Applestar’s 2025 Garden

[applestar]

I was hoping to start the new year’s garden report with something like — went out and started prepping for the new season … but it’s been very busy around here, so all I’ve been able to do is putter around inside.

My token cross-breeding and variegated mini dwarf project has continued on a Winter Indoor scale. And the FFSX has set fruit and is growing. It’s currently about 1.75” in diameter.

The snap pea and fava bean seedlings have slowly grown and actually NEED to be put outside, but we’re currently experiencing another low temp though not as low as the earlier one in December.

Looking at the thermometer logs, the Patio Hoophouse continues to remain within tolerable range — currently 27°F while it’s 18°F outside in the open — when well-protected with additional covers and possibly a heating mat.

The entry made of zippers and flaps will be too frozen to open up until later in the day though.

Some potato eyes I started in cells and small pots in the house have sprouted and have been growing. This is an experiment to see if I can grow potato starts to plant (like tomatoes). — Haven’t decided what to do with them though.

[applestar]

This is one of Japanese gardening youtuber channels I like to watch. They are located in Kagawa prefecture (interior Setonaikai side of Shikoku Island) and is in much warmer and milder winter location than my garden.
In this video, they are showing satoimo (araimo? dasheen?) harvest and ginger harvest recorded in December. They generally do a comprehensive review of the growing season with their harvest videos. I like that they label most segments with date of filming in the upper left corner. (月　is month and 日　is day).

They are generally very successful with satoimo and ginger and their winter is mild enough that they can winter-store root vegetables buried in the garden bed. (They did mention it got down to -2°C/28.4°F just prior to recording which killed off the upper foliage — but it sounded like this is unusual).

I’m inspired every time and want to try upgrading my ginger and turmeric techniques again this season. If I can, I’d like to get hold of satoimo to try growing (I remember seeing my Dad growing them once in a while in his sandy, hill-side garden….)

【里芋と生姜】収穫とたくさん収穫するための栽培コツまとめ／里芋の保存・種芋の準備とその後の流れ／ショウガのプランター・袋栽培結果／里芋と生姜の育て方／セレベス（赤芽芋） -

https://youtu.be/X443sAksO3s?si=R1ozpDzLf6AA2MjE

[applestar]

@imafan, if you watch the video above and recognize what araimo? dasheen? they are growing, let me know what they are called in Hawaii — including latin names of the species if you could.

(The bigger one is sometimes called “celebes” in Japan.

セレベス（学名：Colocasia esculenta 'Celebes'

[imafan26]

Satoimo, we call it araimo (tsurunoko), but the markets label it as dasheen. Taro esculenta has many cultivars. In Hawaii, there are over 165 varieties. Some are used for the roots, some for stems, and some for leaves. I grow araimo and Bun Long. Bun Long is a Chinese taro. It is smaller than a Samoan taro. Bun long is versatile because all parts, the corm, stem, and leaves are edible. I also like red moi, a type of table taro, but I haven't seen any in years.

I grow my kalo in containers. I had Samoan taro in the ground. It was huge, but it was all leaf and no roots. When I asked, I was told, too much nitrogen, but the leaves would still be good to eat. It was also very hard to kill. In the pot, even after I thought I harvested everything, a few cormlets sprouted.

Eleele is a common taro used for poi. It also has many different cultivars. Experts can tell the varieties apart by looking at the leaves. I can't.
https://www.kupunakalo.com/kalo-variety/mana-ele-ele

Caveat, all taro have calcium oxalates and have to be cooked to death to make them edible. While all taro are technically edible, some are too acrid, so only certain parts are used. Steaming, baking, boiling are the most common ways to cook taro. Taro leaves are similar to creamed spinach when it is cooked with coconut milk. Poi is one of the world's most hypoallergenic foods after it is cooked. However, the calcium oxalates are very irritating which requires the parts of the kalo to be cooked very well and raw taro is itchy so you have to be careful how you handle raw kalo.


https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/site/TaroD ... aspx?id=77

More videos on growing taro. This is mainly dryland taro. All taro will grow better in wetland. Commercial taro is grown in loi or taro ponds. Dry land taro still needs a lot of water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmveWem ... 7Hawai%27i
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1A0iqZ ... aiianVoice

[applestar]

Thanks @imafan! You’ve given me a lot of new information to work from. I’m gonna be busy!

