Update first! My asparagus and rhubarb are off and running. Here they are:
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| Asparagus - not sure you can see the sprouts, but they are there! |
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| Rhubarb - I know you can see that! |
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| The flowering plum trees are starting to grow on me... |
I do have to confess that I stalled a bit on the garden. It was cooler (like 55 instead of 65 - hah!) and rainy and windy for a few days. Then it was almost 70 and sunny last week so I lost my excuse. I have heard from the locals that this winter has been very unusual and that is usually cooler and rainier than it has been this year. Of course their version of cooler is a tad different than mine. But I digress...
So, today was almost 60 and sunny, a tad on the windy side, but I'm going with it. Off to Home Depot in San Mateo to get the rest of my mulch and look at a few more pots for the front deck. Because I can't possibly start my seeds or plant anything that I have on hand until I have all my pots! Well, mulch was on sale! And they had some great pots that were pretty inexpensive too! Total haul? 6 bags of mulch, 5 bags of soil, 4 more big black pots ($10 cheaper than last time!!), 2 square green pots, 2 long green pots, and 4 pack of broccoli plants. Then I had to stop at the HMB Nursery on the way home. I did exercise a little more restraint there. I only bought 1 pack of pea seeds, a small jade plant, and (duuuuuh-duuuuuh duh) 20 strawberry plants. I couldn't resist...$6 for 20 plants! I have been wanting strawberries for quite a while, but never seem to get a patch started. Since I am now the proud owner of 8 (!!!) 21.5 inch whiskey barrel planters, I think I can find the space. Oh yeah, and one more asparagus, to replace the one that I keep forgetting to water that decided it wasn't going to come up.
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| Work in progress! |
On to the front! Pardon the mish-mash of pots. Only one of them truly offends me and I plant to put something in it that will cascade down the side of the pot and cover up it's unfortunatness.
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| The big picture |
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| For my future tomatoes |
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| Future mixed veggie and flower area (and the ugly pot) |
The table and chairs are vexing me a bit. They don't quite want to fit with the row of pots behind them. Hrumphhhh! That spot is the best chance I have at growing full sized tomatoes here. Cherries will ripen just fine, but it is cool enough that it is hard to get the big ones to ripen. That wall is my sunny micro climate! It is sheltered from the wind, and in the full sun all day long. Normally it is a good 10 degrees warmer on the deck that it is out on the sidewalk along the street. Who knew?
I did also find out something totally cool tonight when I was researching tomatoes. There is another set of Zones besides the USDA hardiness zones! They are called the Sunset zones after Sunset magazine that designed them. According to them, I am Zone 17!! I thought Zone 10 was crazy, now 17? The Sunset Zones take into account what your summer temps are unlike good old USDA that only thinks about winter temps. Woohoo! Lots of Zone 10 USDA stuff won't grow here because of the cool and foggy summers. I am very excited to have this additional info to help me out!
Whew! I got my gardening groove back! Now I am planning how to fill all those pots. I think I need to order some more varieties of tomatoes. I am determined to grow tomatoes here, mostly because I am stubborn and someone told me I can't, but also because I do love a good tomato! I also had a crazy thought on the way home from the nursery this afternoon: tomatoes will only take up the pot for part of the year. That means I can plant something else in there for the rest of the year! Whoa! The world will not freeze solid for 6 months here.
And the best part of all this gardening? If we need to pick up and move again, I can just pick up my pots and take them along! Oh yeah, and the killer gophers won't eat all my plants! Woohoo!
Oh yeah, I finally plucked up my courage and pruned both the roses and the big purple bushes in the front. In the process I found the sidewalk again!. One of the large and nameless purple bushes was threatening to eat my children each time they walked by, so I decided it was time to trim it back a bit. I also discovered a rose bush that I didn't know existed because it was completely covered by one of the bushes. I'm thinking those stepping stones have got to go too. Our landlord's wife is the owner of the house and unfortunately, her taste is floral and fussy. I have now hidden several small, cutesy, animal statues in various locations and I think these butterfly stepping stones are next on the list.
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| Before |
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| After |
What you can't see in the first picture is that all the rose bushes have moldy spots on their leaves. Not real attractive, but not life threatening to the plant. It just happens here becks it is so damp all the time. The best way to get rid of it is to pull off the leaves and dispose of them. The have started to leaf out again since I took this picture so it doesn't look quite as barren now. I did discover that one of the roses is covered in some sort of bug. Just did a quick google search and found out they are aphids. Lovely. Looks like they aren't too bad to get rid of though. If isn't gophers, it's aphids after the plants, I can't win. There is something to be said for the Midwest and having a hard freeze to kill off all the nasties!
Love that last statement. Never thought about Midwest winters that way before :-)
ReplyDeleteLet me guess which pot is so offensive--the one that looks like a giant wine glass? hahaha I canNOT believe how big your rhubarb is! Mine is still buried under the snow, of which more is coming down as I write this!
ReplyDeleteKeep working on the tomatoes! Anything can be grown anywhere, but it depends on how much effort you want to put into it. I think the microclimate you have for your tomatoes should work just fine. Lots of sun and warmth should do the trick, even in a cooler climate. Zone 17?! Interesting. I'll have to look into those Sunset zones.
Good job on the pruning up front. Plants have a way of getting leggy and annoying if left to their own devices. They do look a lot better with a little trimming and shaping. Your roses should bloom better, too. I had aphids on my pepper plant that I'm overwintering, but I picked the little buggers off. I think they suck juices out of the plant. Ladybugs are a cure, but there aren't many around here, especially in the winter!
Love seeing what you're up to!