It's suddenly summer and ramblings

 It has now peaked at 97 where I am at 3:15 pm. I didn't get a chance to get out and water this morning and it will have to wait until the evening. I expect everything will be wilted and overheated. The romaine, probably toast, tomato likely will be falling over as well as the carrots. I suspect the only plant that isn't going to be stressed is the oregano that basically shades it's own roots.  Good thing I didn't transplant the tomato seedling(s). It's also quite breezy right now which is an even worse combination with heat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't a reasonable temperature until around 6 and sunset time. I chanced it and went out around 5:30 and survived. The roses certainly got blasted by the heat the last two days, especially that bicolor one, edges totally ruined. The 'Tiffany' was a little better off but still fully open and the older petals showed some damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bees were buzzing in the Indian Hawthorns that are in full bloom now as well as that Azalea. They were obviously preferring the pink flowers as usual. The jade bush is almost completely done, mostly brown flowers now so these bushes are their only choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before watering everything looked okay, nothing too wilted but then a light cloud cover moved in about an hour before I got outside. Carrots were just fine, potatoes and tomato were a bit loose and the romain was also showing signs of heat stress. 

 Cauliflower are coming along for sure. They aren't quite as yellow as the pictures show but definitely not bright white, which is how the variety is. Largest one is about the size of my palm and the tiniest one in front I had to dig for. 

After about twenty minutes of watering all three beds. Same problem as before, you think it's enough but the water is making a lake on the surface and only penetrating about half an inch. I had to go digging around and turning the soil to make sure everything got a good soaking. Oregano didn't care. Seriously, you want a tough edible ground cover, that's the ticket right there, Greek Oregano. The carrots were fine, still going to give them another week before pulling the larger ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomato is just about a foot tall now, roughly, it should be a lot more full and green at that size. Had it gotten more fertilizer and water, sometimes they surprise me and catch up later on. There's enough room at the front (and soon on the side where the cauliflower are) to put in the peppers when they're ready. So far I have six for sure of unknown variety, possibly all of them are the same, but will put three of them in the raised bed and three in the west bed. If more come up in time I'll put two in the south bed at the front. Maybe. I saw Dolores the other day and she said she's giving up on the tomatoes and most of her garden space along the wall due to lack of energy and time. She likes her little hot chilis but that's about it.

Can barely see Rocky checking out the smells near the lizard log pile. He's got good camouflage that's for sure.

Still trying to decide what to put in the south bed. Two asparagus would have been great but not this year, It's an odd bed that gets full blasting sun for about four hours in the summer and absolutely full shade in the winter. So something that goes dormant in the winter would be perfect and can tolerate partial but hot sun in the summer. A perennial would be ideal as well. (Sounds like I'm asking for advice from the garden group). Maybe flowers? Dahlias? Would like something productive because If I want to grow flowers I want to see them more often. The sweet peas were great and very prolific but prone to mildew at the end and had to pull them out.

Artichoke and Asparagus are two that are top of the list so far that I'll eat. Other suggestions on google are tree collards, kale and 'walking' onions. Riiight. So it seems that asparagus is the only choice. Artichokes are prone to aphids and get huge, I would only grow one in that spot and don't trust it will do well later in the season. 

Asparagus also does not play well with others because of it's growth habit. Might be able to plant strawberries along the front border where it gets more sun longer. Need to find some good wire cutters and dig some of that chicken wire out of the front and sides. I really did not do well with that installation. I would need to get the shovel and dig that entire bed out to remove it and maybe reposition it at the back of the bed. That.... that is not in my energy level anymore. But might have to be if I want a functional area to work in. I put the wire about two inches in from the actual border so I've lost six inches in the sides and two inches in the front (the math doesn't sound like it works but given the curves and all). 

So if I could swing two asparagus crowns or maybe one, and then maybe four or five strawberries that would work.  More garden daydreaming.

Might have to water again...

 It's Summer this weekend! Today we have already closed up and started the AC because it's going to be 92 outside and I was running the stove for lunch. So temp inside apartment is very comfy, well at least it is in the bedroom, hoping there's enough air movement in the living room.

 Got a trunk eye's view of the tree yesterday with the the lime green spring growth looking good with the blue sky and dark branches. There were crows out before I took the picture, three of them with two on the ground and one doing lookout in a tree. As soon as Rocky turned the corner to the lawn he saw the two on the ground and the one in the tree was cawing an alarm. I stayed back to see if Rocky would go into full hunter mode but I think he knows the crows are almost as big as he is and not a challenge so they were able to fly off when he started walking again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two larger cauliflowers are growing nicely and I will be going out to water tonight because I can guarantee they will be a bit on the wilty side, along with the Romaine. These were taken yesterday and everything was nice and perky. Despite the holes in the leaves they aren't being ravaged as badly as I thought. The heads are smaller than my fist but getting there, hoping the heat doesn't trigger them to open up and bolt. The one in the front has some leaves curled in the center so it may be forming a flower head but I fear the coming heat may not do it any good.

