Soil phase completed! Tomatoes planted!

 Warmer today because the cloud cover broke earlier. It was mostly sunny and warm by  11 which is when I got out to do my planting. But first, flowers.

I was able to go to HD last yesterday and get two bags of soil I needed. When we were bringing them to the garden I was able to get a better picture of the Angel Face rose.

It's not as pink as the picture, a little more lavender color but still gorgeous. Not exactly pruned correctly but look at that, four flowers with another two buds coming! Sigh.

 

I didn't notice this epi flowering in the bench garden until today. It's another huge flower and one of my favorite colorings. The Tiffany rose has four or five buds on it, that's the biggest one to bloom next.

And now.... to the garden!

I used some precious dollars to get soil but at a bargain. I don't normally buy broken bags but since I worked at HD I am taking advantage of the 'broken bag' policy. It varies store to store but if you get a cashier that's not worn down and the bag is ripped sufficiently you can get 50% off.  I was standing in front of the pallet that had the soil and looked at the other soils but really, for the money this was the best thing. I put one on my cart and then considered getting a second one. I knew that if I didn't get a second one, I would need it. These are 2 cf bags and the same stuff I used in the raised bed so I know it's good stuff.

I then noticed a bag standing between two pallets of soil that had huge rips in the side. I know exactly how that sort of thing happens and knew why it was put there. I hauled it out and put it on my cart, then considered putting the unbroken one back. I went to the register still wondering if I wanted to put it back and thought, 'screw it, I need both of them'. I asked the cashier if I could get half off the broken one and she said sure. So regular price is 9.97 and got the broken one for about 5.  Score! $16 and change for two bags that would cost $21.

So here we go. Full light of day and plants are ready. I didn't water yesterday or before I added the soil. I didn't remember the fertilizer once again until everything was planted. I did use the cultivator and loosened the soil in the bottom of the bed.

The plastic edging is not level all the way around so it looks deeper at the far end but in fact, the soil is level. There wasn't much really missing from the broken bag so that's one full 2 cf bag of soil in and it's almost to the top. Without compacting it much, of course so that would happen after I added more from the second bag.

Oh, I measured the soil depth and I got my trowel all the way down to handle depth so that's at least as deep as the raw soil was for my tomato two years ago. The soil spillage at the front shows that I already broke open the second bag and added about half that in.

Gave the soil a 'focaccia' treatment for compacting. If you've seen the videos on how they make it dimpled, I just spread my fingers and pushed down all over the bed. I could have used even more soil actually and, even though the tomatoes are planted, I can still add more because they don't mind.

 

Before and after planting and before fertilizer. I can't see well when I'm bent over and eyes watering and all that being half blind so I didn't see the difference in the soil. You can see how the soil was already drying out just in a matter of minutes after putting it in. 

Bag of fertilizer to show that I actually did put some in. Just scraped a moat around the plants and sprinkled it in best I could (more like dumped accidentally but scooped some and distributed it. Running low on the fertilizer too, going to run out with the next feeding.

And then the south bed. Had to be more careful here due to the onions being there, otherwise it would have gotten a lot more digging and amending. Not quite centered but that's okay. Will see what the difference between amended soil like this is compared to the mostly raised bed in the other bed.

I already know how well the plants do in straight potting soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remaining soil and the cups ready for the pepper plants next. Will be potting those up tomorrow on the patio and put them out on the window box where the tomatoes were. I'm going to offer some of that leftover soil to Layla when she gets back, maybe even put the window box over there as well for her to use until she can manage to work her garden. 

Well, now it's time for a shower and then head off to get grandkids. Gardening is done for now, will check back this evening and maybe do the pepper potting then.

Yay! Garden is looking good! Hope that chicken wire keeps the snails away too...maybe?

Warmer and the tree is in bloom

 It smells wonderful outside with the light breeze and warm air mixing coming through the window. Warm enough that I only spent about twenty minutes or so in the garden before I got too warm to even comtemplate dumping the compost bucket. Besides I forgot the bag to put it on so will try and do that tonight. Starting with yesterday evening's foray to the garden. Cool enough I needed my jacket.

I yanked another large cilantro plant to make more room for the tomato and lettuce. Until it gets big enough to peek over the tops of the cilantro, will keep yanking it.

Watsonia is getting ready to bloom and there is a small rose bush (likely root stock coming up) trying to compete with the bigger bush. Hoping it can try and bloom this year just to see what it is.

Just a difference between last evening and today. Yes, the second picture is closer but it also shows that the lettuce in that spot is doing very well. I suspect it's happy to be shaded compared to the line out in full sun. 

 

Fungus coming back up again behind the peas and just gonna leave them. The tomatoes are still looking rather sickly and hope that the shot of fertilizer I gave them (and the trauma) helps them improve a bit more.

There is something nibbling on the lower leaves of the peas. Those are definitely snail/slug chew marks and knowing where they like to hide they are likely digging into the soil rather than climbing all the way back up and out of the bed. Cutworms would eat in a different pattern and they aren't touching the garlic or onions.

The tomato is a bit more in the clear but I also was holding the cilantro back to get a clear photo. It's much better looking than the other seedlings but there's still time for the others to catch up. I suspect this tomato is going to grow up and through that trellis but that's one of the reasons why I put it there. Self-supporting situation. Will be difficult to get to any tomatoes at the back and there's not a lot of room but will see what happens. I almost unplanted it when I pulled the cilantro out. Due to the soil being so loose and open tiny roots were going everywhere.

Speaking of cilantro, that stuff is about ready to flower I suspect. Will be looking at ways to preserve it or dry it to have for salsas and dishes. The peas are still just pumping out the pods, still tucking them in here and there to help them spread out a bit more. You can see it's slightly darker in the  middle of the bed, I roughed up the soil and it wasn't dark enough for my liking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's hard to see but some of the white you see on the dirt and rocks...it's mollusk trails. There was a LOT of them all over the logs and rocks, and under the jade bush even. I have not seen any on the soil of the raised bed so not sure how my logic is working on that. So it's not like I'm keeping the ground wet all the time, these little snails can survived going over rough broken ground. Eggshells aren't going to deter them very much.

Given the temperatures today I made sure to bring my nozzle with me to water the beds. I decided to show the difference between the raised bed and the not so raised dirt bed. I watered for about 8-10 minutes on each bed. The first picture there is immediately while I was watering and five minutes later.

 

Same length of time for the raised bed. No puddles at all and it soaked in faster than I was watering. Now, both situations are good to a point. It's great to have good drainage but it's also good to have the water stick around for a while. Yesterday the soil in the raised bed was still that dark under the surface but much less so today. The other bed in the ground with just dirt, about the same but it was harder to dig when it was dry.

 

And the roses are finally blooming. I know for a fact now that rose is called Paradise. Looking at it I remember it being the rose that my son picked out but it had no tag. I researched it and discovered what it was back then and it came to me today. Very fragrant and a lovely variety.

The irises are starting to pop as well and the yellow rose busted out a couple of flowers. The rose doesn't have as much fragrance if I remember so still not sure what variety it is.

That's about it for today in the gardens. Unless something momentous happens might not do a big post tomorrow.