Lindsaylew’s 2020 Garden

[Lindsaylew82]

I got a brand new bed! But a tiller fan, but there were 2 layers of weed fabric that I was fighting pretty hard to get through, so tilled it was! Here’s to quarantines, and lots of time to fiddle with plants!
The seeds I used here were 5-12 years old, so I’m hoping! We overseeded (still a member of PETC ).
I fashioned 2 sets of old gazebo stands for my use. The metal frame was made into a bean trellis with Kentucky wonder pole and yard long pole beans, and an A-frame planted with cukes and bush beans on one side, and cukes and snow peas on the other. The wooden frames have cherry type tomatoes below. I’ll fasten those to the fence as a cage!
Tomatoe varieties are Turhune, Amana Orange, yellow Brandywine, mystery ruffles (which I think might actually be Cuor di Bue Albenga), Black Krim, Brown plum, green sausage, and three unlabeled plants that my kids grabbed.
Peppers include 2 sweet lemon type peppers and an Anaheim.
Straight neck and crooked neck squash. A few white patty pans.
3 types of mixed zucchini seeds.
My kids made a mess of 3 rows of okra that’s gonna require a fair amount of thinning, but there, dwarf long-podded, burgundy, and Clemson spineless.
Zinnia and marigolds throughout. I’d love to get my hands on some nasturtium seeds, but quarantine prohibits right now. I’m hoping the grocery store has some on a day I go to get food! Icicle radish would be nice too!
I’m in that waiting period no one likes now! I’m ready to tend!

[SQWIB]

Looking good, happy to see the eye, lol.
I Really like those trellises

[imafan26]

Nice. I actually have had some bean and dill seeds still be good after 10 years if they are stored cold.

At least your kids have a big yard to play in. It must be hard on the kids not to be able to see their friends at school. I am sure a lot of parents are being driven crazy now finding ways to keep them occupied. At least you are teaching your kids to appreciate gardening.

I usually order my seeds from online catalogs and I only buy a few seeds from the store. If I have to buy seeds I usually go to Walmart where I can can get a little more of everything in one trip. It is also only a mile away. Hardware stores here are also open as they are listed as essential services for getting plants, seeds, and garden supplies. There has been a surge in people buying seeds and plants to start their own garden.

[Lindsaylew82]

My wee kid is loving being home, and never wants to return to daycare. She starts public school this August, mayyyybe? My big kid enjoyed the first week, but last week was challenging. I let her FaceTime her friends yesterday, so that helped. It’s been a serious adjustment for me in particular. I’m used to being home alone and filling my days with quiet study. Now, my mom, and both kids are home all the time. I’m pretty high energy too, so I’m used to being able to jump up and just go all the time with many friends, which I can’t do at all now. My mom has been the most challenging so far. Siiiiiiiiiiigh..... BUT! I’m really enjoying it more now! I get to see how my children learn. I taught my wee kid to read her first words (where daycare failed). My wee kid isn’t being bitten, scratched, maimed, or sworn at by the daycare 4-year-old terror. I’m teaching them how to cook, and clean, and garden! We made a fish trap from fallen twigs and pine bale strings yesterday. I’m gardening bigger and with renewed stamina! So overall, I’m enjoying my quarantine, now! We’ve never spent so much time outside, walking, biking, or just chatting! I’m very thankful for this large fenced-in backyard! There’s a pool! Just waiting on the pollen count to fall for a few days before we open.
This waiting though..... I sowed some perennial flower seeds from my ancient seed collection, so that helped pass some free time. I’m currently stalking my garden every 5 minutes! Post-plant wait is the worst! Especially with sketch seeds!

Happy to see familiar avatars here! Lol Very happy to have a decent plot to dig up!

Legit though, I don’t know what day it is, any day, for the past week. Time seems to be speeding up with all the business of a full-time, full-bodied house that fully depends on me for pretty much everything except potty time!

[applestar]

Looking good! It will be great to watch your garden grow vicariously while mine is still waiting to be prepped even. (Very soggy out there, but all the spring flowers have burst into bloom)

It’s an adjustment for everybody, but it sounds like you are already coming up with ways to making things FUN!

[Lindsaylew82]

Nothing but sunburned tomatoes happening yet! I fully expected to see some bean seedling popping up! It’s cool yet, though! And.... I mean.... legitimately its only been 4 days...