Tomato is almost twelve inches high now but still looking a bit thin and weak compared to what it should look like. I'm thinking it's a combination of the heat at the back of that bed drying out the soil a lot more and no fertilizer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, remember the tray of seeds? There are three different varieties of peppers in that tray and due to the accident of knocking them on the kitchen floor.... well your guess is as good as mine on which ones are which now.  But so far six have broken the surface with another two coming up. I don't have the space for growing all of them so will be picking random ones out that are the strongest and will eventually drop them in the south bed and maybe in the raised bed after the potatoes are done.  The issue with pepper plants is the difference between the leaves of the varieties is very minimal. Tomato leaves can vary quite a bit so if you don't know what you have, at least you know they're different. But peppers, good luck. Other than unusual varieties like the Fish Pepper that's variegated and smaller high heat peppers like Thai chilis that have smaller leaves. With the Poblano, I think the leaves are bigger than the Jalapeño and I think the green bell is somewhere in between This all has to be determined when they have a full set of true leaves at about the stage that larger tomato is.

The two tomatoes are doing well, the tallest one is almost four inches which is survivable size compared to the foundling that's growing now. I may well plant both of them together due to lack of space. 

Technically, and by all garden rules, what I am planting in the raised bed for the third or fourth year is a big hokey pokey no no.  Have to rotate crops and definitely not plant tomatoes in the same place year after year. I rotated with peas and sweet peas one year but the timing didn't work out this time. I've got potatoes (which are also in the nightshade family) in the bed and will be following them up with peppers, which are not advised to be planted near tomatoes either. But I really have no choice. Limited space and crops I will eat.

If things go well this year I will consider planting peas or something like that in the fall/winter. The weather is so screwy in San Diego that you can say 'Fall/Winter' and it's going to end up planting in November because you have to start in September or October and it's usually too warm for planting out purchased starts. 

I almost agreed to pick up two asparagus crowns someone was offering but that would involve driving off to my daughters neighborhood and didn't want to spend the extra gas right now. Besides, of the three varieties they had only one I think would have marginal for success in my small pocket of the county which is called Purple Passion. I told them if someone else wants them I can wait it's just a daydream for me.  UC157 is the preferred variety that tolerates the heat and is a male plant (yes it makes a difference). I know some nurseries sell it but they are in bundles of like 25 which I do not need. I would plant it in the south bed due to having shade in the afternoon and not much else would grow there. 

I would plant it in the south bed due to having shade in the afternoon and not much else would grow there. Asparagus can take up to 3 years to mature in order to grow good size spears and who knows what's going to happen in the next four or five months let alone a year. 

 

 

 

 

Finally had to water.

 Mild Santa Ana winds today and tomorrow. My sinuses already detected it two days ago when I started randomly sneezing. Very windy right now enough so it blew a lightly framed poster off my bedroom wall. Has blown the bedroom door shut three times before I found a door stop that worked (half balled up sock).

 

Basically the same as the last few days, Rocky getting a bit bolder and has taken a stroll through the garden for the third day in a row. I kind of have to herd him there if I need to check things. Today I needed more cilantro for a recipe so was able to grab some from the west and south bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomato is about ten inches tall now, so glad I figured out the cattle/hog fence spacing is 4 inches. The potatoes are a bit floppy, especially after I watered them for ten or fifteen minutes (soil was very dry and had to stop and dig around to open up holes for the water to penetrate deeper than half an inch). Technically the potatoes need to have their own mounds around them but not happening obviously. They'll make enough potatoes for two of us for sure. As much as I'd like to dig around I know those plants need to be MUCH bigger because those are all Russets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still no sign of a flower cluster on that front cauliflower and the other two are doing good. The back one seems to have a hole in the middle like the flower branches didn't form there. Would have to get my face right down in there to double check and bending over is not happening as much right now. Nothing wrong with  my back but can't bend over for long periods without getting dizzy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Checked the carrots as best I could again, bending over and low down like that is not an easy feat. Ripped off some of the cilantro leaves on those plants for dinner today, even pulling up a small plant oh well. The garlic is hanging in there, will know what kind of bulbs I have in another two or three months. The oregano, tempted to take my garden knife and just cut through it like a cake to get some more room. It's a nice ground cover for sure but won't see the flowers until around June, which is nice for pollinators I suppose. Going to have to recommend that to the garden group if anyone wants a medium spreading 'edible' ground cover.

