The heat is on....

 Yesterday it got up to 89 midday and today it got that high before noon, so needless to say we are closed up and enjoying chill temperatures inside. We could have waited a bit longer, the kitchen thermometer only was at 74 when it was 84 outside. But best to get ahead of the curve before you have to cool down to comfortable. it is 1:40 pm and 97 outside, 76 in the kitchen.

 

 I had cut off and saved some some green onions about a week ago and they were now sprouted enough on top to put them out. Right before it was going to get blasting heat. I laid them in a trench in the west bed and then used the half gallon jug to water them. The raised bed was still perfectly damp yesterday evening so wasn't going to drag out the hose just for one small line of onions. Yes that bed needed more compost but whatever, I fertilized it with pellets a while back and the soil is actually pretty good for onions.  With this heat spike, I'm pulling the peat pots of seeds out of the window during the day because that window in the afternoon can get brutal. When the temps dip down again or if it gets cloudy they'll go back in to warm up during the day.

 

Measuring tape not needed. Emptied out the crate and used a stick to trace around it. You can see that the soil is still perfectly dark and moist. Plenty of room around it for planting other things but as far as potatoes in that crate, it's actually rather small for the number of potatoes I want to put in there. If the cauliflower comes up in time and grows well at least three will go in that empty space, maybe radishes or onions in the front. Maybe a couple of pea plants on the trellis, literally, there's only room for two plants, one if it's very ambitious and healthy. 

Nothing can go in that bed until I get the crate in place and before that happens have to cut up the potatoes and let them dry a bit before planting them. I think I can get six spuds maybe seven in that crate. It's also not that deep so putting a layer of soil in the bottom only about an inch thick may not be an option. I'd say half full with soil then place potatoes and then cover lightly and mound as they grow. 

As per the AI guide:

 "Cut seed potatoes into chunks with at least one or two eyes each. Allow them to dry for a day or two to prevent rotting. Plant them at least 5–6″ inches deep and space them about 12 inches apart in rows." 

I can do 5-6" easily and at 12" apart.... that's maybe two but I will try for 3. Honestly if they grow well and set at least a handful on each plant that's more than enough for two people.

 

Hard to see but there are 'millions' of teeny tiny seedlings coming up (guaranteed weeds) but those larger leaf plants may well be cilantro. Believe it or not I may well leave all the little greens in there just for a 'cover crop' and add in a few other cilantro for staggered harvest. That south bed is semi-useless in from Fall to Summer with the amount of shade it gets. 

 

That's just the quick update for now,  a bit of prep and still holding pattern for fall planting.

 

 

First round of seeds and watering

But first, it is still mostly fall weather. Cool, almost chilly nights and very pleasant sunny days with a cool breeze. It will all be erased in a few days when the temps will jump up in a hot flash moment to the 90's. 

That was taken last night/evening but you can see later in the week it's supposed to jump up to 92. It's only in the upper 70's right now during the day so still very pleasant. 

First round of cauliflower seeds planted. I didn't think I got a seed in the one on the right so it was in there overnight and then I decided to just squeeze it into the other container. Those clear plastic containers are from one of my sets from Ikea, 'tower of containers' set that I have two.  They make great humidity/catch trays since I am not taking lunches or snacks to work anymore. The black one is a mushroom container from the store that I have discovered are not heat tolerant at all. Two have turned into folded and twisted objects just leaving them out in the garden in what I thought was a shaded spot.So, seedling tray yes, sun exposure, no.

I double checked to make sure rose hips should be harvested when they turn color and the answer was yes so I yoinked about five of them before the gardeners decided to cut them off. I might grab those three as well just to make sure. this is the medium pink single petaled rose in front of the giant BoP that gets maybe half day sun in the summer and hardly any in winter. I watered all the beds and noticed a lot of seedlings coming up in the south bed. I know I only tossed a handful of cilantro in there so my suspicion is most of that is weed seeds. Will let them grow and see what happens.

