Timing is everything

Having had the yard now for about a year I now fully appreciate (as noted in an earlier post) why seed packages have a specific month you wait to plant in and not before.

The tomatos are going into high gear. The cherry tomato plant which I began to question would come back this year is kicking butt. I will try to keep it smaller this year because the area above it now has soy beans and beets. The new beefsteak and roma tomato plants seem to be doing very well. For all intents and purposes none of the tomato seeds I planted, in particular varigated cherry tomatos, never germinated. In general, that has been the case for most of the outdoor seed plantings. The exceptions have been the china (sugar) peas, dwarf corn, brown onions (which are really from small onion bits), radishes (okay, maybe a few things from seeds have grown), beets, dicon (oriental radish) and a few odd carrots.

Seeds that were germinated indoors included shiso (green much easier than red) and italian squash. The bell pepper and chili plants from Home Depot have not grown much but haven't died either. Both need to get their act together or they're going to be gopher food.

Returning to the italian squash, it's becoming at least as and perhaps more dominating than the tomato plants. One problem with them is that if you don't pick the squash small, it turns into this humongoid thing that looks like an english cucumber on steroids. It doesn't taste bad but does make meal planning difficult if you don't want leftovers. Right now it's just beginning to produce so its our number 1 vegetable to eat or give away.

The dicon radishes were picked heavy about three weeks ago. There's still a few left. Those will be used as radish seasoning. Note for next year, plant fewer and farther apart.

The herbs are holding their own. So far, the gopher has left the oregano, thyme and rosemary alone. All of the herbs have come from plants as germinating from seeds has proven difficult. A recent addition is a sage plant which seems to be doing well but has been taking it's time growing. The cilantro (which is planted in plastic pots) is doing well. Planting differences a little as 10 inches closer or farther away from the brick wall make a big difference how well they do. I'm just figuring it's either a watering or drainage issue. The dill looks messy. It's always a pain to grow. It turns yellow easily. I'm wondering now whether it's overwatered. If that's the case, the basil is the opposite and seems to undergo water stress easily so I have to go over with a watering can and give it a bit extra. Basil has done well germinating indoors then transplanting outside. It has yet to really kick in and start a decent growth spurt. The same for the cilantro. The thyme, oregano and rosemary are hearty, grow at their own pace and just seem to be more durable. The parsly looks like a week you'd want to pull. It doesn't really grow much and looks pretty horrible.

Chinese cabbage is a waste of time. It either bolts or it doesn't create any kind of 'bundle' to harvest. I doubt I'll replant unless I can see better results in the summer. The same goes for the spinach. I planted the kind that's kind of wrinkly and it makes for a tough salad. I've got seeds for the smooth-leafed kind and will try to plant that shortly, perhaps where the chinese cabbage is now. Regular cabbage is a waste, the bugs ate all sorts of holes in it. The brocolli gave some good flowers to eat, but they are getting smaller and smaller as the plant matures. The artichoke plant continues to slowly grow. I've seen full-grown plants. I hope I haven't made a mistake by planting one.

The pole beans are slow to grow. They didn't germinate at all indoors but part of the problem is that I didn't soak the seeds before planting them. On the other hand, the seeds outdoor weren't soaked either. There's about a 25% germination rate among them.

The dwarf citrus trees have reversed their position regarding which one are doing best. In the beginning as winter was finishing, the lemon and lime trees were doing the best with the orange, mandarin and tangelo looking a bit ragged and worse for wear. In that order are the plants which get the most to least amount of sun. Now the lemon and lime have yellowish leaves and the others are looking good. I thought at first there was a drainage issue and that the roots weren't getting enough oxygen. I'm reversing my thinking now and think the soil is too dry so now I'm focusing on waterint the lemon and lime trees more. We'll see in a few weeks if I'm right or not. The lemon bush has two main spurs. The one will the yellow leaves still looks ragged but the second one appears to be pushing out new flower buds.

The grapes are starting to grow now. The old grape plant what was there before has been pruned because I don't recall seeing fruit on it. Now I'm reading a book on viticulture and realize there's a whole technique to pruning and this could affect grape production. I need to add on to the trellis that I built last month to accomodate this. Apparently, you're not supposed to get fruit the first year after planting bare root grapes. The first year is to get them trellised up and the second year is when you start getting fruit. I'm wondering if I had left the old grape vine there whether it could have produced fruit. At any rate, it (old one) is producing another 'climber'. I haven't decided yet whether to let it grow or not.

Without a doubt an established and pruned rose bush will do better than a new bare root rose bush. The new bare roots have tiny (4 - 6 inch) stems. The established one can be measured in feet.

Tired of writing. Will post another time. Last thought...weeds really growing now. The worst is a kind of crabgrass. Since I can't put herbicides on it (it's near vegetables), it's either use a hoe or burn it with a propane torch. I've broken my third hoe. The torch may be around the corner.