After my initial attempt to spruce up my patio with succulents, I decided to go all out and start growing vegetables. I've been enamored for years with the gardens Pookie and Schnookie of Interchangeable Parts grow year after year. They're so lucky to have so much open land on their property! Let's see if I can have even a tenth of their success.
Here's what I've planted so far. Everything, except for the basil and "curry" plants, was started from seeds. Most of the plants were started in a little Jiffy "Greenhouse" kit, but a couple things were planted directly in pots or the garden bed.
The tomato plants have been growing the best so far. I think you're technically only supposed to have one plant per pot, but ehhhhhh....
Next up are green onions. They look so feeble. I'm always concerned about knocking over those teeny tiny stalks whenever I water. I don't have high hopes for them so wish them luck!
The sweet bell peppers were late bloomers. These took forever to sprout. The seed packet I bought is a mix, so I'm excited to see what colors eventually grow. For comparison, I planted (sowed?) the tomato, green onion, and bell pepper seeds at the same time so you can see how fast the tomatoes grow.
Soooo.....I planted cauliflower and two varieties of squash on the same day and forgot to label them so I have no idea which is which. A friend told me that zucchini grows very easily. I'm assuming the plant in the photo below is a squash variety because it took no time at all the sprout. I left one in the pot and the rest are in the garden bed.
In case you're wondering, my garden bed frame is from Greenes Fence Company. There are various sized frame kits available on Amazon, but all of them are too big for my "yard". I needed a 3'x4' max frame so I ended up buying the pieces individually from the company's website. I almost didn't buy it because shipping directly from the company's website cost $15! I didn't even buy the corner "tops" that look so nice because I was being cheap. In the end, I don't regret the purchase, even if it was a lot more than I wanted to pay, because the quality looks good, shipping was fast, and all the pieces fit together really easily (you just slide the boards into the corner posts, no drilling needed!).
I have no idea what to do about keeping the pests at bay. I have noticed more flies around my patio, which has me a little concerned. And I swear, the very next day after I took these photos, the leaves on the cauliflower plants (there are a couple in the pot in the above photo) were completely riddled with holes. Either something is having a lavish feast or they have some disease, which is a bit disheartening. Anyone have any newbie-gardening tips? And by tips, I mean really, really simple tips. I've read all this stuff online about pesticides, bugs, netting, blah blah blah blah blah my brain hurts, so I'm trying to keep it simple.
I don't have too many crazy plans for fertilizing and keeping the pests at bay, but I assume I'll figure shit out as it's needed. I have noticed more flies around my patio, which has me a little concerned. Anyone have any newbie-gardening tips? And by tips, I mean really, really simple tips.
And what's your favorite vegetable to grow? I'm already looking forward to what I can plant in the Fall!
And in case you're wondering, yes, I'll get back to sewing eventually! It's just a lot easier to take photos of my plants than of myself.
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