Third time isn't always a charm...

Year three with my garden is turning out to be a frustrating one. Spring was long and cold. May and June were very very dry. July is bringing some rain and hot days but with that also comes the risk of hail. Here's our little hailstorm July 4th... It came with over an inch of rain and we didn't get the big bad hail that some others nearby got, so I guess I won't complain.

These milk jugs didn't really appreciate that hailstorm though they were likely brittle from the sun exposure though. They are on season 2 of use.

This bed probably bothers me the most. This should be full of zucchini, pattypan and pole beans by now. The indoor started zucchini didn't survive a strong windstorm early on. The direct sown seeds either didn't sprout or were immediately eaten by the bugs. The indoor sprouted zucchini seeds were eaten. I just planted out some indoor starts yesterday. They were still there today so I guess there's hope. At least 2 of the new ones already have their first true leaves so hopefully they're big enough to survive. I've planted the pole beans I think 3 times. These should be Rattlesnake and Zi 28 Long beans. Today when I looked, I do see a few new sprouts so maybe...

Same story with the other pole beans (I think Kentucky Blue and Blue Lake maybe?). I tried to presprout some in the house like I've done with peas but it didn't work so well. I've replanted AGAIN and fairly heavily. Hopefully something will survive and be able to produce before frost.

Even the bush beans are having some trouble. This year, instead of my normal spacing of about 9/sf, I thought I'd try out wider spacing. I planted them about 6" apart or 4/sf this year. Unless the surviving plants produce like crazy, I think I'll go back to my previous method. At least that way, when a couple didn't make it, there wasn't a huge gaping hole where a plant should be. I'm going to replant the empty spaces sometime this week.

The tomatoes were doing well until something came along and chewed the stems. I lost 2 this way last week. The others seem to be doing well though a few of them are very small still. The Galinas Gold Cherry and I think the Thessaloniki are growing well at this point.

This half bed should be full of broccoli and cauliflower. Sadly, right after I gave away my extra starts, I started losing plants. I'm not expecting to see any broccoli though I may get cauliflower.

Finally, my carrots did not do well at all. With the dry windy weather, I guess I just didn't keep them wet enough to sprout. I have about 3 carrots from 4 squares that sprouted. So sad. I sprouted some indoors (wet coffee filters) and put them out today. Perhaps they'll survive...

I guess, on the plus side, the onions are doing well this year, much better than the past 2. Of course, I mainly use onions when I cook zucchini...

Transplanting Tomatoes & Peppers

Today was a beautiful day! Earlier in the week, the forecast temperature for today was 93 degrees which I was somewhat dreading. My house does not have central air and it's early in the summer for that kind of heat, I'm just not used to it. Thankfully, the forecast changed. Today was in the mid-80s and a little cloudy most of the day with just a little wind. It was hot in the garden when the sun came out and I did end up with a bit of a sunburn, but I finally got some more planting done.

I transplanted the peppers into their designated area (I call this ring #3- though it's really more of a rectangle, it's named for the way it was built). I added the jugs of colored water and a couple dark rocks to absorb heat and there's plastic 3/4 of the way around the outside to add some warmth and cut the wind. I tied some row cover fabric over the top as well- sort of a pepper-incubator if you will. I add the extra heat steps because our nighttime temps dip pretty low all summer long- in part because of the altitude (we're at 7000'). I am just now planting them out because I think I put them out too early last year and the peppers were stunted until late in the season. I'm hoping I get some peppers before October this year. In this ring I have planted two Banana peppers, two Pimiento peppers and two Carmen peppers. I also have a third Carmen that I planted in a pot. I'm especially looking forward to the Carmen peppers, they sound like they'll be really good. The Carmens are the big plants in the foreground.