Perfect for winter couch -gardening

[imafan26]

I saw people growing one taro in a 5 gallon bucket without holes. There was dirt and water and guppies to keep the mosquitoes down.

Someone gave me a taro once that was 8 ft tall with a pink stem. That taro was grown for the stem. The stems are peeled and then cooked. It is high in fiber.

There is renewed interest growing traditional Hawaiian foods like taro and ulu (breadfruit). While kalo was a staple of the ancient Hawaiians, it was not native to Hawaii. It is one of the 31 principle plants that the Polynesian voyagers brought with them. It is included as a native plant. There was also some archeological evidence that the polynesian voyaging canoes made it to South America and left some chickens behind that were the first chickens there before Columbus arrived. Some people do argue that chicken DNA is inconclusive in terms of origin.

[applestar]

WE’RE BACK!!!!

A place marker to reserve a spot. Soooo much catching up to do!

Suffice to say I’m knee deep in tomato seedlings, etc. that were started in March, and my Vegetable Gardenbeds are brimming with early spring-planted stuff this year.

[imafan26]

Nice to be back. I had problems getting access to helpful gardener. I still don't know if it has been resolved. I am glad you back "knee deep" in the garden.

[digitS']

It was a surprise that ..

. downsizing my garden in 2024 would include losing HG in January 2025.

Only the most cold-hearty plants have been planted out although the recent weather has been bright and sunny (with light, morning frosts). The hoop house is nearly entirely full. Adequate peppers are started to soon fill the little greenhouse bed and more than sufficient tomatoes, but those will have to wait for the expanded outdoor garden.

It's heartwarming to see you 2 back and know that you are both busy with 2025 gardening.

Steve

[applestar]

I missed you both! So glad you’re here to share our gardening adventures.

If I can figure out how to upload them, I have some crazy trailcam photos and videos from over the winter. Latest surprise was an OTTER swimming in my tiny pond. …The raccoons are going to be a problem, especially since I was planning to expand my sweet corn planting this year….

Here are my from-seed starts that are still inside the house:

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, flowers… peanuts and CELERIAC in Winter Wonderland

…I have Brilliant celeriac started @digit’S. I’m not sure where to plant them, but some will go in the Sunflower Hoophouse. I wonder if they prefer sandy soil?


…and tomatoes that have already been moved out to the Patio Hoophouse, along with the FAVA in containers, and remaining early spring started cool weather crops and flowers:

Patio Hoophouse tomatoes, fava, remaining early spring crop seedlings

I was able to get the earliest plantings started this season in the Vegetable Gardenbeds, including potatoes and favas, carrots in the VGA, carrots, lettuce, and asian greens, kohlrabi, in VGB, a mini row of garlic and a mini row of potatoes and peas in VGC, and carrots and turnips, lettuce in VGD, with some mini daikon in VGSIP:

Vegetable Gardenbeds

…I gathered some weeping cherry double blossoms and made salted cherry blossoms. They have no fragrance to speak of, but once salted, develops an amazing, what my DD described as “smells like marzipan!” fragrance. Then adding rice vinegar turns the pale pink blossom into brilliant pink, and the salty vinegar becomes almost magenta in color (this can be used as pink sushi vinegar):

Salted Cherry Blossoms, Sunflower Hoophouse and Haybale Row prep

…Sunflower Hoophouse is ready to plant and Broccoli are in. There are scallions and a couple of overflow garlic here, along with three overwintered Alcosa mini savoy cabbages that already bolted with some side shoots but am trying to see if I can get some more to grow and head up.
…Haybale Row will be my main tomatobed this year. I’ve started prepping by digging up weeds and raising the mounded row, adding fertilizer/amendments and rice rinse water cultured bran liquid microbial activator, paper/clear plastic mulching….

