Garden-ish

Time for a garden update!

Overall I really continue to be pleased with how well it’s going (relatively), even though there’s still a loooooooootttttt of room for improvement.  But I consider this to be a learning process, and I already have several different ideas for next year!

I bought some of this at the garden center a couple weeks back:

And I’m amazed at how effective it is! In just a couple weeks my plants have gone from sad and droopy, to happy and full and fruitful!  I would marry this stuff, if it didn’t smell like absolute hell.

Behold, the wonders of the plant food…

First up – the big tomato:

He’s really getting tall!

And look!

Hi beebees! I love you!  Grow big and strong for Mama, ok?

(I hope they listen to me)

And what do we have here?

Another one! I may get three whole tomatoes from my happy baby plant!  I’m SO excited!  (Though I mustn’t count my chickens before they hatch, eh?)

I’ve also got another tomato plant now; I had given a co-worker three of my many pepper plants and he returned the pot with a roma tomato plant in it! 🙂

(why I didn’t remove that icky weed before the photo, I’ll never know.  But it’s gone now.)

That guy needs to be repotted, I know.  And I have just the solution!

For you see, friends, here are my WHATTHEFUCKS?!.  Err…I mean my romaine lettuces:

Now I’m no expert, but I don’t think that lettuces are supposed to look like this!

Gah.  Grotesque!

(is lettuce supposed to have crazy stalks like this?)

The other pots are a bit better (but not much):

What the heck happened?  And how to I make it NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN?

Anyway, I’m about to cut my losses on these – I may pull off a few leaves and make a nice salad, but the rest, I just… ::shudder::

Or am I completely wrong? Is this totally normal?  Teach me, master(s)!

When those monstrosities are gone, I’ll move the little roma tomato plant into one of the big round lettuce pots 🙂

My peppers are doing pretty well, too:

(the other three plants – not pictured – look much the same)

And lookee!

A BABY PEPPER! I’m so proud of it! I love it.  It’s my favorite.

ALSO, since Saturday (when I took these photos) I’ve had three or four more babies appear.  Little dearies – I cannot wait for them to grow big and strong so I may sautee them with onion and garlic and eat them!

Nomnomnom.

The basil is starting to get all freakytall, too:

From what I can tell, I think this is more normal.  But I’m not sure if the freakytall part will ever sprout “real” leaves, and if so, if they’re edible?

They’re interesting to look at, if nothing else!

