R.I.P Little Poppies

Friday Updates:

Blue Poppies: Attempt number one at growing Blue Poppies to bloom is officially a failure. All 23 sprouted seedlings are dead. Most succumbed to the alien green stuff. The four that survived that were victims of peat pots and the speed in which they dry out. It's not a complete loss. I learned a few things and I'm only out a few bucks for a seed packet. My next attempt will go a bit differently. I'll keep trying until I get one, even for a day!

Painting by Pol Lendent



Sack-O-Potatoes


Twelve days after planting I have five purple potato sprouts growing in my sack invention. This is a bit odd since I only planted four potatoes. Regardless, they are up and looking good. I think. They are, er, purple. The biggest one is a little green, assuming that one is a potato at all and not a tricky weed. The rest are so dark they blend right in with the soil. I was going to dig into the sack this afternoon to check progress and I almost dug them up! Can you spot the potatoes?


The Greens: The endive, kale, onions, carrots, chard, lettuces etc are doing great. I remove the row cover every afternoon when I get home from work to let the robins in there to do their thing. It seems to be working, so far no slug or other pest damage whatsoever. I can't say the same for the peppers in the wall-o-water. Something is eating them. I thought it was potato bugs but found a tiny slug on them tonight. I took them out of the wall o water and instead stood it next to them to try and decrease the humidity in that area. The peppers that are planted right next to the wall-o-water are untouched!


The Bean Teepee
No sprouts to date of any kind around the tee pee. I'm a little worried about this. It has been perfect weather, I should see something in the next day to two. I dug around in the soil tonight and found nothing. I think I'll sprout a few inside to have plants ready to go just in case.

Tomatoes:
I've put about 1/3 of them out. I noticed that two of the plants I put in the bed with the coldest soil are looking pouty this afternoon so I'm going to hold off for another full week before anymore go in that area. In the meantime, I put down some black weed mat over them to help that soil heat up faster.

New Big Ideas
Tomato Fort: I have a small balcony off my master bedroom. Nothing grows underneath it because it's dry and shady. I'm thinking of making some of those upside down tomato planters and hanging them all around the balcony. Once they hang down low enough, it could be another fun place for the kids to hide out. Plus it comes with ready made healthy snacks for them!

Sunflower hideout. I did these for the kids when they are toddlers but they take a lot of room and the area I would put it needs a lot of work on it first. I had an idea during manure musings though. I could just dig a one foot wide swath and amend and plant in that. That would leave grass for them to sit on within the hideout and less work for me. I've also decided to make the walls not only of sunflowers but also of sweetcorn to try and help support the flowers. I'm excited about this.

Found, more sun! Sun is a premium item in my yard, we have a lot of trees. I found an entire new spot to plant today. Under the eaves! Nothing grows there because it is so dry but it is the perfect place for homemade, earthtainers and their water reservoirs! Yeah, more spots for maters!