Verification of height on the crate idea. That little white rack is about the same level as the bottom of the planting area. It seems there will be about two inches of crate above the edge of the bed. Can't put soil in any higher than that handle cut out anyway so that is acceptable. It is also perfect length for putting in it's current orientation that will allow maximum sun and yet keep the rest of the bed in sun as well.  Yes it will shade in the afternoon but 5 or 6 hours of sun is just fine for growing. There will be a lot of shoveling going on when I decide to do that but I think it will be worth the effort. What gardening isn't worth the work right?

 

Even after watering thoroughly (and I do mean thoroughly) the soil level didn't sink that much.  I still want another bag of soil just in case and if there's left overs it'll be distributed in the ground beds. I mistakenly just walked right out to the garden without changing shoes but no harm done to my suede slip ons, got a little wet but that's all. Need to look into getting a more 'all weather' pair of shoes because my canvas ones have no tread left and are not water proof.

Trying to think of anything else I could use and the only thing that comes to mind is a good pair of garden gloves. I miss my Foxgloves, sure they're fabric but they were made out of bamboo and nylon, dried ultra fast and completely washable. When I originally bough them about fifteen years ago, they were $25 for the ones with the grips on the palm. On Amazon, they are now $32, of course everything is more expensive now. The cuff length was perfect the nubs were just enough, I wore mine out many times using them every day or losing them on a monthly basis. 

And Fall means leaves on the ground and fungus in the grass. 

 

I am very stoked about the garden

 I was able to get the bag out of the car and into the raised bed today. I am so excited! First time there has been soil almost to the top in a couple of years. 

Before. Soil down to the second ridge and has been that way for two years at least. I cleaned out a lot of my old photos so not much in the way of reference shots.

After. One 2 cf bag of the Kellog's Raised Bed mix. I leveled it out a bit more and technically, should have done a little at a time to mix in the existing soil, oh well. I mixed as much as I could and if I get a second bag that will go in the ground beds. I'm so stinking happy about having this much soil after so long.  Since I might be setting in that crate I may not need more soil in that bed at least. It's not going to displace that much but want to hold off until that gets done. I'll be setting the crate on the surface and see how much room it takes up. Given the awkwardness of the space I will probably set it long ways parallel to the trellis and maybe plant peas in the crate after I put the potatoes in. Hoping the soil is deep enough I can make it level with the surrounding soil or at least at level with the top of the bed walls. It's dark now otherwise I'd go down and take some measurements. 

I keep thinking mentally the crate is going to sit on top of the soil and worry about sun angle then have to stop myself. It's not going to be that tall, but I can tell jsut from the photo it's definitely going to be taller than the walls of the bed. I have logs at the bottom and the crate on the ground is about four inches shorter than the bed. So yeah, level with the top is not going to happen but it'll still work. Keeping it on that side and to the back will work out best for sun exposure. The jade bush will be shading that side of the bed all winter and you can see how there is shade on that angle in the evening (went out around 5pm). If it's going to sit above the edge then I will need extra soil to fill the top of the crate. Second bag will be needed.

And that's my excitement for today! Second bag will be purchased sometime next week before the heat spike and hope to get more seeds as well.

Yay for new dirt! 

Soil purchased...sort of.

 So as I said, I have enough on my gift card to get a bag of soil. First mistake, didn't make sure I had the barcode loaded before we got there. 

I could not find the email that I could have sworn I had kept in my mail page so it would be right there. Well apparently I decided to just clear the page out of reflex the other day and it wasn't there. Standing around, getting frustrated, two associates tried to help me and then said to go to customer service and see what they can do.  Even the very patient and very knowledgable young man could not find it and it wouldn't come up on my account on the website.  He was very kind and (knowing this was part of policy) just took $11 off our total (bought a 12 pack of coke as well since it was cheaper than the store) and so essentially got the soil for free.

