Mid-June

Here's my garden now.

Purple Cabbage.

Early June Pics

Here are some pictures from June 4, 2009.

I haven't added many pictures in the last few weeks because my garden was dormant. It was hot and sunny when I put my seedlings in the ground. But then we had WEEKS of cold, dry weather. The heat and sun initially stressed my plants (which I didn't harden off). Then the cool, dry weather did not inspire growth.

This week we've had rain and heat so my next post will show you the growth that my garden has seen in the last week.

Cucumbers.

Okra.

Dahlia.

Chives.

Petunia.

Dianthus.

Veggies are In

Statistically, our last frost should be before May 12th. This year, we had frost warnings on May 16th. Fortunately, the frost did not come. I planted my vegetable garden yesterday, May 17th.

I have really been looking forward to getting my seedlings in the ground. These are the seedlings that I've been growing under my grow lights since March.

I decided not to harden them off since they've been in a breezy south window. I know it will be hard on some of them. So far, only the morning glories look bad, and I think they'll recover.


"Welcome to my Garden." This sign was a gift from a friend and it is perfect for this corner of my garden.


It was supposed to rain today, but it didn't.



My veggie garden is horseshoe shaped. The pictures above don't line up perfectly, but they'll give you an idea.

On the left/west: peppers and cabbages.
At the end/north: cucumbers, morning glories, onions, leeks and cabbages.
On the right/east: tomatoes, okra, chard, basil, cilantro, dill (just seeded), and a couple of random marigolds and petunias.

Dan's tricot cabbage. Alive and well. The bugs and the bunnies have left it alone so far.

The tulips are past their peak, but still beautiful. Daffodils are still coming up.

Neighbor kids who wanted their picture taken. I think they're prettier than my flowers : )

My garden has a new blog: http://augsgrub.blogspot.com/ This is the official blog for the Augsburg Community Garden.

April Showers Brought May Flowers

The end of the week was rainy. It was a much needed rain. Now the sun is shining. Highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. As expected, the rain, sun, and warmth have brought spring with them.

Tulips in my garden.

You can see my garden on the far side. This neighbor has beautiful onions. I think they left them in the ground through the winter.

Hyacinths? in my garden.


The chives have little purple buds on them now. Dan put some of these chives in our dinner last night. He made prosciutto-wrapped scallops decorated/flavored it with chopped chives. It was wonderful.

All around my garden the wildflowers and trees are beginning to blossom and grow leaves.

The weather forecast for next week predicts highs in the 60-70s and lows in the 40-50s. I would love to plant my seedlings outside but our last frost isn't until mid-May. My plants and I will have to wait patiently.

My tomato seedlings are 9" tall now and it seems like they're growing 1/2" daily since I transplanted them. I'm trying to keep the grow lights an inch or so above them, but they keep growing right up to it.

Meanwhile, inside...

Today it is rainy and cool (50F). The rain is quite welcome as our soil is pretty dry right now. I am hoping that, after the rain, everything will come to life.

Some of the trees directly outside of my apartment are just starting to get small leaves. And the grass is getting a little greener, but not growing much yet. The same is true for my cabbages and onions outside. While they're still alive, they haven't grown much yet. The seeds I planted outside (spinach, carrots, radishes, and lettuce) have germinated with the exception of the slower carrots. But they haven't moved past the seed leaf stage yet.

Meanwhile, inside, my plants are growing faster than before. It was sunny and windy this week. I left the window open and the wind blew my peppers over. They are recovering nicely and are, hopefully, stronger due to the wind stress.


Tomatoes.


Peppers, tomatoes, and okra.

I planted marigold seeds that were from last year's garden. In hindsight, I really didn't NEED to plant them indoors since they germinate so quickly. But, what a delight to have marigolds blooming under my grow lights! The photographs do not do the vibrant colors justice.


Marigolds and basil.


Marigold.


Marigold.

My okra has been another suprisingly delightful plant. The seedlings are beautiful with red stems and fuzzy leaves. They also grow quickly.

Okra.


Okra.

Ground Breaking

We put the first of the plants outside last week. I was worried about hardening them off. But they have been in a sunny window with a fan on them. So we transplanted them outside in the morning on a grey, rainy day. They seem to have survived.

Cabbage (a tricot!)

Onion seedlings.

I was more worried that the bunny would eat the cabbages. But so far, so good.

Unscathed cabbage. So far.

Bunny-trimmed tulip.

I am excited to see buds on the tulips and it looks like the daffodils are coming up now.

But, of course, it's the weed patches that are the greenest spots in the garden!

Soil Temperature

I bought a soil thermometer today so that I can figure out when to plant my early spring plants. The instructions advise inserting the thermometer "to a maximum depth of 2" to 3".

My soil temperature at 2" was 74F, at 6" it was 49F.
Current air temperature is 53F (near today's high).

At first, it didn't make sense that the soil would be that warm. But when I felt the top of the soil, it did in fact feel like it could be 74 degrees. The deeper soil felt pretty cold, but not close to freezing.

The instructions recommend the following soil temperature ranges: