It’s been an amazing week for gardening, weather wise. On Monday, I sowed cilantro, green pole beans, yellow bush beans and shelling peas. I also finally transplanted my ailing onions and leeks, and my stellar parsley; they should have been put in the ground ages ago. Wednesday, I sowed more beets and carrots; also chard, corn and sunburst squash.
Today, I transplanted a dozen tomatoes, turned my compost pile, and made the decision to plant cucumbers in the whiskey barrels, since I’m not going to plant potatoes this year. I have some bamboo stakes for trellising them.
Important notes for this year’s tomatoes:
- It was a hot sunny day, but rather than delay until we had more favourable transplanting weather, I erected a shade cloth over the bed to do my work. (I did the same thing last year, but with less care.)
- I planted the tomatoes trench-style. In an 8-foot long bed, I spaced out six tomato plants. I dug the trench about eight inches deep, added bone meal (a handful per plant), blood meal (a spoonful per plant) and crushed eggshells (a handful per plant), then set the plants in the trench, filled in up to the first leaves and watered well.
- I did not bury the bottom leaves. Because I had potted them up into luxuriously large 28-oz tin cans, they had already developed huge root systems.
- I did not use cutworm collars. The plants were very stocky and the stems thicker than usual, so I decided to take the risk.
- I did not water with fish emulsion because I did not have any. I am currently hunting for recipes for homemade fish or seaweed fertilizers, which are considered much cheaper and more nutritionally complex.
- Rain is expected in two days. I will spray plants with neem oil tomorrow. I’ve never used it before, but it may help protect the plants from fungal diseases which are my bane.
Tomorrow, too, I will shop for French Marigolds, because my old seeds did not germinate; I’ll need at least a dozen, maybe two. Also, I’ll plant the cucumbers in the whiskey barrels and nasturtiums at the corners of all trellises.
Then I will play with my new blender.
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