Now then, back at home I got on the computer hoping it would somehow magically be right there. Nope... you see... when I send mail to the trash... it's another page of emails.. I had to scroll down and page after page until I got to the beginning of the month and there it was. I even emailed my brother telling him about my problem but since it was not his direct email there was no way he could resend it. So anyway, found it with the barcode and pin, saved it as a pdf and printed it out. Damn straight. (it is currently 9 pm and I forgot to take it out of the car, lovely smell in the morning).

Now, this means I will be able to go back to HD with my printed card, grab another bag of soil and now will have 2 bags that will fill up my raised bed! Whooo! Do I feel like I'm cheating? Sort of, but a lot less cheating than people who purposely cut holes in bags and then have them discount it down because it's a 'broken bag'. This was a total fubar on my part that was not on purpose to cheat the system. They are allowed to mark down merchandise to about $20 at their discretion so I'm going to get a second bag and be done with it. I was also going to try and get some carrot seeds but there was an older disabled man and his wife looking right where the carrots were and I was not in a mood to deal with them. Will try the library next week.

It's starting to change. Poor thing is looking more and more ragged lately due to the ravages of caterpillars, age and parrots. Also leaves are dropping but not that drastically. Leaves are blowing into the garden beds for sure though, got rather blustery the other day and weather says we may have Santa Ana's again and temps jumping back up to 90 next week. Oh yay. Mother Nature is having a hot flash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky spied a lizard. Picture on the left is from March and the one on the right is from today. Almost can't see it, but it's toward the back, head down and apparently he didn't seem interested in actually trying to get it. I think the bougainvillea thorns might have poked him last time. That 'bush' by the way is totally being ravaged by loopers, but if the gardener comes through again it'll all be cut down. Like the lantana is downstairs. Seriously, that lady completely chops all the green growth off the lantana every year. It's horrific. Yes it grows back but it doesn't need to be hacked back like that! She's so very proud of herself cleaning up the spider plants and raking the soil and all that. God bless her but honestly.

So no photos of the garden because it's just dirt right now but soon, very soon will be planting again.
 

Yay for good soil!

 I keep forgetting how well the soil absorbs water once it gets over the whole dry as a popcorn fart stage.

Late afternoon shot but that is dark and moist soil down a good 4+  inches. The other two beds were still damp as well, thanks to mild weather and no blazing sunshine to blast the soil with heat. I used the cultivator to dig around the entire bed and there were some less wet spots and sections around the edges but it's all good. The fertilizer pellets helped somewhat I suspect, I probably dropped about a cup or two of pellets in that bed and at least a cup in each of the other beds.

 I guess  I'll be planting potatoes this season as a friend is going to pass those two potatoes on to me since they are going out of town for a week and a half. Russet on the top and a blue (Russian?) potato both with very well growing eyes (chitting as I've seen others call it) and then I've got the small red one in the cupboard that is also sprouting. She was also going to see what seeds she had for cool season planting other than what I've got. Told her I wasn't fond of the Chantenay carrots as they are short and stout and I had bought them for putting in the ground. I might stop at the library tomorrow since I'll be out and about in the afternoon.

Now I just have to make sure the soil is sandy enough and drains well, not too much nitrogen and all that for the spuds to grow well.  The soil in the raised bed drains well enough but it still holds onto moisture a long time (as long as it's not 90+), that was the death of my first potatoes I grew waaay back at another place but that also did not have the advantage of full sun.  

After some research, potatoes like slightly acidic soil.... hmmmm. And something I didn't know there are early season/late season and determinate and indeterminate potato varieties. I have no freaking clue on what kind of potatoes I have other than Russet, Blue and Red. From what I read, it seems they are all the same growing pattern which means digging a 'trench' and hilling as they grow. This could get interesting. I see why people use grow bags because I remember last time I tried this I was digging up a potato sprout in the West bed way past potato season and also had one come up in the raised bed. One of the reasons why I wanted to use the crate...... wait a minute.