[applestar]

SFHH is filling up with spring planted crop — beets, scallions, onions, cabbage, broccoli, napa and greens.

Over the winter, I got a purple sweet potato tuber to sprout in a 1/2 gallon milk carton, and had bunches of slips growing. But they started to deteriorate, and, in desperation, I planted them all.

It’s way too early, but at least for next several days, we are getting a mini-heatwave, so they may be able to establish in the Sunflower Hoophouse. I was too tired today, but will set up a vented poly cover over them if it looks like we’re going back to chilly temps.

Photo gallery collage of today’s Sunflower Hoophouse pics

…If you click and zoom in, you’ll be able to see that rooted cabbage core better. I tried rooting it in water starting March 1. It’s going to be interesting to see if it will actually grow to harvest.

Sunflower Hoophouse is used for heat-loving crops that need the extra warmth, and crops that need the extra protection from persistent and difficult to control/manage pests. Later, I’ll be planting White Sesame, Peanuts, Eggplants, Hot Pepper (‘Sugar Rush Peach’), Summer Squash, and C.maxima and C.pepo Winter Squashes here.

[applestar]

In my cross breeding project growouts, I have many MANY micro and mini dwarf cherry and egg-sized tomato variety segregates, and nearly stable tall standard cherry types in variety of colors and shapes that are starting to be planted.

For the main tomato garden large fruited varieties, I finally got around to taking inventory of uppotted started plants that are just about ready to get acclimated and planted —

variety ^last uppotted

Cow’s Tit ^4.24
Dwf Chocolate Lightning ^3.31
Dwf Chocolate Lightning ^4.24
Faelan’s First Snow ^3.30
Indian Zebra/Stripes Burson’s Strain {…or Neve’s Azorean Red} ^4.3
Indian Zebra/Stripes Burson’s Strain {…or Neve’s Azorean Red} ^4.24
Jersey Devil ^4.6
PaddyMC’s Steelhead ^4.24
Pineapple ^4.24
Pruden’s Black ^4.6
Pruden’s Black ^4.2
Terhune ^3.30
Terhune ^4.24
Tidwell German ^4.17
Wes ^4.3
Wes ^4.24

[applestar]

I’m expanding the Front Yard Fence Row along the front of the backyard fence, and have been busy for the last couple of days — edging, weeding, reviewing planting map….

Last of my tomato starts have been moved out of the house, and some more have been moved out of the Kitchen Garden Hoophouse to acclimate.

But we had forecasts for severe rainstorms today, and I didn’t want the tomatoes to be whipped around or beaten up.

So I built a rain/wind shelter over the picnic table:

insect mesh and non-woven cloths along the sides and vented poly on top.

[applestar]

I had to run errands today and tired myself out.

Hoping to get out there tomorrow, and finish planting the Sunflower Hoophouse with celeriac, peppers and winter squashes…. White Sesame, etc.

Here’s a photo collage of what’s growing in there right now:

2025 Sunflower Hoophouse

[applestar]

I went to a different Home Depot than I usually go to the other day, and they had a great selection of good sized healthy Venus Flytraps (the kind that comes in tiny orange plastic pot inside a clear vented tube). I couldn’t resist and bought two of them.

This morning, I discovered that one of them had been working to earn its place

Venus Flytrap caught two flies

… I looked up whether I HAD to go buy distilled water for it, and learned they need water in 100~160 ppm range using a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter. And our water filter serves 0 ppm and the faucet delivers about 190~220 ppm, so I’ve been giving them roughly 1/2 and 1/2 mixed.

