Seedy Saturday - I'm Grounded! (And sunburned!)

This past Thursday was my day off during the week and the only one where rain was not in the forecast. It was time to get the yard mowed and a long list of yard chores accomplished. Lady K was in school, I would be on my own and I was psyched for it.

However...

Lady K came home from school Wednesday, dragging and running a temperature. Amid tears for missing school, she stayed home on Thursday, finally zonking out on a pallet on the front porch while I gardened. Texter was off work and watched over her. We had hoped it was a 24-hour thing, but the reason she was napping during the day was once again her temperature spiked.  More tears, as there was going to be a party at school for those who 'made the grade' and she was one of them.

So...

While my plans were slightly derailed, I was determined to do what I needed to do in the yard.

Mowed the front half of the garden, depositing the clippings on the potatoes (which are going crazy!) and on the front bed (after some massive weeding).


This is the 'before' picture of the potatoes. The spider plant came inside after a nice dose of rain for watering. The amaryllis was repotted into a container with soil.

And by today...



The leaves were covered with grass clippings and they shot up like crazy. This 'experiment' with growing them in buckets already filled with soil, compost and clippings will either be a good harvest or a flop. Stay tuned for the results in a couple of months.

This is what the front bed looked like before I started on it. I have been dumping clippings and leaves on it all year. Also the container soil from last summer's plants. I wasn't holding out much hope for it since my soil is red clay and did doesn't get full sun at any point during the day.

But...

They 'pruned' the oak tree a few weeks ago, cutting it back from the house. Thus...

YES!!! 

It now gets full sun over the whole bed for part of the day. So, fingers crossed, it will produce for me this year. I really can't afford to buy all the containers for all the tomatoes I have, not to mention the container soil to fill them. Now all I have to do is by about a dozen stakes to put in the bed and string twine between them to tie the tomatoes on.

And the best part of it is that it's not as bad as I thought it was. In clearing out weeds and digging holes for the tomatoes, there were tons of worms in the bed. 

(NOTE: Lady K is on a pallet and napping on the porch. I was pretty envious.)

Slowly but surely I got the seedlings doled out to the appropriate bed or container. There was a brief stop to run to Lowe's for more container soil. I did pick up the pink dianthus shown in the picture, a box of Oriental Lily bulbs and a coral Knockout Rose off the clearance shelf too.

I repotted it into a larger container with fresh container soil and cut it back a bit. 'Michael' Meyer Lemon was also repotted into a slightly larger container. Oriental Lilies went into two pots and I hope at least some of them will grow. 

My 'potting station' where I went through the seedlings to up-pot and/or put into containers. I have several mixed containers of herbs and flowers.

I have two small containers filled with mixed lettuces and will start cutting for salads on a daily basis. They look so nice. Plus this is the first time I have gotten nasturtiums to grow! I have them in several places throughout my garden.

Afterwards...

An intensively planted bed of tomatoes. I will be putting stakes at either end and a couple in the middle and string twine between them to tie up the tomatoes. I will also be 'pruning' the tomatoes as the season goes along. 

I still have to plant the flowers into the front bed. I also have kale and more herbs to plant. The kale will go into the side bed, along with the chard when it gets bigger. I will have a large 'pepper pot' - a large tub and I am going to put all my peppers in them. I might have to have two large pots to handle them all.

Other pots and containers...



Cucumbers in buckets. I need a couple of stakes so I can run them up twine even though they are supposed to be container cucumbers.

Broccoli is started to grow nicely.

Peppers! 

I have a combination of hot and bell peppers. I still have more to plant and I think I am going to put them remainder in my large tub.

Two varieties of sugar snap peas.

Pots with a mixture of herbs and/or flowers. 

And my 'leftovers' which still have to plant...

More herbs (sage, chives, basil), kale, lettuces, some flowers and my pumpkins and watermelons are needing to go into pots or the ground. But the forecast for the weekend - RAIN! And it rained most of Friday. I still have half my yard to mow too.

So I have things to do this coming week after work. But for now, it's soggy, but looking good. I can't wait until things really take off.

(Note: as I finished up this post I was listening to the weather for Sunday --- major rainstorms, wind, possible hail. Enough already!)