Another gorgeous day, just pictures, no work

 Clear, slightly hazy and just borderline too cool for shorts but my pants are filthy so that's what I'm wearing and since it'll be warmer by the weekend I can bear it. No work today other than culling the cilantro but did put the amendments in evening yesterday.

The difference in those two piles, black is from the free pile I got two bags of and the brown is the packaged one I bought.  Mixing them together with the base soil a bit and it's almost to the previous level. Unfortunately the lady that is trying to get rid of the gophers decided to help herself to my small pile of dirt.

I don't think she understands what she's doing unless she put bait down in the holes and if she did, good luck getting any lemons off that bush that aren't poisoned.

Honestly... that was after I watered it lightly and had taken a few shovels of what was left. I may well need a bag of the raised bed soil but not until I get that edging plastic in place. Another job for this evening.

 

Once I get the edging in that will give me a bit more solid wall for the soil to stay put. If I had a flat spade it would have made for a lot more square edges to fit the chicken wire into. I grabbed the edging and moved the compost bucket to the top of the logs which is surprisingly stable.

The remainder of the chicken wire is in the corner behind the tomato cages...which reminded me about support for the tomatoes (see below).

More pretty flowers and the cilantro. Not entirely sure that's a Knock Out rose but does it matter? Nope, not really.

 

 

The onion flowers have doubled in height just in the last three days I swear. I pulled some more of the cilantro at the trellis end, the rest will stay for seed. I pulled leaves off and just tossed the stems near the compost and tomato cups.

So that tomato will have more sun in the late morning/ early afternoon now. As I was tossing the stems I realized I had forgotten to bring down the scrap bucket, oh well. Will hopefully remember to do that this evening.

A little while longer my pretties! That one on the end is the yellowing one that looks a bit better, or maybe it's just the light. I think it looks better.

The onions had new chew damage today dangit! Will have to dig around them and see what I can find. Should have done that this morning in the better light but oh well. Maybe should have laid the cilantro stems on either side to see if that would help.

I was using non-HDR mode on the camera so things are a bit more washed out. It tends to balance the coloring and brightness more so I turn it off for evening pictures or indoors.

 

Now about the tomato supports.

A determinate or 'semi-determinate' like Roma aren't going to be short just because it doesn't grow through the season. Determinate just means they grow to a certain point, flower and fruit and are done. No puttering along for an extended season and wintering over. 

All the reports say 4 feet tall but given my luck in that bed I'm going to say 5 feet so I'm going to need something they can grow into without needing extenders. I have three stakes and seven tomatoes. The only way to use those stakes effectively is doing that 'Florida Weave' technique in the North bed.

Not my picture of Florida Weave

Also technically speaking the tomatoes need to be about two feet apart. That's not happening in my small bed. I  might have to get a few of those corkscrew tomato stakes to make it work. 

Why am I not using the tomato cages? Well, I would only be able to fit three cages in the north bed maybe 2 and frankly not a fan of using cages given my last experience. It tends to crowd the branches all together and makes  it a festering place for insects and disease.

Now, that's fine for the North bed but what about the raised bed? That's where I'm going to need those corkscrew stakes since those aren't in a nice neat row. Again, cages take up way too much room for a small space so those will have to just wait it out this year. Not going to worry about using the cages, not like they'll go bad and I didn't buy them.

So now I am on the hunt for stakes, twine (I could use the green wire but every video/article I've seen is using garden twine), more soil and something else to put in the south bed. In order of importance: soil, stakes, twine, seeds/starts.

Feels good to actually be doing something and seeing progress right?