[applestar]

27th was the Average Last Frost date here, and while temperatures have been above freezing, we did have a dip down to 38°F a few mornings ago. I think this morning’s 46°F is the last possible iffy temperature for tomatoes and they can be planted out. (I’ve already been acclimating them outside inside the wind/rain shelter enclosure over the picnic table.)

Things are going to get very busy now….

[imafan26]

You have been busy and there was a derechos storm headed your way. I had to look it up. I never heard the term before. You are getting ready for Spring planting and I am already ending my Spring planting and getting ready for summer.

[applestar]

Yeah, I harvested some carrot thinnings, lettuce, and Mizuna today (very much spring crop!) from the Vegetable Gardenbeds … as well as first squash blossoms from the Sunflower Hoophouse.

…Been working on my pond and re-learning how to build simple air-lift pump systems (couple of test builds in pond).

[applestar]

Cucumbers sprouted in 3 days
Seeds sown on 5.3 — 2@Summer Dance (8) | 2@China Jade (4)

I needed to save space on the heating mat — these will be uppotted to 6 or 8 oz size cups and will be hardened off and planted after 4 true leaves.

[applestar]

Here are those cucumber seedlings later in the day and after biggest were uppotted. One of the older China Jade seeds sprouted, too.

…Packed for 2025 Divergent cantaloupe seeds all germinated later in the day as well. The other 3 pack are older Otome watermelon seeds and may take a while….

[applestar]

Planted some cherry tomatoes from my crossbreeding projects in Vegetable Gardenbed B today. There’s a low tunnel of earlier planted greens and roots in there — mini napa, kohlrabi, lettuce, carrots, turnips — my planting schedule slipped — or more precisely, it didn’t warm up as I expected PLUS the weather warmed up earlier for planting tomatoes — so they were slow to get growing and didn’t finish and get harvested as expected (biggest kohlrabi is about 1” in diameter … I did already harvest komatsuna), and these first group of maters had to be planted behind the tunnel for now.

Also included in the collage are the favas and lettuce on one side of VGA doing very well inside the wind shelter surround made of insect mesh;

3 photos of most of the warm weather plants still in the KGP(Kitchen Garden Patio) Hoophouse, including the valencia peanut in the big pot, as well as more to be planted peanut, okra, sesame, hibiscus, centaurea, marigold, Sugar Rush Peach pepper… another tray of some other stuff didn’t make it into the collage…

Last pic is today’s harvest of lettuce, carrot thinnings, sugar snap peas, and shungiku edible chrysanthemum leaves.

[applestar]

My garden is taking off!
…can’t seem to catch up and get everything I want to done, but not quite at point of panic yet.


Finished pinching the upright stem of peanut plants … in the SFHH. (They’re starting to bloom )

Mini Napa’s (Emiko and Mini Kisaku 50) look like their getting ready to head up, and mini savoy (Alcosa) are looking good.

Summer squash Easypick Gold II and Golden Glory have tiny female flower buds on them — probably will open in 2 or 3 days. These are both supposed to be highly parthenocarpic.

I got the main large fruited tomato row mulched, but ran out of energy to plant….

Harvested outer leaves of mini pakchoi Green Jewel as well as some Mizuna.

KGPSIP3 is mostly planted with random salad garnish and others that needed protected warmer planting spot. Calendula Radio has opened its first blossom.

Got distracted trying to get the turtle spitter pond feature working better … but failed

[applestar]

It got very cold this morning — down to about 46°F.

When I went outside around 8am, it was still kind of chilly. I wanted to sort through piles of sod that I had covered with light blocking plastic (cut open mulch and potting mix bags) so I could shake off and make use of the dried topsoil for a front yard fence row flower bed.

At 8:09am, I uncovered the 2nd smaller pile and yelped! Can you see it? It was a brightly colored garter snake, tightly coiled up. It must have been too cold for it because it did NOT budge.

I decided to work on the other, larger pile of sod for the time being, and I covered it back up again, this time with a clear plastic trash bag.