[Lindsaylew82]

Well.... a bunch of Zinnia seeds, and some dormant lemon balm that was there 15 years ago, came up in the veg patch. No other seeds.
So I planted all of my remaining seeds in flats of shallow potting soil that I can scoop out upon germination! I lost 4 tomato plants to something. I’m guessing slug or cutworm. I had a bag of russets that was beyond eating, so I planted them (against all knowledge of potential disease...) along the boarder of the garden with the zinnia. I sowed strawberry seeds for a hybrid tea rose bed. I found some asparagus growing roadside on my last hike. This fall I’d like to add them to that rose bed.

Not including the vegetable garden! In February, I moved a whole bunch of mixed hostas from a west facing bed by the front door that was getting blasted and fried by the afternoon and evening sun. They’re in deep shade around the pool in the back yard now, and popping up problem free. Around 70 bulbs I split, so it’s starting to look really pretty as they pop through the mulch! I got a sweet deal on some Mixed gladioli, liatris, and crocosmia. There’s a sunny spot on an edge of that deep shade bed! I’m prolly gonna put them there. I started mixed coleus and impatiens for some color in the shade bed. Next year, I’d like to add some colorful perennials to make that bed less work for the future!

I dug out an old rock garden... 3” of pea gravel, over 2” of sand, over landscape fabric (....I hate this stuff so. Freakin. Much...), over chunky driveway gravel, all fully infiltrated with centipede and crab grass.... sigh. Pressure washed and weeded out that little patio, too. Here’s before and after. I let my kids sprinkle around 15 packs of mixed flower seeds that were over 10 years old over the gravel that was remaining. There were lots of sunflowers... We shall see! The ground needs some deep breaking up!
Before:

After:

Ooooooooonnnnn a different note... I got one’a those electric mini chainsaws several years ago, and was too intimidated by it to use it. Got over that.... and immediately got it stuck up in a high limb. Hahahahaha. And when I got it down the next day (through no effort of my own, the limb figured out how to fall , the motor blew in it. It was fun while it lasted.

[applestar]

Darn @Lindsay, I was enjoying your photos and account, and then practically jumped on your last opening sentence — oh! WE have one of those!! .... oh ... oooooh..... I’m not sure if I want to try now.

[Lindsaylew82]

Apple, it was fun! It was also an expensive learning tool! Undercut shallowly before overcut!!!!

Some of the seedlings that I started in seed mix came up. I transplanted cukes, beets, and lots of nasturtium today. I got new bush and pole bean seeds. They got placed today! I thought about peas! I’ve got a spot, but feel like planting them now might be wasteful. It’s gonna get hot soon! Zucchini went in today and was paired with marigolds and nasturtiums. The squash are still too small for my comfort! Later this week!

I split my tomato seedlings today. I have 13 plants to replace the 3 I lost.... Guess I gotta find a place for those now!

I have a feeling that the garden may be acting as a shallow bowl. It’s soupy with red clay that’s juuuuuuuust right for mud pies. I can walk on it currently, but only because it’s heavily mulched. There may be a drainage issue. I’m currently brainstorming ideas for improving drainage without tearing it up... I’m gonna start with a long pitchfork and deep fracturing for drainage while everything is you g and shallow rooted. Pounding and extracting rebar is another. Hopefully all the plants in there now will help with water uptake! Could just be that we are getting slammed with nasty heavy storms every single day as well. Especially since I started pumping the water off the pool cover. Uuuuugh. I didn’t have to water tonight though! È a lama!

I’m tired in the best “I had my hands in the dirt all day” kinda way!

[Lindsaylew82]

Got down to 37°F last night! Everyone still looks good, but the tomato plants are definitely showing signs that it’s too wet, and too cold. Rather anemic looking, and curly, purple veins everywhere. It’s May in SC! The weather is so weird lately!

This week I planted out cuke seedlings (The seeds I planted previously didn’t sprout), and some of the zucchini (same situation as cucumbers) that were appropriately sized to avoid slug destruction! Beet seedlings that my girls planted in pots got transplanted. I replanted pole beans, bush beans, and okra (again...). I had some lettuce seeds and some bunching onion seeds, so I sowed them in with the okra seeds.

........for the first time.... I planted seeds according to the suggested spacing. Hahahahaha the lettuce and onions seeds will need thinning for sure. I was thinking about possibly transplanting lettuce thinnings to underneath my cucumber A-frame. Wondering if that’ll extend my harvest into the heat! It should be completely covered and shaded under there in 2-3 weeks when those seedlings are ready (if they come up )

It’s raining a whole lot these days. The clay is pretty soupy and will surely dry out hard and unforgiving in the summer. Amendments will be a requirement. This fall will hopefully provide enough arid days that I can turn some humus into this clay. In the mean time..... I sort of feel like this years garden is gonna be weak and puny! Staying positive and attentive, though!

[Lindsaylew82]