Dig the soil out in an area big enough for the crate and sink it into the raised bed, backfill with soil..... Brilliant! Potatoes are contained, don't have to worry about escaping spuds, more than adequate drainage.... and takes up most of the area in the raised bed. Still enough room for something on the trellis if I want and cilantro and lettuces... so yeah that's cool! Need to take some measurements and see just what position to put it in, more to the back, east or west end.

Okay then, that's a solution and just so happens that onions and cilantro make good companion plants for potatoes. Some people consider 'companion planting' as using repellent type plants not necessarily beneficial for nutrients. Cilantro is relatively shallow rooted so that's a good reason it's compatible. I'm actually looking forward to planting now! Need to set up the seed pellets in containers now and get them set up for....peas? Since the pellets can go directly in the soil I guess carrot seeds would be okay. Romaine would be fine.

 

 

And the garden is watered!

 Finally! The weather was not heinous, nor rainy, had an earlier appointment and decided not to cook anything so voila! I got out to the garden!

Yesterday it was clear blue skies but then the wind came up later in the day and I thought....aha... and sure enough, partly cloudy with moderate temperatures, perfect for gardening! I think I'm going to put garden gloves on my Christmas list this year. I've got the kitchen gloves but they're too small and more of a hassle to use. I was wandering through a Hallmark Crown store (lots more than just ornaments and cards now) and there was a little garden gift section. Some really sturdy looking green and terra cotta rubber gloves caught my eye and ... price was what you would expect. But apparently... they think only women with small to medium hands garden. They were pretty good too but not my size or price point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay for a hose that stretches all the way to my bed! I've learned a few tricks for unwinding the coils and winding them back up again rather than looking like I'm playing jump rope just roll it off my hands. One of the things I did was make sure that jade bush got some water. I doubt the amount I gave it would make any difference but if I do it every week it will appreciate it I'm sure. As well as any critters that might be making a home under there. 

So product review so far, this is the Husky 50' 5/8" garden hose and I already like the super sturdy couplings on either end. The hose itself is nothing unusual for the type it is but feels more sturdy than previous ones. Husky is not a bad product line and is the 'house' brand for HD, I kept the cardboard wrap that was on it and the receipt... oh did I  mention I found the box for the previous Aquajoe hose in the cupboard, with the receipt? Yeah, those went to the recycling bin now. 

First pass with watering. Doesn't look like much and you'd think watering really well the soil would be wet further down....nope. I cycled through all three beds for about a half hour because they were all that dry.

This was after two soakings and the soil was only wet maybe a half inch down. Soaking, as in watering until the entire surface was flooded, then move on to the other two beds and come back and do it again. Wow. Going to check them tomorrow of course, but the West in ground bed was perfectly fine, and the South bed needed a third soaking but that is now in the shade most of the day so that won't need watering as much. I will definitely hit that raised bed again sometime this week because it needs to be moist all the way down. I had dumped a generous amount of fertilizer on all the beds so with the watering and using the cultivator on that raised bed, there is good fertilizer all through that soil. I just checked and I have enough money left on the gift card for a large back of raised bedding soil, yay! I am rightfully reluctant to shop there on a weekend so will try and get there in the next week or so. No rush on that, not like I can spend that money like it was cash and I don't have anything ready to plant either. On one of these trips out and back I'll try and stop by the library and see what seeds they have I might be able to use.  

It's still a bit of a chore pulling out the hose and then rolling it back up again, there are portable hose reels of course and some that are even hand held, that would be a bonus for sure. I'll make do with what I've got. Like ya do.

 

 

 

And it figures....

 So I got an e-giftcard to Home Depot thanks to one of my brothers and did some pre-shopping to find the most affordable hose I could get within that budget and still have some left over for one other thing. So, got to the store, almost panicked because I had deleted the email with the card on it but luckily had not purged my email trash. Card retrieved, hose purchased and grabbed the same grow pellets I got before because it was just easier and cheaper.

