It’s that time of year that I really need to be documenting my garden regularly. It changes all the time! So I wanted to make sure to note some significant events that are going on this week.
First, the tomatoes! The Bellstar tomatoes in bed 2 are looking fabulous. They’re starting to put out flowers, so I’m hoping to see fruit soon.
The tomatoes in the grow bags in the other side of the yard aren’t doing as well. I have lots of theories. They’re San Marzanos, which can be a bit more finicky. Because they’re in bags and not the ground, they’ve been much more susceptible to the colder nights we’ve had since I planted them. And they also dry out faster in the bags. I need to pay more attention to them.
The tomatillos are doing well. Even though they were only three inches tall, they were producing flowers, which I had been pinching off. However, I thought maybe that was why I hadn’t been getting any fruit last year, so I stopped pinching and started letting them flower now that they’re six inches tall. This guy here had a mishap one night this week: something nearly severed the stem at the soil. It was hanging on by a thread. It was my strongest plant, so holding back my tears, I straightened it out and built the soil up around it. And forgot to water it. That bed stays pretty damp anyway, so it didn’t seem to mind because the plant has bounced back almost like nothing happened.
Nearby, my Golden Dorset apples are getting bigger. They’re between a quarter and half dollar size now. I’ve already lost a couple to worms, so I don’t know how many I’ll actually get this year. This is mostly my “let’s see what happens” year, and next year I’ll do pest mitigation.
Back on the other side of the garden, my seeds are starting to come up. I have a sunflower and a muskmelon!
And my garden is very grateful for all the rain we finally had this week. We added three new barrels to help collect it. We have really only had just barely more than mist, so only the first barrel is full, and the second barrel is filled to the bottom rib. But we are grateful for the rain! This will help so much during the dry spells.
The front yard is flourishing as well! I can’t express to you how much joy it gives me to see the gingers recovering so well, or to see the crepe myrtle thriving in its new home.
The penstemon are starting to bloom. They were my favorites last year, but I might be too distracted by the fruit trees this year.
And the poppies are finally starting to put on a show, which is good because they can help disguise the seedy mess of the bluebonnets.
That’s it for this week’s garden updates! I’m going to try to make this a regular Saturday habit as things will be changing constantly now, so stay tuned!
Don't Be Latte! 