… By the time I was done with the other pile and returned to the smaller pile around 9:14am, the snake had (warmed up enough and) gotten out of there.

Later, I planted the larger fruited tomato plants in the bed designated “Haybale Row”.

It was after 1PM by the time I got to it, with clear sky and bright sun that felt too much. So I hung some insect mesh to give the little plants a modicum of shade. (You can see them waiting in the shadow of the Sunflower Hoophouse.)

I planted Lemon Gem marigolds in the middle.

[applestar]

This year, I’m trying two homemade solutions to reduce aphids in the outset of the season to hopefully bring down the initial and eventual population in the garden.

One is Vinegar and Alcohol — called “酢と酎(Su-toh-Chu)” in Japanese, it’s a combination of rice vinegar and shochu… except I just use whatever vinegar on hand and clear liquor I have — so distilled white, 91% rubbing, rum, etc.

As usual, I’m incapable of following directions exactly, and have to tweak, so I also added bits of old dried up garlic and old hot pepper. This is an adaptation from another method to make hot pepper and garlic solution repellant by boiling and decocting.

The resulting mixture is diluted quite a bit — have to go look it up again but I think I’ve been using about 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) in a 2L pressure pump sprayer.

Another method is coffee and soap. I just run another 2 or 6oz through my morning coffee Keurig pod, add a few drops of liquid soap and fill with water in a 750 ml/24 oz? hand sprayer.

Neither are supposed to be strong enough to kill them but is said to repel them.

I’m also proactively using borax and now boric acid to scatter as well as make and set out ant bait.

I sometimes add a bit of sugar and boric acid to the coffee solution for good measure

I sometimes add the Su-toh-Chu in the same sprayer when using to foliar feed with liquid fertilizer … just because vinegar by itself diluted to same amount is supposed to act as a plant tonic/metabolism enhancer.

[applestar]

Today’s big project was planting the front yard fence row flowerbed I’d prepped the other day.

Partly because of that garter snake incident, I didn’t have the left side of the bed ready, but I did get the main part planted….

BUT, I only realized I forgot to take any pictures when I was sitting in the shade, resting and looking over my handiwork

Took some token pics from under the protective cover. This is in open front yard and deer have been spotted. Neighbors have complained that the deer are decimating their plantings. So I covered the bed with two arched sections of wire fencing and an insect mesh which is also to protect the tender plants from the sun … at least for the next couple of days, but maybe until the plants start pushing the top of the wires.

— I may or may not continue to use the fencing as flower supports … or install something else to support these tall flowers, etc. — snapdragons Madame Butterfly mix, centaurea Tall mix, some Hill Country red okra in the back. The yet to be planted to the left are Roselle hibiscus tea.

Nasturtium Alaska mix along the mulched edge of Paw Paw trees.

[applestar]

Photo gallery collage of Sunflower Hoophouse progress :

Yesterday’s harvest of over wintered Alcosa mini savoy cabbage side shoots, Green Jewel mini pakchoi, bit of Mizuna, some Cascadia snap peas, and first blossoms from Cool Wave pansy mix :

— and Kitchen Garden Patio SIP1 with mini Napa Emiko and red napa Scarlette starting to head up, surrounded by F. virginiana wild strawberries with blossoms starting to set as baby green berries.

[imafan26]

Looking so good. I don't have a lot of problems with aphids. The garden patrol takes care of that. I did find some soft scale on the lemon and mites. I used alcohol and then just blasted them off with water. The mites cannot be seen, so pruning the leaves off is what works and the leaves won't recover anyway, so there is no reason to keep them.

I have a few flowers that I planted over the fall and winter and now my flower garden has expanded, and I have seen bees and butterflies come by. I am sure there are hover flies and parasitic wasps too. The hover flies do a good job parasitizing aphids and scale.

I do have white flies, they are bothering mainly the kale and beans, and I just annoy them with water.

I did lose a cucumber to pickle worm, so I have been bagging and also adding twist ties to secure the bags so they don't loosen up.

