So I think I forgot to post yesterday.

Yep I took pictures and all and thought I had started a post but guess not. Compared to yesterday today is very different for weather. Overcast, almost cold and breezy. I did a little video of walking out to the garden area and will figure out how to upload it somewhere. I have an instagram account but haven't used it in a couple of years, will see what it is involved in posting from my phone.

So pictures from yesterday:

I didn't dig it out but that sprout behind the peas is in the same place the shroom was. But it's also where that potato root is so will see what it does. As I said, fungus like that isn't necessarily bad and, in fact, is healthy. The carrots are sprouting finally! That's one that I circled and further down you'll see a second one that has come up as well. Man they are sloooowwww!

Dirt is still darker where I stirred it up from pulling the cilantro but everything is basically doing good. The lettuce definitely needs a trim so... I did that too.

 

So a nice handful of leaves but I noticed that the stems on the plants are getting kind of tall. Might have to just pull them up when they need trimming again. The peas.... what can I say? Doing just fine and should have some pods to pick in the next few weeks.

The aloe is blooming and will talk about the balance of shade and sun they like later. That window box is hopefully going to be what I use for the temporary holding place for the tomatoes when I get them potted up.

 

That brings me to today. There are now two carrot seedlings in the appropriate locations for the seed tape I put down and I got a closer look at the tiny thing coming up near the garlic. Believe it or not... it looks like a tomato but that's highly doubtful since they should have leaves that look like that so tiny so still thinking it's a radish.

I put a query out on one of the garden exchange groups for 4" pots for my tomatoes and will exchange cilantro and four of the tomato seedlings. Got four people that answered. I then experimented with trying to poke holes in the bottoms of the thin plastic cups which didn't go as well as I thought it would. Ideally I needed an ice pick and heat it up over the stove to melt holes. No such luck.

After sitting and running through options in my head I remembered that a lot of nursery pots have slots or holes on the side. How hard would it be to use.... large nail clippers and scissors? Tadaaa! I only did one as an experiment because I may have actual pots in a few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 My next hurdle was... I forgot to bring scissors or clippers with me to cut open the bag of compost..I pulled out the only thing in my pocket, my car key and then saw a hole already where the top seam was popped. Tadaaa! No scissors needed, just pulled it open. It is compost for sure, nothing but that for mixing into the  ground which is fine because that's what I needed for that north bed. After I get some chicken wire or something down for the gophers.

It doesn't look like it but the difference in the green between the cilantro grown in full sun and the tomato is notable. I took some of the compost and mixed it with some of the ground soil without getting too many bits and pieces and rocks in it.
 

 

 

The tomato I planted behind the cilantro is still upright and looking good. With the weather today it's not getting a whole lot of sun but that's okay. By the time I have to cut back the cilantro it will be tall enough to survive on it's own. The one I planted is in the window and the only thing I wasn't able to do is plant it really deep. I went about half way up with the soil so about half the stem is covered with soil. 

The peas are definitely popping pods and flowers. I noticed a flower that had dropped and two new pods so as I said, peas in a few weeks for sure.

As I was doing something at the other end of the kitchen I heard the hummingbird outside and saw she had perched on the tree. That is a zoomed in shot from about eight feet away from the window. She seems to be interested in what I put in the window and will also come to the door when we open it and chirp at Rocky if he's sitting there.  She actually followed us when we went out for a walk the other day and all I can think is she has a nest really close by, maybe downstairs in one of the bushes but will have to look around. I saw her looking for cobwebs and insects under the eaves so she definitely is nesting.

Now about that shade/sun balance for aloes, and other plants as well. Yes they do like sun, the are drought tolerant succulents but if you want nice looking leaves they need a bit of shade. Flowers, need sun, leaves like shade. There is another plant that is similar, another succulent, the epiphyllums. They do better in shade but need about four hours of sun, either morning or afternoon to get them to flower. Biggest most beautiful plants I saw on a house was an East facing garage wall. Leaves looked good and they were blooming like crazy. So the same thing with the aloes, a bit of shade gives you a better looking plant, just don't water it too much. Like the orange flowering one at the beginning of the garden, they're mostly in shade so the plants aren't very big and they're flowering just fine. 

 Not all cactus/succulents want to be in an open full sun situation to look their best. How do you know? Ask at a nursery or do some research online making sure you have the right name for the plant you're researching.