Slugs Like Beer, Not Coffee

After picking 18 slugs off of the cabbages, we looked up slug control. We learned that slugs like beer, not coffee. Who knew! http://eartheasy.com/grow_nat_slug_cntrl.htm

Aphids and Summer Gardening

One of my artichokes is unhappy. This is the artichoke that I vernalized and I want it to live so I can compare it to the other one which was not vernalized. Unfortunately, I think the ants are nursing aphids on it. That would explain why it's not growing as well as the other one.

My next project, apparently, is trying to find a good, organic, solution to aphids.

Ants and Aphids on Artichoke.

Ants on Artichoke.

In other news...I went out to the garden today and the person who had started gardening in the plot that I'm plot-sitting for had pulled up their stakes and left.

My cabbages are beginning to split. So I harvested one. Now to find cabbage recipes for yummy, sweet cabbage.

The greenhouse was HOT today. I mean sauna hot. The door on one end was closed. I think my ripe tomatoes were actually cooked and ready for sauce.

Bachelor Button.

I now have all the makings of something good:

Basil.

Somewhat Ugly, but Hopefully Yummy Tomato.

Thai Dragon Peppers.

Garlic Harvest

Sharing

The plot kitty-corner to mine was full of weeds because its gardener is out of town this summer. I knew that one of the other gardeners (not the plot tenant) was kind of gardening there. He hadn't really spoken to anyone, but had put a couple of unused tomato plants in the untended plot. He did so because they were extra plants and he had nowhere else to put them. That way, he figured, if/when the gardener returned to her garden, she would have some tomatoes waiting for her.

But, since I remembered the garden's owner mentioning that she might be out of town this summer, I asked her if I could tend her garden while she was gone. She graciously offered to let me care for it in her stead. So, over the last couple of weeks, we have weeded, tilled, fertilized, and added compost to the garden. And, inside, so the bunnies don't harvest them too early, I have seedlings growing for my fall crops.

Yesterday we went out to the garden plot and someone had planted a row of seeds, in the carefully worked, fertilized and now composted soil. The row is about a third of the way into the plot from one end to the other, so it truly takes up a third of the garden. And I think it's a third gardener!

I'm kind of bummed out about it. I know it's not really my plot and it is a community garden after all. But we are the ones who cared for the soil. And the third gardener let us do all of this work and only then started to plant in it. I had also hoped to add more compost. I only had time to put one wheelbarrow of compost in and I think the soil could use the organic matter.

So, I just left a little note (on duct tape) in the plot asking who the co-gardener is so that we can discuss our plans for the garden, mutually.

Soil Amendments and Tomatoes

It was grey and in the 70s today. I took advantage of the nice weather by making some soil amendments.

I added a pound of blood meal and a wheelbarrow of compost to the plot where I hope to grow my fall garden. It could still use some more compost.

Garden bucket.

The best thing I could do for the soil is to break up the hard-packed gravel that is six inches down. There are water drainage issues in my garden plot for this reason. The water sits on the surface for a few minutes or runs off right away without being absorbed.

In past years, I have broken up some of the gravel below, but it takes hours to break up even a small area. If only I had the right tools. But not many apartment dwellers have pick axes or jack hammers so I'm stuck with shovels.

My second project of the day was taming the tomatoes. Last year my tomatoes were a good size for the tomato cages that I have. Not this year. This year, they are monsters. Very large monsters that are trying to take over my garden. They have escaped their cages, spreading in every direction, knocking their cages over, and covering every neighboring plant they could find.

Last week I staked up my tomato cages (their legs were too weak to support the plants and they just bent over). Today I pruned the tomatoes back. I will have more than enough tomatoes to eat either way. And, this way, I can walk into my garden without a machete and my other plants will not be completely covered and shaded by my tomatoes.

Summer Tasks

One of my neighbors is out of town this summer and she has given us permission to tend her garden while she's gone. So, this weekend, we weeded the garden and turned the soil over. We weeded and mulched the paths. And, in the corner by the entrance to the garden, we planted Ultra Burgundy petunias and Thai basil which has burgundy stems. A fellow gardener had already contributed some tomato plants to the plot, so the south side of the plot has tomatoes in it, most of the plot is bare soil, and the flowers are in the northeast corner.

I'm hoping to put my fall garden in the now bare spot. I planted some seeds for my fall garden today. I was hoping that the garden center would have seedlings for fall, but they didn't. I decided to start the seeds inside, which seems crazy when the weather is so beautiful. But we've experienced challenges with germination outdoors, probably due to the small, furry garden helpers. And it's a little easier to keep seedlings moist indoors.

So I planted white and purple kohlrabi, cauliflower, turnips, Earliana cabbage, and Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage in 2" cow manure pots. I would still love to plant some ornamental kale. We also need to look at which alliums we want to plant this fall. Dan is looking into garlic varieties. I want some onions and shallots.

This evening, I pulled out the peas. They had taken a significant downturn in production and were beginning to turn brown. It was time to go. The best part was that, as I walked up to my garden, I saw a mouse running across the path trying to carry an entire pea pod. He was forced to drop it in favor of running for cover. But you could see how reluctant he was to give it up. I left the pea there so he could come back to it later. I didn't have the heart to take it away from him.

Allium in Bloom

Onion

Onion

Garlic scape

Garlic scape

Purple leek

Purple and white leeks

Pink leek

Pink leek

Lunch

Beet. Fresh from the greenhouse.

Shallots (bulb & greens) and garlic from the garden.

Add beets.

Eat with grilled cheese sandwich (there is basil from the garden hidden under the pepper jack).