I didn't feel like rolling it out and watering today because..... weather said there was a 90% chance of rain today. Cue the Ironic song.  Yes indeed, it is raining. A very good, soft steady rain that was preceded by very blustery winds yesterday and this morning. Hose is in the closet where I had stored my previous one and the tarp, the pellets are safe and dry in the apartment. At least my car and the jade plant are getting a good soaking.

Now.... I went rifling through my seed collection last night and realized I am very deficient in cool season seeds. I have cauliflower, Chantenay carrots (not a fan), mixed lettuces and the Romaine, snow peas and sweet peas. That's it. Everything else is peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, tomatillos.. everything for summer that I don't have room for growing all in one season.  My problem is, there really are very few cool season veggies that I will eat and that I can grow given my space. Would love cabbage, but those plants get huge, same with Brussel Sprouts (I know, I have seen them), I have the big crate I could grow potatoes but need a copious amount of soil to do that and maybe some straw.  Not in my budget at the moment. Peas of course, but will need to get some pod peas not snow peas, sweet peas will be for spring, so what else? Oh yes, and plenty of cilantro seeds.

Onions, I'd like to try again but not from seed even though I have them. It would take for-ev-er! I don't really eat spinach or beets, I did want to start an herb garden but would want to start from plants. Need another variety of carrots and maybe try my hand at garlic again... Maybe in the crate with the potatoes? That list says greens...what greens? Lettuce, cilantro and spinach are already mentioned, what else? so that's basically it for me. Not that I have a quarter acre to plant but I guess peas, lettuces, green onions, garlic and potatoes? Good enough I suppose. 

But at least I have a functional hose, the nozzle still works well enough and I have means to plant seeds and free water falling from the sky! 

Still nothing but oregano

 The weather has at least dropped it down a notch so we're officially moving into Fall. Sure it's still warm but it isn't heinously hot anymore. Warmest it's been in the past two weeks is low to mid 80's and we've been out and about with medical appointments other than the weekend.

 Not much in the way of garden photos of my own but here's a photo of a display near the cancer center where I'm currently going for treatments. Individually painted pumpkins where last month that was just grey rocks in the ribbon design. 

My area was sideswiped by a tropical storm so we got spatterings of rain but mostly just that, nothing that stuck around. So very tropical temps and overcast, not the best weather but beats 100 degree heat. I finally had the energy and time go to the garden and water the oregano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How it started, I just didn't want to fill the bucket so dragged the cut off hose to the oregano and ran it on a medium flow. Ran right over the surface of course because it hasn't been watered in two weeks. 

How it ended. I sprayed and puddled and then got the cultivator and raked and moved the dirt so it all got thoroughly saturated. It is still mostly native dirt and could use another bag of compost for sure, same with the other beds. That raised bed/potting soil is the best due to smaller pieces, the in ground soil I got last time has larger chunks than I like in the beds. Especially for seedlings. I have no idea if the cilantro seeds are still there but will find out when we finally get rain in the spring.

 

I may well have enough money for either soil or a new hose (thanks to some extra birthday money from friends and family), or new hose and seedling mix and will get the larger soil next month. The hose is the biggest cost and most important and am still trying to decide what type. Seedling mix or the peat pellets are inexpensive and a non issue. I made some of those cardboard tube containers but the peat pellets worked so well I might get both and see which one works best. 

 

Next decision, what to plant. I've muddled, and hemmed and hawed and thought about it so many times, I'll just pull the seeds I feel like planting and be done with it.

The poor jade plant is really, really suffering without any supplemental water. I haven't been able to water it at all in months and it definitely shows. It didn't get this bad in previous years and am hoping that the gophers didn't decide to chew the roots and kill it. Although that would be a bonus for sure to have more planting room for Dolores and Layla.

 

The noble goofball pudge boi Rocky. Was trying to get some photos of him for future reference in case he ever escaped without his harness on even though he's chipped. 

Now that I have a functioning car and the weather has gone down a notch, I'm feeling better about my hobbies and gardening more.