The roses are still blooming just forgot to take a picture or two. Still no pepper seedlings or even the squash showing up yet. I separated the two tomatoes from the rest of the pods because Rocky was havin to navigate around the huge tray and I felt like I was infringing on his territory. So at least the tomatoes are getting more sun, the unsprouted seeds don't need it as much. 

Hope to have some carrots soon, maybe by next week I'll pull the largest one. 

 

 

Very warm then it cools down

 (This post was started on March 1 when it was in the low 90's) Breezy but it's a warm breeze that doesn't bring any relief. Have not started the AC yet because it cools down sufficiently at night so interior of apartment is cool without extra help other than fans.  Did have to close the bedroom window because hooboy that air coming in was warm.

Mild breezy weather for the next few days (as of Mar 4).  Started out rather overcast this morning and had to put an extra blanket on my side of the bed last night.  

I think I have a lawn growing. I'm not going to bother scraping or hoeing it because in a matter of a few months it will be brown and dead. If it connects from the middle to the raised bed, then I may well do something. Right now it's good for having a lush oxygen producing ground cover. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roses are blooming and have no idea what the names are. I want to say the pink and white is Paradise but am most likely wrong. Anyone's guess on the yellow is good, there's so many.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for my garden, the cilantro continues to grow and I may well be pulling them out, I still have two bundles in the fridge. The carrots are still not quite there, waiting for the bases to gain a bit more girth and the tops to grow just a bit taller. I planted them somewhere around the beginning of January and it's 65-75 days to maturity. It's been about 60 some days, or less considering February is two days shorter. So will see what the one with the coloring at the base looks like in another week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cauliflower is blooming! Two of them at least, the one in front is a bit younger/slower so nothing there yet. Now, have to see if the weather cooperates and they form a head bigger than a softball. This variety is supposed to do well in higher temperatures so wills ee what happens. It's still getting chewed but not worried about it. Kind of surprised me but then I haven't been out there diligently checking on anything for a couple of days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two different days and times, late afternoon three days ago and about noon today. Tomato is about eight inches tall now, still looking a bit spindly and not really surprising since I haven't fertilized since December or before. The seedlings in the peat pots, well it'll be a while before they're big enough to plant out. Still looking a bit weak and really need to get them more sun. I would have to set an alarm to go out and cover them or something. Still too small to be in full full sun and be planted out. Don't have anything like shade cloth or even cheese cloth to cover them. The plastic containers I have would bake them and possibly shrivel in high heat... will figure out something.

I soaked then then separated two rose hips from the small pink flower bush again. Not sure how viable they are and have to put them in a completely separate container because the veggies have all been jumbled up I don't want to take a chance. I have them in a small tupperware type container that I had three peat pods in before, just hanging out in the warm window today.

Breezy and mild, perfect gardening weather. 

 

It's starting to warm up

 It got up to 96 today but not until afternoon, still a bit too toasty for this time of year. Which means I have to step up the watering schedule again. The raised bed heats up faster than the ground and gets more sun so it will need watering more often.

 Three-quarter moon yesterday afternoon, it was close to 5pm so moon had been up for a while and the sun was about to set in an hour. That's zoomed in 4x on my phone and of course still smaller than it looks to your eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another pair of carrots that should be thinned out but they're too close and in an awkward position to the front of the bed, will make a decision on pulling that back one tomorrow. I decided to dig up the purple potato and discovered, that was all there was. So technically there were three potatoes along with the other one I had almost cut in half and decided to throw out. Will have more patience with the other plants for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because that center one is huge so will have a staggered harvest, you can see all the empty space where the onions are missing, the Romaine is doing okay, that front one gets blasted by the sun this time of year and was seriously wilted. The one in the back gets shaded by the two potatoes, so pretty ideal for that. I have a huge open space in the front now but there's nothing to put in there yet. Oh yeah and I 'trimmed' back some more of the jade. Slowly breaking branches off and will do it around to the other side on the right just so it doesn't look tooo obvious.

The two tomato seedlings are very light green because essentially are growing in mostly shade. They're doing okay but I can't put them out in the garden without some protection and would have to check on them every day for watering. Will ask my partner if I can turn the stove hood light on and put them over there tonight.  It's going to be a very long while before the peppers start sprouting, they take so much longer than tomatoes. 10-20 days instead of the 7-10 days for tomatoes. With the warm weather here's hoping closer to ten days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes and decided on a lark to plant 1 lone yellow squash seed. I know my luck with those have been less than productive because you need more than one plant in the same row for better pollination. Might plant more than one and then gut the west bed (other than the garlic). Well not exactly gut, I trimmed back some of the oregano and by the time the squash is ready to plant the carrots will be done. That's still too small a bed for a squash plant though. 

So many plants, so little space to grow them!