I have had a problem with ants in my empty containers and potted plants so I have put out 3 different kinds of ant bait (Terro, advion, amdro). I just put fertilome ( spinosad) in many containers and around the containers to try to get control of them. It was the only bait that was ok to use around vegetable gardens. I am also preparing to do a dawn dish soap soak for any pots that are swarming with ants. The recipe was 1 cup of dawn per gallon. Since I am using the 4x dawn. I will actually put 1 cup in 4 gallons of water. The pots would have to soak for 30 minutes and then be rinsed well. I cannot do that with any peppers, but I will find out if the other plants survive.

[applestar]

I HATE ants in container plants! The way they come swarming out — especially when unexpectedly — gives me the heebeejeebees (sp?)

[applestar]

Today’s views of the garden

Mostly steadly drizzling, cold day. Prepped a small bed for melons and an extended arc of the Spiral Garden for cucumbers and squash … and got soaked through

* Garlic needs attention — the insect mesh tunnel is too low and they are starting to produce scapes.
* Previously planted spring/summer crop are growing well.
* But earliest planted of the radishes didn’t like the too-short spring and unreliable ups and downs, and have all bolted … and summer squash in the SFHH have started to show powdery mildew spots.
* Strawberries are coming in and cherries have started to ripen

[imafan26]

Everything seems to do well in your garden despite all the challenges.

[applestar]

Thanks @imafan.
We’re still in late-spring season when temps are mostly mild and we actually get rain sometimes. Once the muggy-hot but no rain weather arrives, that’s when all kinds of problems start.

- Having been bagging selected clusters of cherries for blemish and bird-peck free harvest — these are Emperor Francis and White Gold —

- Strawberries and peas
- First couple of fava pods, some lettuce for sandwiches, and garlic scapes
- (not pictured) I planted the rest of my cross-breeding project grow out cherry tomatoes the other day (many are blooming, a couple have set fruits)
- and planted the cucurbits today — cucumbers, melons, squash….

[applestar]

(sigh) I’ve been pushing myself too hard and overtiring myself — but I really wanted to catch up on garden projects and get most of the pre-summer heat planting done…

I’m just going to post some photo gallery screenshot collages for now. (May come back and embellish with additional details later)

Vegetable Gardenbed A

VGA potatoes/carrots on side side and Fava+lettuce, beets on other

Vegetable Gardenbed B

VGB project cherry tomatoes + inter planted mini napa, kohlrabi, carrots, marigolds, basil (wild strawberries)

Vegetable Gardenbed SIP

VGSIP Saitaro daikon after culling and thinning+peppers, cilantro

Latest progress overview of Sunflower Hoophouse

SFHH starting to harvest baby summer squash and broccoli, culled beets; mini napa and cabbages are heading up, planted Romanesco for fall harvest

Container Gardenbed

CGB with peppers and citruses

Back Yard and patio-side Kitchen Garden

KG with view of pond beyond; KGPSIP1 Emiko and Scarlette mini napa are nearly ready to harvest; KGPSIP2 potatoes; other containers and KG with rain shelter-protected picnic table of tomato starts in background

[applestar]

[applestar]

I’m usually more about garden vegetables and fruits than flowers, but o decided to venture more into edible flowers this year.

Also, a deer was spotted on the pond/side trailcam INSIDE the back fence! In broad daylight!! … there was a gap where it might have gotten in, so I shored up the fence with some bamboo, etc.

My crossbreeding project variety ‘Shomofuri(霜降り)’ plants are showing stabilized feature variegations and magenta candy cane striped leaf stems.

[imafan26]

Your garden looks great!

[applestar]

I had planned to grow sweet corn in the Spiral Garden this year, but there was a major project I wanted to take care of there first — prep work and planting got delayed and delayed, then I gave up on the project….

So majority of the Spiral Garden space have been left fallow to the weeds all this time (there are actually volunteer tomatoes and squash among them ).

