sb158′s Valley Garden

sb158 | April 16, 2011

I’ve almost got my first ripe tomato! Is that cool or what? Very nice surprise! I haven’t been out in the garden to do more than water for a couple days, cuz I somehow got a stupid virus that was trying to eat my computer. Been busy dealing with that, and imagining all the slow, painful ways I would torture the idiots who think it’s fun to give people misery and aggravation by writing computer viruses. I mean, really, what kind of a moron gets off on creating havoc like that? The world would be a better place if somebody did torture them all to death slowly and painfully!

So when I went out to play today, after finally curing my baby, it made me very happy! Didn’t get as much done as I wanted, as usual, but I did pot up a few pepper seedlings that really did need bigger homes. Also took out my bolting window box lettuce and planted some ageratum and globeflower seedlings in there instead. I put the window boxes in front of the container garden bed, cuz my daughter’s dog keeps knocking it down with his leash. I thought that might help keep the dirt in place.

So, for all you people who still have cold, soggy soil, dream on! You can make fun of me in July when my garden is dead, and I’m waiting for cooler weather to start the fall garden.

The other day, before my computer went berserk, I tried to get started on the lasagna bed for the Sweet Potatoes. When I tried to poke the digging fork in the ground, it pretty much bounced back up into my teeth. It hasn’t rained in ages, so the clay is concrete again. I got my milk jugs and soaked the area real well overnight. So here’s a lovely pic of my milk jug garden! LOL!

Not much else going on in the garden. Stuff is growing, and looking pretty good. Except for the chard! Danged cabbage loopers found it, but I sprayed some bt the other day, and it seems better. Would have sprayed again tonight, but had grandson stuff going on…

Until next time…

Category: Bugs, Sheet Mulch/Lasagna Garden, Veggies | 3 Comments »
Tags: Bugs, design/build, sheet mulch/lasagna gardening, Tomatoes, Veggies

sb158 | April 8, 2011

when the wind is blowing so hard you’re afraid to put your small dog out for fear she might fly away? Seriously! Yesterday the wind was blowing 25-30 mph, with gusts to around 40. Bad enough, but today is even worse. Sustained winds 35-40 mph, gusts to above 50! Added to the heat, we’re talking really unpleasant out there.

Went out and watered, but that’s all I could really do. Much too windy for planting any seedlings, building a new bed, or pretty much anything else on my To Do List.

Speaking of watering, have any of you ever tried those Aquaglobe things for your containers? My eldest grandson got me some for Christmas, and I use them in a few of my smaller pots. Surprisingly, they actually work quite well. Two of them are in pots of thyme; they really do keep the moisture level just right.

On Tuesday (I think) when it was comparatively cooler, I built a new lasagna bed. This one came about because there is a “volunteer” vine of some sort in my big lantana container. Could be a cuke or a watermelon, still can’t tell. Anyway, I decided to let it grow just to see what it is, but had to trellis it somehow. Wind already broke one of the vines, and that’s before it got really windy. I decided to loosely wrap some green-painted weed-eater string around the tree and let it grow up the tree. Then I said…yeah, you guessed it. Why not put a 5 gallon bucket with a couple cukes I plant on the other side of the tree, and let them grow up it, too? However, last year I realized that things in containers don’t do well, because the heat bakes the poor roots and dirt. I figured, if I put a little lasagna bed around the container, then plant it with bushy stuff, maybe it’ll mitigate the heat somewhat, and the poor things will have a chance. So I did!

I planted 3 of the bright yellow Swiss Chard, in between which I put a couple dill babies. I thought the bright yellow chard would look good with the yellow lantana, as well as the yellow cuke blossoms. On the sides of the bed, I put a couple divisions of Greek Oregano. The container really needs repotting, so I cut out a couple chunks and planted them. Will do one more piece after the oregano recovers from the first butchery. Between that, I planted several cilantro seedlings. I doubt very much that the cilantro or dill will do much more than bolt to flower, but that’s okay, too. Beneficial bugs love dill and cilantro flowers! I’ll stick some bush bean seeds in there, too, once it’s just normally windy out there again. Still thinking about what to start to fill the space once the heat kills the cilantro and dill completely.