I also planted the tomatoes. Some of the little guys are still so very small. Hopefully they'll grow now that they're outdoors. The photo shows about half of a 4x10' bed. In that half, I've got 12 tomato plants. I suspect some won't make it or will remain small this year. The big ones you might actually be able to see in the picture are Galinas Gold Cherry (2) and Thessaloniki (2). I've also got a Jubilee Yellow, a Kelloggs Breakfast, two Black Cherry, three Rutgers and one Roma. Since it doesn't look like hubby is likely to be around this summer either, I'm not terribly concerned about tomato production. I'm not a big tomato eater (though I do sort of like the flavor of the gold and black cherries). At this point, I'm starting to think of growing tomatoes as sort of a challenge. Except for the cherries, we have not had great success yet.

When watering yesterday, I noticed there were a lot of ants on my larger Catnip plant. When I flipped over the leaves I found masses of aphids. I hosed them off last night but as you can see, I didn't get them all.

The lettuce & salad greens are growing pretty well now. The cabbage worms have discovered the Savanna Mustard though. I'll have to remember to look carefully when I pick them - I'll pass on the extra protein if I can at all help it. It's not a major infestation at this point, hopefully hand-picking will keep them at bay.

The poor started-too-early spaghetti squash transplants are still looking pretty sickly though there's actually a female bloom starting on one of them!. I planted some seeds just in case and I noticed one direct-sown sprout today. I wish I could remember how many seeds I planted though, the pumpkins don't look like they're going to make it and I hope I tucked in a few seeds.

I lost all the zucchini transplants (I think the wind beat them up too much) but the pattypan squash transplants are looking quite healthy.

I also planted two more varieties of beans today, Top Notch (yellow bush) and Burpee's Tenderpod (green bush). The Tendergreen Improved (bush green) and Cherokee Wax (bush yellow) I planted earlier are starting to sprout now. I'm still waiting on the Zi 28-2 Long beans and the Rattlesnake beans to sprout. They should be popping up soon.

Now, we just need a little rain... (just a little with no hail please) :-)

Finally, some gardening weather!!

I finally got a chance to make some progress in the garden this week. We've had some beautiful warm (actually, hot) weather. I missed the chance to work outdoors Thursday since the house was getting a new roof and it wasn't safe to be out working near the house (and there were 6 guys on my roof)- I just stayed inside for the most part. Friday, I made some progress. I got more seeds and starts planted, pulled a few weeds, added some more mulch, tweaked the trellises and generally cleaned up the mess I had going out in the garden.

I planted the started-too-early squash and zucchini a few days ago. Some have fared better than others. Both zucchini starts seem to have succumbed to the strong winds we've had and the pumpkins aren't looking so good. I think the spaghetti squash, butternut, watermelons & pattypan are going to make it. I direct-sowed a few seeds just in case. I also planted out the cucumber starts along with a few seeds. I planted seeds of Rattlesnake beans, the Zi Long Beans and I replanted the peas since they've not done much of anything and they've been out there a few weeks. I've had just a few that have broken ground. It is possible the bunnies discovered them and chomped them before I ever saw them since I actually planted them outside the raised bed. Oops..


It seems pretty much impossible to get an overview photo of the garden but this one gets pretty close. I've just caught the corner of a couple beds, but you can get a general idea of the plot. I'll try to catch the same angle later in the season when there's actually something growing out there to give it some dimension. I think if you click the photo, you'll get a bigger view.

So, here's one of my less successful beds- the asparagus I planted last year didn't do so well. I'm not sure if you can see but there are 4 spears in this bed. I planted 10 roots. Several didn't come up at all last year and I think these are from two roots. I ordered replacements but they won't come until next spring. The strawberries didn't fare much better. I've only got about 4 plants total out there from 25. I'm not sure what happened to them. Last year, they started out great then turned yellowish. I'm sure that was a fertilizer deficit but it seemed strange since all the new beds last year were filled pretty much the same and the other plants did fine. I lost most over the winter though. I have replacements coming soon.

The raspberry patch is filling in well. I planted 9 plants last year, one didn't sprout. There are lots more now. Hopefully I'll get some berries this year. Last year, my fall-bearers froze before they ripened.

