly. Size is good but needs to put on some girth and smooth out. I made a decision to pull the smallest pepper. No growth and not as many roots as it should have. The other plants are doing fine, the one in the back left corner has bigger flowers and stems than the others so  I'm thinking that's either a bell or poblano. More than one fruit on the front right plant and looking like a jalapeño.  I hope I don't have 'pepper gate' peppers. But honestly any peppers is fine by me.

That terra cotta is going to come out as soon as it finishes up those last fruit. Just not doing as well as I'd hoped and if I remember correctly, the previous plants in that corner didn't do good either. Not sure what the deal is. Definitely going to need about six bags of soil and two bags of fertilizer when I turn over everything. If I have the money of course. Need to see what's on sale for soil right now and plan a trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cucumber baby did not get fertilized, sadness and dismay. Oh well, getting one good one is better than none, will see what happens further on. And Rocky on Sunday is sniffing around where he actually caught a baby lizard and ate it! I was about ten feet away because he hates when I get too close going into the garden. So I saw him leap for something on the corner of the wall there and then do the little secondary catch and then dropped to the ground. As I came around to where he was I saw him working his jaw like he's eating something. Well, well.... you got yourself a treat little guy. My only thought was hoping it didn't give him worms or indigestion or something. So far he's been fine as far as I can tell. It must have been a really small baby because I didn't see anything sticking out of his mouth when I came around to see what he was eating. Don't have to worry about his hunting instincts..other than birds... he's learned they are much faster than he is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Midday on Sunday, everything kind of slumped in the hot sun but was perked up in the evening. That soil dries out so quickly on the surface every other day is mandatory. 

I saw a little potted seed kit at Walmart today and was tempted to buy it. 'Italian Herbs' so it was Basil, Oregano and Thyme I think. Should have taken a picture of it, but I don't usually use basil unless it's in the Italian herb combination so not worth the $13.00. I also tried drying my own oregano and thyme in the microwave... didn't work as planned because I forgot a crucial step of stripping the leaves off the stems. Microwave smelled like oregano for 2 days. Not a good smell because it's Greek oregano. 

So that's all for now, more watering and whatevers as they happen.

Warm weather but not too bad

 Clear, breezy and just warm enough to run the AC a few days in a row but might survive today without it. Will see in a few hours.

The over achiever cherry tomato plant. The terra cotta tomato is not doing so good, half the height and not as healthy. Still producing but it may just be the position and variety. Definitely going back to an actual Roma next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cucumber is filling out nicely! Going to be a full size cuke in another week I think. It's gained about a half inch or more in length in the past few days for sure. Five more cherries plucked early because I'm paranoid about them staying on the vine. I need to find out how to get full branches of ripe ones without the oldest ones rotting.

I think this one is likely a poblano, it's not perfectly round like a jalapeño so will see what happens. All the plants have flowers and tiny fruit growing but I still wonder what the two smallest ones are. Will see eventually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Size comparison and a close up of hopefully another cuke up at the top with the closed flower. Most of the flowers seem to be males unfortunately so not sure how much longer the vine has. It may be holding off on females until that one fruit is finished. Can also see how the terra cotta is not thriving as much and is having some issues with spider mites. I'm trimming off branches as best I can when I see them and luckily it's not affecting the cuke or the cherry vine.

Have to go out and water today for sure, got a late start on the day so morning watering never happened. 

Summer Solstice Day! (forgot to post)

 Longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere and it is also Father's day. It's clear, warm almost hot and breezy. Haven't been outside yet due to fixing a huge meal and all that entails. 

Hibiscus that Dolores has near her apartment. Semi-double? She is trying to take over as much area outside as possible for her plants. Lined up against the block wall and also in front of her apartment and also tried to plant some ginger mixed in with the landscaping along the sidewalk. I get the whole wanting go grow stuff but that's a bit ridiculous. 

Pulled up the second smallest garlic, just not thriving but according to the roots it was doing great. Not so much in the bulb area though so into the compost it went.

(Okay now four days later)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The remaining cucumber is actually growing, still very wrinkly but am hoping it will fatten up. Trying to keep the bed watered but can't get out there every other day and sometimes doesn't need it. There was one other tiny one but it wasn't pollinated so it withered up. This one is staying straight as well probably due to me keeping it away from the fence and trying to get it as much sun as possible.

 And getting actual peppers though the plants are still very small. I just do not have good luck with peppers, even when I grow them from starts. Not enough food and water no doubt. Still don't know what variety these are either.

The largest one in the corner is doing the best for sure with the smallest ones on the far side but those were planted out smaller as well. One of these days.... I 'll have more than squash, tomatoes and onions.