Speaking of containers, here’s a look at the container garden from street-side. Pardon the skewers; as I’ve mentioned before, I use them to keep the horde of feral cats out of the beds. Works pretty good! Still need to plant a few things on the right side of the bed to replace the Lilac Beauty pepper that expired. I think my daughter’s dog lifted his leg on the poor thing one too many times…

Did you notice the Red Sage blooming? Hummingbirds and bees are supposed to really like this plant, so I put some all over the place!

In the Blue Moon rose bed, I have the lavender rose planted with some Red Rubin and Dark Opal purple basil, so naturally, the first green beans I planted were some purple bush beans. They are beginning to bloom, and the colors do look nice together…

Be nice if I actually get some beans out of the deal, too. I’ve tried these beans several times, with no luck at all. Something eats them, or they die!

Well, that’s enough for now. Time to go start dinner…

Category: containers, flowers, herbs, Sheet Mulch/Lasagna Garden, Veggies | 2 Comments »
Tags: containers, flowers, herbs, sheet mulch/lasagna gardening, Veggies, weather

sb158 | April 6, 2011

and body, truth be told. Monday was 100 degrees, even “officially.” Tuesday was a bit cooler, but today it’s hot and humid again. Not quite THAT hot, but still hot! By the time I’m done for the day, I’m thoroughly done. Every night I tell myself to post…

I guess I finally listened. LOL!

Things are settling in and starting to really grow now. This is the Blue Moon rose bed as of March 29.

Since then, the rose has bloomed again. They smell soooo good.

The alyssum, winecup, and blue salvia make a pretty combination, I think. You can also see a few of the Contender bush beans and one of the Swiss Chards I planted in there. No reason edible can’t be pretty, and vice versa.

This is the Tomato Lasagna bed as of April 2. It’s grown noticeably in just the past few days. The Roma tomato (in the tripod cage) has at least 4 baby tomatoes. Hubby is already tasting every one of them, too. Told him it’d be a while yet, but he still keeps drooling! The TripLCrop tomato by the trellis has shot up significantly in the past few days. Looks like it is getting ready to bloom soon.
In the mid-far-right of the pic, you can barely make out another small tomato plant. This is a Sungold cherry; it’s grown in the past few days, too. It already has one baby tomato, and more blooms.

In the pic above, you can see some of the other plants in that bed. There are some peppers, basil, and some peanuts in there. I went to the grocery store and bought a bag of raw peanuts. Shelled a few of them and planted the seeds, just to see if they would actually grow. Much to my surprise, they actually did! Peanuts are a good nitrogen fixer, like beans, and supposed to be pretty plants, too. So far, I like them! They are pretty.

Since I took these pics, I’ve planted pink Bright Lights Swiss chard around the sides of the bed, then planted some pink Laura bush petunias between the chard. Above that, and to the left of the Sungold tomato, I put a borage seedling. Borage attracts bees and beneficials; you can use the leaves as mulch material or compost fodder; its roots are very good at breaking up compacted clay soil like mine. And it’ll look pretty with the pink chard and petunias!

In the last little bit of space, I’m going to plant a tithonia in the bed, and some Carpet Cosmos in the sides of the bed below the tithonia. The bell peppers in the bed ripen to gold, crimson, and orange, so the tithonia will pick up those colors, attract beneficials, and look pretty! Hummingbirds love tithonia, too. Carpet Cosmos are like the yellow and orange shorter cosmos, but they are only supposed to get about a foot tall.

I’m hoping I picked the right plants to both help the tomatoes and peppers grow, and look pretty. Like I said, no reason edible can’t be pretty!

More to talk about, but now I’m closer to over – done! That heat just wears me right out, and makes me smell bad. I hate the icky sticky feeling it leaves on my skin, too. Have I mentioned I hate hot and humid? Anyway, it’s time for a shower and bed…
G’nite, y’all!!!

Category: flowers, herbs, Sheet Mulch/Lasagna Garden, Veggies | 2 Comments »
Tags: flowers, garden, herbs, sheet mulch/lasagna gardening, Tomatoes, Veggies, weather