The pots at the top of the retaining wall are a visual aid for planning the herb garden. It was supposed to go in last year but I never got that far. Right now, the only thing planted up there are the walking onions. Hopefully that will work out alright, those onions might not stay where I put them. They should be fine for a year or two I think, then they'll need some supervision or a dedicated bed of their own.


This is the salad bed. I've got Summer Crisp, Baby Romaine, Black-Seeded Simpson, Savanna Mustard & Teton Spinach in there. I started the seeds in milk jugs on the porch (wintersowing-style) and transplanted them a few days before I left for Montana. I'm finally seeing some growth. Hopefully I'll get some lettuce before it bolts. I also have a few Swiss Chard, Broccoli & Cauliflower in the other half of the bed. Of course, since I gave away my extra broccoli starts at the swap, 2 of the 3 have since died (presumably the wind, possibly hail). It's ok though, broccoli isn't my favorite anyway. I tossed in a couple more seeds for gee whiz yesterday.

This bed may become an interesting experiment in squash growing. I've got spaghetti, butternut, pumpkin (Small Sugar) and watermelon (Sugar Baby) in there. I debated which way to place the trellis and though it looks funny backwards, I think that will be more effective. I added string to it to give a little more climbing area. I need to find a couple more 2x2s and add them to the backside to make it more like a stepladder. It has at least stayed put with the winds we've had so far, unlike the actual ladder which I had to secure a little better. The jugs of water and rocks in the bed are to absorb heat to help keep the little plants warm at night. I need to work on a cover for this one though, my previous attempts have all blown off. Hail is bound to come along and I've got to try and protect the plants. There have been some devastating hailstorms around Denver and Pueblo this week. We got a little taste the other day but it stopped before it got too bad. Denver had 6" of hail on the ground and had to bring out snowplows to clear it.

The Red Pontiacs potatoes in the bin are starting to show some growth. The other potato patches are showing some green now as well. Once again, I've got potatoes scattered all around. I seem to have some self-control issues when it comes to buying seed potatoes. I was pretty good this year, I bought Red Pontiac, Purple Majesty & Majestic Purple (which may end up being the same as the Majesty, I'm not sure). I also planted the pantry-sprouted spuds from last year's harvest.

That's all I've got for today. It's been a slow spring but things are looking up! Soon, the tomatoes & peppers will be headed out the door.

Well, there is one more thing... this one can't wait for the veggies to get going!

Then & Now- September Review

Time again for the month in review (ok, so I'm actually a day late- oops!)

2/3rds of the beans are done & gone. I cut the plants and added round one of the fall additions. This bed was new this year and shrank to about 6" below the top of the boards. I added some partially composted weeds (bottom layer- I figure if there are seeds in there, most of them will be buried far enough down that they won't be a problem), mostly finished compost, coffee grounds & leaves. Topped it off with a piece of landscape fabric stapled to the top of the bed to keep it neat.

The last 1/3rd was still producing until a few days ago. There may be a little more to come but it won't be much. The yellows in the other bed have pretty well quit too. Most of the 2 beds in the center of the photo (the plastic overlaps to the other one) are no longer producing. The plastic is there for one reason - the peppers. I picked all the usable peppers today as we are expected to freeze tonight. All the extra real estate is covered for a couple reasons. I'm getting ready to take a trip before long. I want to try and give the peppers a chance to produce a little more (though I don't have high expectations) but I won't be home to monitor temperatures in the garden. The peppers are under a curtain and in the middle of this plastic tunnel. The ends of the tunnel are open for ventilation. We'll see how they look when I get back.

The sunflowers have been cut down. I hope to save the seeds for sunflower shoots this winter and for the birds.

Anybody know what these black things are on the back of the sunflower leaves? They're everywhere. They're not squishy like eggs but harder like spores on ferns. I haven't had a chance to look anything up quite yet...