As always, I really really really (xbajillionty) appreciate any advice/help you all can provide.  With awesome readers like you, I may not ever have to buy a gardening book!*

~~~

*OK that’s a lie. Any excuse for a new book or ten! 😀

Not All Good News

Time for our no-longer-weekly garden update!

This isn’t the happiest one ever, though, for a couple reasons:

Reason #1:  My Nikon is in the shop, hopefully having a shard of SD card (don’t even ask how it happened; I have no idea) removed from its card slot.  Keep yer fingers crossed for me, OK?

and

Reason #2: You’ll see.

But let’s start off on a happy note, ok?

Remember my sad, wimpy little romaine lettuces?  And how I repotted them without any real hope that they’d thrive?

2 words:  Hells.  Yeah.  (Err…except the lil’ guy at the back there, but I’ve started rotating the pots every couple days so he should catch up soon.)

These things are now larger than my other pot of lettuces, despite having waited in limbo for a few weeks.  Why the sudden growth?  Well they have more space and sun in their new pots, for one.  And also, these pots contain a roughly 2/3 to 1/3 mix of superfancy potting soil (from the University Gardens center) and plain ol’ topsoil.  I’m not an expert, so please don’t try this at home (or at least, not on my recommendation).  But I am happy with how it worked for me 🙂

I mean, don’t you just want to NOM?!  Soon, little friends, soon.  I will eat you.  And then I will be happy and you will be dead.  Circle of life.

My hyacinth vines are coming up really speedily, thanks in part to the crazy torrential rain we’ve had this week.  I think that helped them come out of their dormant dry beanshell phase faster.

And look!  Pepper plant!

This is just a representative sample; though the other 6 little darlin’s are doing equally as well  I am proud of them and all their hard work – growing big and strong!  Now if I could just figure out what’s nibbling on their leaves…

So here’s where things get a little less-than-perfect.  My basil:

Pretty OK, right?  It’s not as yellow as the picture above makes it seem, though I would hazard to guess that it could benefit from a few days of no rain.

But here’s what I’m a little worried about.  A couple of the leaves (all bottommost) look like this:

What’s making them get so yellow?  Too much rainfall?  Not enough sunlight?  And what’s up with that ugly black/brown spot?  Could I just pull these leaves off and throw them away?  SHOULD I?  Remember, I’m the know-nothing here, and you’re the expert.  Even if you don’t know anything either, it’s probably less nothing than my nothing.

Here’s where I get really sad.

My poor tomato!  I’m heartbroken over this – what did I do wrong?  And how do I fix it?

The bottom branches are dying.

ickygrosssad.

And the higher-up branches look like this:

See how they’re all curly-uppy, and dark?

Even the topmost branches are starting to get that way:

Can it be saved?

Oh and some of the tiny little blossoms are dying, too!

Please?  Help me help it?

I’m worried I have to throw it away, and I don’t want to.  I’ll be so disappointed 😦

If nothing else, let’s blame Mr. Gnomie.

The lazy bastard’s still asleep.

Seriously – can anybody help me and my poor little plants?

Not for Carnivores

The weekly garden updates will stop soon, I promise.  But now is not soon.  Now is now.

And now is another garden update.

On Saturday I made a trellis…

…out of $12 of bamboo from my LGS (Get it? Like LYS?) and some jute twine.

Then I planted these:

(which will hopefully grow up and become these).  They were given to me by another co-worker, who apparently gets tons of the seed pods every year.  Everybody in our office got some 🙂

Proof I’m no longer afraid to get my hands dirty:

As long as there are no worms, that is.  And if any worms managed to crawl up the drainspout and onto our balcony and into one of my pots, well then they’ve worked so hard I guess they can stay.

I also did some rearranging of my existing plants, and added a few more.

Remember my poor growth-stunted lettuces?

I moved them into bigger pots, with a richer mix potting soil.  Hopefully this will help them grow (though I’m not optimistic).

I also took my big shallow container that held four of my pepper plants, and rearranged a bit:

Now it’s got three, and the fourth is living on his own:

He’s my biggest, healthiest one…for now.  He lost a leaf in the transition – can plants get stressed?

I also got a cage for my tomato:

I know it doesn’t really need it yet, but with any luck it will someday! 🙂  He’s getting so big!

Oh and also? My pride and joy:

They’re getting so big! I can’t wait ’till I can eat them!  With poppyseed dressing, and feta cheese, and pecans.  Mmmm….

I also planted a few herbs:

That’s (iirc) rosemary on the left, and oregano on the right.  Well, for now they’re just tins of dirt.  You’ll have to take my word for it.  I also need to plant some parsley!  I’d love to get enough herbs that I can dry them for the fall 🙂

All together now!

So pretty and happy and tidy and nice!

Now if only we could stop raining and get some sun.  ::sigh::

So…how’s your garden doing?  Or if you don’t have a garden…how’s your houseplant doing?  Or if you don’t have houseplants…how’s that moldy heel of bread in the back of the cabinet doing?

PS>

KITSCHY GUARD GNOME!!!!  He’s doing a piss-poor job keeping watch on my basil, I tell you waht.

Who knew you could buy pure happiness for $1.77 at Lowe’s?

Three weeks in

Sorry for the unintended absence, everyone!  I miss not talking to my bloggy friends.  And poor Jeff – without you guys to bear part of my annoying nature, it all fell to him!  He’s barely surviving, I tell ya what.  I owe him some cookies or something.

I thought it was about time for a garden update, eh?  Because I know y’all can barely stand not knowing, and now you’re just on the edges of your seats.  Right?  RIGHT?

(And of course I meant to put this post up last week, and I took the pictures then and everything, but…)

First up, the most exciting news is that Mr. Tomato Plant has little flowers!

He’s got even more, now.  Like 7 or 8 altogether.  And I think that means that these will eventually turn into ZOMG TOMATOES, right?  I’m so excited!  A proud planty grandmama.

I gave away two of my nine(!) pepper plants to a pepper-less co-worker; so now I’m down to “only” seven.  These four are doing really well:

I don’t know if that’s “enough” growth for 3 weeks, or not, but I’m proud of ’em nonetheless 🙂

The other three are doing okay-ish.  I think they need more sun, really.

Especially that sad little guy on the left.  He’s 2 or 3″ shorter than the others!  Poor lil’ shrimp.

Some of my lettuces are doing great:

Look at ’em!  So pretty.  I can’t wait to eeeaaaattttt!!!  🙂

Others, notsomuch:

I don’t know if it’s a sun issue, or a space issue, or what, but they’re not doign so hot.  They’re growing a bit, but nowhere near as quickly as their brothers.

(the third container looks much the same – not horrible, but not exactly hearty.  And they’re in a long skinny container, which makes me think that the problem is more light- than space-related)

My snapdragons are snappin’ along (Oh man I crack myself up), and the pansies are doing great!

I love ’em 🙂 So sweet and delicate and pretty!

There have also been a few more additions to my little balcony garden.

Meet the GuardFrog, plucked from Target’s $1 shelves:

Roxie tried to eat him.  So his eye is already chipped.  Poor GuardFrog isn’t that vicious; he couldn’t defend himself…

I also received a delightful surprise from a co-worker, in celebration of Admin’s Day last week –

Isn’t it pretty? And yellow? And perfect?  LOVE!

Of course, we’ve had near-torrential rain for the past three days so I haven’t really been able to give it a proper test, but I’m hoping for a drought so I can give it a proper test 🙂

The watering can was accompanied by an awesome sweet basil plant – my co-worker said, “How can you grow tomatoes without basil?”  Good question – great solution! 🙂

I’m not gonna lie, my new favorite hobby is sticking my nose down among its leaves and IIIIIINNNNNNHAAAALLLIIIING big 🙂

I’m gonna make the best tomato caprese salad, just you wait!  Mmmmmm…

So that’s my garden!  I’m definitely having mixed success at this point – some things are thriving; others, not really.  But I guess that’s the best I could hope for, as an amateur gardener with a black thumb and short attention span, right?