I spent some time clearing out the edge lawn-edge of my garden plot. When I was digging out the weeds and clumps of grass, I dug up Japanese beetles and some kind of larvae I've only seen on websites and pesticide packages.

I've tried to be "brave" about squishing up the posts that will ruin my plants, but doing it with my hands is so hard. I have to be wearing gloves, and it helps if I can pick up the creature with soil so I don't have to look at the guts or feel the crunch.

The wind has been blowing around the green mesh fencing I have on the outside edge of my plot. It's an east-west fence and it billows in the northern and southern wind. The posts are holding up well, but the bottom edge isn't secure. When I cleaned it up, I pinned down the edges with garden staples. I probably bought twice as many as I needed, but I'm covered to be sure and I have extra just in case.

I cloched a few of the greens I bought at the farmer's market on Saturday. It really worked well with the spinach and lettuce. In just a couple of days they look really great.

Some of the baby tomato plants I started and transferred to the garden have completely disappeared. Not even a wilted, flattened stem. I hope that they might just be sleeping from the shock and they'll perk up in a few days. It's happened before with other plants, but I've never started tomatoes before. I still have some that haven't been moved, so I will let them grow more before I put them in the ground. I'm very happy to say that not all of the tomatoes I've already planted have died. I'm very excited to see what happens.

I didn't get to the garden today, but I plan on going out tomorrow when it's not very, very hot. I churned up the dirt a bit. With the rain and watering, the silt washed away leaving a shiny shellac of silica on top. The water just runs off to the low spots. So far I'm not able to churn up all of the garden because in areas I've seeded, the plants aren't big enough to see clearly. When the water washes over the top the baby plants are deep enough that their stems are locked into the silica and they aren't washed away.

I'll take more pictures tomorrow. I've also got to install the strings for the beans and other climbers (they're doing great).

This bit of weather coming up is really warm for Minnesota in May. We've had a really warm spring (and winter, and fall), but there is always a chance that something strange can happen with the weather. I think we'll skip the tornadoes this week since it's already been warmish.

Pictures! Tomorrow! Yay!

in the dirt!

It rained last night and the weather is supposed to warm up, and the hose is finally available, so I decided it's time to put some seedlings in the ground.

I am very happy to report that all of the soil prep seems to have done it's job. We've had rain a couple of times now and the top layer has not run off downhill leaving sand. Everything stayed put.

The rhubarb is doing well. The flowers in the bed I put in the other day are starting to perk up, and the marigolds around the garden look very happy.

I decided today is the day for peas. Some of the vines were well over a foot in the apartment and the tendrils were getting frustrated with nothing to hang on to. In they went. I also put in a couple of butternut squash and a zucchini. I have more vines that are ready to go.

It's time to transplant the tomato and pepper seedlings from the jiffy starter trays into cups. They're doing really well. (I couldn't remember which is which because I didn't label them when I put in the seeds. The true leaves are out and now I can tell which are which.)

red cherry tomatoes

mixed sweet peppers

Close-up of the red cherry tomatos

It really, really, really looks like a garden now. I took some pictures while things were messy, but it's a start for the record. Next week it will look even greater. Lots of things should be sprouting.

Warm sunny days, rain at night. I couldn't ask for more.

Oo, I forgot. I put two pepper seedlings in just to see if they will survive. Tomatoes and peppers usually go in about three weeks from now, but it might work. 

30 April The Weather

We've been in a cold spurt for over a week now. It's a flux in weather that isn't unusual here. The temperature has been closer to normal - our mid-80's a month ago was too much to hope for, but sometimes it's hard to tell.

I've been watching things because I actually have seeds and plants in the ground, but I just pulled up the weather and I was surprised. I thought when I looked at the weather yesterday, we were going to be in the 60's this week but look! Rainy and warm is a nice way for the plants to get going.

Some of the seedlings are in the greenhouse and the rest are in the apartment. Fingers crossed!

Twelfth Floor Greenhouse

This is what the shelves look like loaded with plants and seed starts and wrapped in plastic. It's about 3p, and the sun has moved far enough west that I'm getting full light. I hope the inside will heat up, so I'll check it closer to sunset.

My apartment building has a greenhouse attached on the south side of the building, but the ventilation to help control the temperature doesn't work. We can really only use it in spring and fall and only on the west side. There is a maple tree near the greenhouse that keeps it in shade. Summer is too hot and winter is too cold. Also, we have a really bad problem with theft. If something is left unattached to something else, it might get lifted. We have a specific area to put things you're giving away. One day I put my lunch on that table while I bought a soda from the machine, and two people wanted to take it.

We have a bigger problem with theft outside. The land next to our garden is considered park, but the land isn't flat, so walking by our garden is the shortest, smoothest route between the strip mall to the north, and the neighborhood/bus stop on the south.

We do what we can to keep wildlife out of the garden with 3' fences, but we also have to be careful to disguise anything that looks appealing so it won't get nipped overnight. We have a garden shed, but I've had things taken from there. I don't know if it was a neighbor or a passerby. Outside is not safe.
I have such a small plot, that I only have flowers on my exposed edge so folks can reach over my fencing to take vegetables. Outside is not safe.

I haven't been down to The Land (that's what I call the garden) yet today. I imagine the folk are out there working away. I'm sore from turning all of that soil 2 days ago, so I should probably do some more work to keep moving.

Go seeds go.

Success!! The water well is done! (I think) [updated]

Since the whole lot of us share one garden hose, evening watering sessions can lead to lots of waiting for one's turn. It's nice time to chat with the neighbors, but no fun if you're in a hurry, or worse, you didn't water the day before and you're in a hurry.
To handle this, many keep really big containers of water in their garden plot so they can water when it's convenient and fill the bin when no one is around. The container of choice is a large garbage can. Like everything in our garden though, you must have a place to keep it. Not only in the garden, but over the winter.
Since my garden is short and wide this year instead of long and narrow, I thought I'd give it a try. I buried a collapsible recycling bin I bought at IKEA, lined it with black garbage bags, and filled it with water. It's about 8" above ground - not so high that it will block sunlight to anything important and settled enough that the softish sides won't fold, I can't knock it over (dumping all of the water) and no one can steal it. I've put 4 foot tall stakes around it so I have something to hold onto when I'm walking by  and won't fall in (I hope).
I hope the black bags will warm up the water and keep it water tight. It's got a lid so the city won't be upset about it being a mosquito breeding spot.
I watered tonight. The seedlings are so small, it's hard to tell what's there. Onion sets I put in are sprouting really well, but I don't think any of the seeds I've put in the ground have done anything. It's hard to tell since so many weeds are coming in. I have to wait until things get more leaves so I can tell them apart.

It's a sunny day

It's a sunny day and the first warm day in several. I can hear my neighbors hammering away at tomato and pepper stakes. Last year we had at least 2000 pepper and tomato plants. I want to go play too, but I've got a deadline for some online stuff I must finish first.