I was sad to see this plant go. It was one of the prettiest plants in the garden this year. It was quite seriously hit with powdery mildew though I don't think that was it's only problem. I initially ignored it figuring it was just time for the plant to go. When I realized I was seeing powdery mildew I did try spraying it but it was too late.

The squash all have some yellow so I'm crossing my fingers they will finish ripening. I harvested 16 from the plants today as well as several Giant Marconi peppers, the ONE yellow bell on the plant, and a few pimiento & banana peppers. I also dug about 5 lbs of potatoes.

I'm afraid I will miss these ripening, so sad... I'll tell the neighbor to come pick them. I think she'll be happy to.

September harvest totals:

ZUCCHINI 11# 6 OZ

LETTUCE 7 OZ

GREEN BEANS 4# 8

YELLOW BEANS 1# 15

ROMA TOMATOES 1# 12

RED TOMATOES 2#

BLACK CHERRY TOMATOES 2# 3

YELLOW CHERRY TOMATOES 1# 10

CARROTS 9 OZ

CUKES 1# 4

PEPPERS 12 OZ

RADISHES 4 OZ

PATTYPAN SQUASH 1# 8

PUMPKIN -SMALL SUGAR- 3# 14

CORN 4# 7

POTATOES 16# 7

September total: 878 oz = 54# 14 oz

August total: 338 oz = 21 lb 2 oz

July total: 157 oz = 9 lb 13 oz
June total: 69 oz =4 lb 5 oz
May total: 10 oz .

Total: 1452 oz = 90 lb 12 oz

Then & Now- August Review

Time again for some comparison photos!

The green beans started the season looking less-than-great in June, mustered a good recovery in July and are now winding down production.

This bed has Landreth Stringless, Contender and French Filet bush beans. I would plant the Contender and French Filet again. They produce nice long, straight pods and seemed more productive than the Landreth. The raw flavor was also better. They were all mixed together for cooking so I didn't notice any flavor difference at dinnertime.

The sunflowers are going a little nuts now! The bees love the sunflowers as well as the bolted broccoli flowers. They have both sprawled out of the beds enough that I avoid those pathways to not anger any bees. Most of the time, I can see about 10 bees in the broccoli.

The spaghetti squash look like they're maturing now. They are starting to turn yellow though there is still a lot of green on the fruits. My understanding is they are ready to pick once they have fully turned color. The foliage is looking pretty shabby and appears to have some powdery mildew starting as well.

It took seemingly forever, but some of my peppers I started from seed are producing! I really thought they were never going to grow (my watermelon didn't...). Next year, I will not subject the peppers to such cool spring temps. They'll have to be babied a little more.

My pumpkin is nearly ready! I think there is also a second one just starting to grow. I'm not positive how many surviving plants I have on that ladder but it's at least 2, so the production is really low. On the other hand, I bought the seeds on clearance last fall for about a quarter so I'm not going to complain too much.

I also have what I believe may be a larger pumpkin that sprouted from some compost under my transplanted lilacs in the back yard. I must not have looked at it closely for a while because when I checked it earlier I had several male blooms and no females. I checked it yesterday and there's a fruit that's probably 10" long! There's another small one as well. I'm pretty impressed as this didn't receive any care at all. I think I watered the lilac once this summer as it looked a little wilted (probably because this large squash plant was sucking away all it's water). Maybe I watered twice.

-AUGUST HARVEST TOTALS-

Zucchini 74 oz (4 lb 10 oz) 15 fruits

Beans (all varieties) 150 oz (9 lb 6 oz)

Pattypan Squash 14 oz 2 fruits

Carrots 11 oz

Peppers 3 oz (2 fruits)

Potatoes 34 oz (2 lb 2 oz)

Cucumbers 33 oz (2 lb 1 oz) 6 fruits

Tomatoes 19 oz (1 lb 3 oz)

Total: 338 oz = 21 lb 2 oz

July total: 157 oz = 9 lb 13 oz
June total: 69 oz =4 lb 5 oz
May total: 10 oz .