Another issue that was giving me pause was the frequent raccoon visits recorded by the pond-side trailcam.

Then for a while, raccoons stopped, and I was starting to think maybe I can plant the corn after all …before it became too late. (From past experience, I can’t seem to plant corn after the Summer Solstice … maybe because of the shortening daylight? … corn don’t grow to full height.)

In any case, raccoons have been back on the trailcam again. I think I’m goin fro give up. It’ll probably be better not to expend all that energy trying to grow the corn all summer, then end up with the heartache and disappointment of having the raccoons ravage the crop…
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A couple of photo gallery screenshot collages from a couple of days ago —

* Haybale Row main tomato bed
* Beach Plums — I thought this wasn’t going to fruit because the 2nd one that had been planted to pollinize died (or is nearly dead)
* Umpqua broccoli — I think I’m going to harvest this even though it’s not as big primary head as expected, since it’s supposed to be a good variety for extended side shoot harvest

* 2 out of 4 mini napa harvested to expose and make room in the corner for the Sugar Rush Peach and 3 eggplants next to the path —

SFHH - harvested 2nd mini napa

* Fava beans are starting come in in big handfuls (we already had enough for a family meal (removed from pod and sautéed in butter and oil), dark berries are Juneberries
* First bunch of lavender
* Lettuce is dwindling, but nasturtium are starting to bloom and leaves are getting big enough to enjoy as lettuce subs in sandwiches and salads. (LOVE these variegated Alaska leaves)

[applestar]

A big dragonfly participated in my Garden Patrol aerial division, and stopped by the patio table enough for me to see and try to unsuccessfully take a pic. By the time I pulled my phone out of the back pocket, it had flown up to the roof of the Patio Hoophouse.

Gorgeous blue eyes. It might have been an Eastern Pondhawk …don’t really think it was a Blue Darner since that one is listed as Western USA species.

Blue-eyed dragonfly and Spiral Garden

I really didn’t want to leave the Spiral Garden to grow weeds all summer since that would have meant SERIOUS prep work before planting for the fall/winter crop, but I didn’t want to put too much energy and effort going into the summer anymore, so I’ve randomly sowed 3-Sisters — sweet corn, beans and butternut squash after clearing a narrow strip, just enough for seedlings to get started (maybe). It rained yesterday and tonight and will get hot this week, so hopefully they are in good condition to get going.

Debating with myself about temporarily covering with insect mesh to protect from birds, etc. as they sprout.
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Recent harvests :

6/04~6/13 harvest collage

[imafan26]

It is interesting that what you are growing now are my winter crops. Except for the beans (not fava) or the cucurbits. It is already to hot to grow these crops until September or October. Only kale and Swiss chard lasts all year.

[applestar]

Yep. With some effort, mostly by starting them in late winter/extra early spring indoors and protecting them while temperatures are still frosty and freezing, I can grow them to maturity by late spring/early summer … as long as we don’t get sudden-death summer temperatures while we should it’ll be enjoying spring temperatures.

I do think the insect mesh protected high tunnel “Sunflower” hoophouse (for in-ground planting while keeping out pests and keeping IN beneficial predators) and the medium tunnel “Patio” hoophouse (for above-ground level started seedling containers with ready/immediate access and electrical outlet access for heat and fan) have been THE season extenders I needed — and are most effective.

…

I took a day off due to having to run errands, but here are some pics I took on Monday —

Tomatoes are starting to set fruits —

Haybale Row (mainly medium to large sized fruits)

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VGB (my project cherries)

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VGD (my project minis and dwarfs)

Best expressed variegation in VGD

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I did cover the outer arc of the Spiral Garden with low insect mesh tunnel fortified with a short wire fence, and scatter the inner arc/spiral with light mulch of cut grass (I might add even more grass mulch tomorrow) in hopes of protecting the 3-Sisters as they emerge. It just didn’t feel safe without, since all of these seedlings emerge with the seeds attached as seedleaves.