I'm getting about four cherry tomatoes at a time, picking them a bit orange more than red and give them time to ripen on the counter. The terra cotta is less impressive for flavor unfortunately but that could be from being over ripe on the counter. It's still way too early to plan for fall crops like peas and other things and I have some russets growing in the cupboard. But that's another crop that I've not had success with other than the first year. 

Still a few flowers left on the cactus that were likely opening that evening (this was taken yesterday). Go figure cactus are the only thing that survives on neglect and I am not a fan.

Things to plan for at crop rotation: An entire 5 lb bag of fertilizer just for the raised bed along with more soil. Split another bag for the in ground beds and try to figure out how to make a better raised bed framing for both. Right. In my dreams at least. 

That's all for now folks. 

So much for the cucumber

 Got out and watered yesterday, really thoroughly and maybe a bit too forcefully. The weather is in the upper 80's and even crested into low 90's the last few days and with my random doctor appointments didn't water as diligently.

 You can see how few roots were cleared out of the moss pellet so that is word to the wise that I will wait and take that covering off when transplanting. So that's one down and the other one looks just fine so far. Not much in the way of any fruit  other than one small white looking one that may not be fertile. Oh well. Looks like it's tomatoes and peppers this year.

\

Two of the bushes have flowers, even though they aren't completely grown. I just do not have luck with peppers it seems. I'll dump the rest of the fertilizer on them next time I water and hope for the best. I  know they and the cucumbers need a LOT of water and I just am not good about getting out there often enough, I need mulch for sure to help with that.

 

The cherry tomatoes are really pushing now and I should probably trim the very tops off for convenience. I actually knocked an overripe one off when I was shifting the cucumber around. It was way overripe, tried to eat it when I got upstairs and nope... way too squishy and it had that half rotten taste. Oh well. Guess it's time to get my trimmers and thin out some branches.

Not a very good picture but Marigold seeds! Dolores was puttering around with her plants when I went down today. I noticed she had a nice little square pot with some orange and yellow 'french' marigolds. The smaller variety. So we were chatting and then I asked if she had any flowers that went to seed and she handed me a handful she had just culled off her plants. Yes! So I sprinkled some in the west bed and stirred the dirt around, then the remainder I brought upstairs and got them pulled apart and into an origami seed envelope. Dolores seems to think the soil in that west bed is really good. I told her actually there's very little amendment and it's mostly native soil. She must think that heavy black soil is good. It can be but depends on what you're growing.

 Of course I technically needed to water immediately but will see about that tomorrow. Another thing I need, a good watering can for just such a situation. 

So that's it for today. One plant down but hopefully seeds will be growing, such is the way of nature. 

 

Wonky weather not much else

 It's warm enough now that we have had to turn the AC on earlier than 3pm. It was into the low 80's outside this morning which meant that by noon or more it was going to be a bit too warm for comfort. So it's been running today since about 11 am. due to various atmospheric issues and some wildfires the air quality and light has been odd. Not quite overcast but hazy though not so much with smoke. I can look outside my window and 'feel' what it's like outside.

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The largest cucumber is now about two inches long. I'm pretty sure that's the same cucumber  a day apart. The other smaller cucumbers may not have been pollinated. One of them is yellowing at the blossom end which is a sure sign it wasn't.

 Will see how many survive. The vines are doing pretty good grabbing onto the tomatoes or the trellis as they go. I have to hook them a few times if they're going astray but overall doing what they're supposed to. 

The Terra Cotta tomato isn't getting as big as I hoped, I was under the impression they would be standard slicing size. The coloring in the photos is brighter than what they actually were and that was two days ago. I will probably pick that one today but there aren't any cherry tomatoes ready yet. This bunch was over two or three days but judging from the fruit that's ripening now, I may have my hands full, literally with cherry tomatoes in a week.

 The oregano is still sending up flower stalks, I broke off a few the other day and forgot to bring them with me so they're just dried up and laying on the side of the bed. Oh well. It's an ornamental plant for me now that I've figured out it's Greek Oregano and not Italian. 

 I got tired of the over long leaves on the peppers now that the side branches are growing out so I nipped those off yesterday and they look much better. Maybe more energy will go into the new growth more with those gone. Again, the coloring is darker than it should be otherwise I  would have picked that tomato in the back.

 This sure is an over achiever bush! I'm debating whether to nip off the top growth because I'll never be able to reach the fruit up there. But look at how much is growing!!! Those are all about the same size too, so yeah in about a week or two I'll have a constant harvest going on. Still kind of bummed they aren't Roma, those are more useful than cherry size. C'mon Terra Cotta!

Won't water again until Saturday since I just did it yesterday and surprisingly everything is still moist despite sunny weather.

Summer is a'comin!