Total: 574 oz = 35 lb 14 oz

If you'd like to re-visit my July review, click this link:
http://transplantedgardener.blogspot.com/2009/07/then-now-july-review.html

Slow & Steady

The garden is slowly and steadily creeping along but I don't have anything major to report this week, hence the recent blog-slacking. I've also started studying for my real estate license finally (time to go back to work again), so I've had a little less garden time lately. I've been picking beans and zucchini pretty regularly but neither is threatening to over-run my house yet. The cherry tomatoes are starting to produce a little more but again, nothing overwhelming.

The sunflowers are still looking nice...

The spaghetti squash are starting to show some yellow now

and the small sugar pumpkin is starting to show some orange.

That's it, that's all I've got for today... slow & steady...

August Update

It's been a pretty quiet week in the garden. I have harvested just a few zucchini, a half pound of beans and just under 2 pounds of small potatoes. A few of the pots of potatoes were looking dead and I was pretty sure it's too early for most of them to be ready. When I poked down around the "done" plants, I discovered that they were dry! With all the rain we had in July I was worried that they were too wet. Most of the straw was wet but the compost at the bottom was dry. I watered the pots and I plan to take the moisture meter out to check everything tomorrow as it has been several days since we've had any significant rainfall.

Early week harvest - zucchini, beans & potatoes.

I hand-pollinated the little pattypan when the bloom opened the other morning. There are a few more female blossoms starting to form now as well.

The Green Dragon Burpless finally has a little cucumber! I need to look up when these started producing last year, it feels like they have been very slow this year.

The yellow bell pepper is growing nicely. The other peppers are showing more blooms now too.

I did make this unpleasant discovery on my Roma tomato today (grrr...). I'm going to try adding some calcium (and checking their moisture) though from what I saw online today, Romas are very prone to BER, so it at least makes me feel a little better. :-)

To end on a more positive note, I've got a couple of these blooming...

The sunflowers are planted along the edges of the corn bed in an attempt to aid pollination by possibly acting as a windbreak so the pollen doesn't all get blown away in our winds. I honestly don't know if this will make a bit of difference. It was a suggestion I received over on GardenWeb and I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it. As a bonus, I plan to save the seeds- some for the birds and some to sprout for shoots to add to salads.

That's about all for right now. This week we're supposed to have temps in the 80's so I should be seeing a little more production in the garden soon (I hope!).

Then & Now - July Review

Today's a double post day - be sure to scroll down & see what else is happening out there!

It's time for some before & after photos! When we see our gardens every day, sometimes it's easy to lose sight of just how much has happened over the past few weeks. Here are some comparison photos to show growth for the month of July.

June's green beans weren't looking so great. Sickly and yellow. I think it was too much moisture.

Much improved for July. They are behind last year's beans though. Last year by this time they had produced the bulk of their crop. So far this year, I've only harvested a handful.

The tomatoes are plugging along...

They're hiding, but they're in there! The storm clouds rolling in today looked a little nasty, so this is my attempt to offer a little hail protection. I have a few green tomatoes but not huge amounts. They are still producing flowers.

This one actually surprised me!

Once the corn finally gets going, boy does it grow!

Finally, what's likely the most impressive thing growing in my garden...

I have about 10 or 12 of these babies growing on the ladder!

-JULY HARVEST TOTALS-

Strawberries - 2 oz

Sugar Snap Peas- 22 oz

Broccoli- 4 oz

Radishes- 2 oz

Cucumber- 3 oz

Lettuce- 49 oz

Garlic (untrimmed) 44 oz

Zucchini- 11 oz

Potatoes- 17 oz

Scallions- 1 oz

Beans-(green & yellow) 2 oz

July total: 157 oz = 9 lb 13 oz

June total: 69 oz =4 lb 5 oz

May total: 10 oz .

Total: 236 oz = 14 lb 12 oz