Plants in the ground!
May. 15th, 2012 02:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amalnahurriyeh posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
gardeningWith the semester over, and it no longer looking like there are going to be overnight freezes (living in upstate New York: gardening is hard), I just put in some plants today. Now, I had intended to put them in last week, but discovered, when trying to dig holes in the front flowerbed that my landlord put in, that our front garden is apparently solid clay. Like, not "gee, we have some clay-y soil." Like, "gee, I can roll the scoop of dirt I just pulled out of the ground into a ball, and then sculpt a pinch-pot with it." I decided it wasn't work digging out the whole thing and replacing with topsoil, so I went out and bought pots and dirt to put in them, and spent my early afternoon happily digging.
Context: my lawn. Note how it is 50% dandelions. My landlord mowed over the weekend; that's how fast they spring back up. I love it.
These are the herbs that came with me when we moved upstate. Mint, thyme, chives. The mint has just sprung up in the last week--there were a few tiny leaves ten days ago, but it's starting to look like a real plant now. (For comparison, here are the chives and thyme back in the city.)
Here are two pots of brand-new basil. Next to them are four jalapeños and four leaf lettuces, still in their packs from the greenhouse; my son lost patience with my planting antics, and I apparently bought one long pot too few, so will need to run back out to the store. There's also a lovely pansy I bought from my son's preschool fundraiser, which I keep forgetting to water. I should just put it in the ground.
All the pictures from the front yard have fingers in them, sorry; it was too bright to see very well while I was taking them. These are tomatoes; I have one box of Romas, and one box of Amish Paste. Since I bought my plants from an Amish greenhouse near my town, I thought it was appropriate to get Amish heirlooms!
And here are the hostas, and weeds, growing in my front garden. I should do something about those weeds. At the top you can see the lip of the porch; I'm probably going to put the tomatoes up there, so I can stake them to the porch railing.
Not pictured here is my erstwhile potato bed, where I just shove in all the little sprouted bits from potatoes I buy; several of them have come up, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fall potato harvest!
At the moment, I'm planning on keeping all the herbs on the back step, the tomatoes on the porch edge, and putting the peppers on the front steps. We get morning light in the front, strong mid-day light on the back step, but not for very many hours (it's shady in the morning, and gets shaded pretty fast in the afternoon). I'm not sure about the lettuce. Previous attempts have ended up with bitter, inedible lettuce in June, but I've moved to a cooler climate; should I position them to get less sun, or put them alongside the tomatoes up front? I'd rather get to eat them than not...
Context: my lawn. Note how it is 50% dandelions. My landlord mowed over the weekend; that's how fast they spring back up. I love it.
These are the herbs that came with me when we moved upstate. Mint, thyme, chives. The mint has just sprung up in the last week--there were a few tiny leaves ten days ago, but it's starting to look like a real plant now. (For comparison, here are the chives and thyme back in the city.)
Here are two pots of brand-new basil. Next to them are four jalapeños and four leaf lettuces, still in their packs from the greenhouse; my son lost patience with my planting antics, and I apparently bought one long pot too few, so will need to run back out to the store. There's also a lovely pansy I bought from my son's preschool fundraiser, which I keep forgetting to water. I should just put it in the ground.
All the pictures from the front yard have fingers in them, sorry; it was too bright to see very well while I was taking them. These are tomatoes; I have one box of Romas, and one box of Amish Paste. Since I bought my plants from an Amish greenhouse near my town, I thought it was appropriate to get Amish heirlooms!
And here are the hostas, and weeds, growing in my front garden. I should do something about those weeds. At the top you can see the lip of the porch; I'm probably going to put the tomatoes up there, so I can stake them to the porch railing.
Not pictured here is my erstwhile potato bed, where I just shove in all the little sprouted bits from potatoes I buy; several of them have come up, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fall potato harvest!
At the moment, I'm planning on keeping all the herbs on the back step, the tomatoes on the porch edge, and putting the peppers on the front steps. We get morning light in the front, strong mid-day light on the back step, but not for very many hours (it's shady in the morning, and gets shaded pretty fast in the afternoon). I'm not sure about the lettuce. Previous attempts have ended up with bitter, inedible lettuce in June, but I've moved to a cooler climate; should I position them to get less sun, or put them alongside the tomatoes up front? I'd rather get to eat them than not...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-17 07:01 am (UTC)I cut a few old plastic pots into rings one year (a 20cm straight-walled pot became three rings) to place here and there in the garden in between other plants (even ornamentals), and in these I sowed my mixed greens (cut'n'come again). This way they got the shade they needed from the surrounding plants, and the rings made it easier to find them later on and not mistake them for weeds. I harvested the oldest leaves of each plant from as soon as they were big enough to stand some picking, that way I never had the problem with them growing bitter because there were always new growth sprouting in the middle of the plant. I know the following can't be done outdoors where you are, but I even had a few plants that kept me with a little bit of fresh greens all through the winter.