When did I get so intolerant of 80 degree weather? It got up to 82 in the apartment this morning and was going to be 88 outside. We have the AC on already and not even going to take Rocky out until sunset.
I watered a little yesterday and will water in the evening tonight.
Didn't even take a new picture of the weather because it's the same as yesterday and the day before. Clear when the sun comes up and not a cloud in sight all day. Supposed to get partly cloudy next week and drop the temp about ten degrees but then back up to the 80's next weekend. Here comes summer!
The onion in the back corner is showing signs of a swelling bulb. This is fantastic and hope this is an edible onion. The plants I got the seeds from were severely overgrown and had never been pulled. My only thought is (despite them being in containers) the owners though that onions kept away pests. So, they just let them grow instead of pulling them every year to use. On my last walk near there the seeds weren't ready yet for this year. They looked like white onions since there was no purple or yellow skins showing.
The squash is growing fast but the tomatoes are not. Wish I could give them all a shot of fertilizer to help them get a boost. The soil looks dry and it is very warm but when I scraped the surface it was still moist about a half inch in. I'll water for sure tonight. I actually left the cups off the tomatoes overnight and they did fine. I did notice a little evidence of something chewing on them on the back of the leaves but rubbed them all to try and take care of that.
Tomatillos are loving the weather and being in the ground apparently. I'm taking pictures from those angles for comparison as they grow. Just in the past four days the taller one has cleared the bottom rung of the cage. The shorter one is still slower. Oh, there were a few cilantro sprouts coming up at the back of that bed finally. Trying to keep that area moist and I'm sure the shade helps as well.
I planted one of the other tomatillos in the west bed to see if it improves and am gradually pulling the squash pot out of the ground as the leaves get bigger. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it's ready to put it in the ground to keep the pill bugs off it. I know the cucumbers were just chewed to bits last year and expect the same problem this year with the squash. Only way to combat it is with Sluggo Plus which I don't have the money for right now. Who knows what will happen next month, two weeks from now.
Day before yesterday I went out in the evening to put the cups on all the plants and pull out the squash a bit more. I pulled it all the way out thinking I'd find a lot of pill bugs but no. I saw dozens of tiny millipedes, not worms, these were definitely segmented and moved more snake like than wormy. So that's a new issue for this year and wondering if they'll cause issues with the roots because those are all just babies. Their mouthparts are only suitable for eating compost (which there's lots of under the soil) and they will be moving around in the soil. Even more imperative I get some of that Sluggo Plus or DE (diatomaceous earth).
As I've whined about before, I need an entire budget just for gardening and more space to put things. I have the crate, but where to put the crate so it's got sun but not in the way? The soil depth on all the beds is getting really low which is my other concern. End of summer I would need another four bags of soil to top the two beds off and a little for the south bed. I need some boards or bricks for a frame to add some depth upward for the two in ground beds. And about $100 for the supplies to do so.
Making do with what I have of course. But I want better.
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