Sunday, June 15, 2014

Watering, weeding, and waiting

Most of the vegetable garden is planted. The tomato, eggplant, and pepper seedlings I started earlier in the spring are growing new roots and are getting taller. Many of the seeds I planted directly in the garden have sprouted. Now it's time to keep it all watered and work to keep the weeds down.

The state of the garden today. Not much to see, yet.

About a quarter of the sweet corn seeds I planted didn't sprout. I knew they might not because some of them were leftover seeds from a few years ago. I've since replaced them with new seeds. I also planted a row of green beans with leftover seeds without a single sprout after a week, so I'll get some new seeds this week and replant. One mystery remains: brand new cucumber seeds have failed to sprout. I put in some more and am hoping they'll grow.

9 comments:

  1. Walt, we have excess cucumber plants...
    Marketmore and La Diva [an American smoothskinned], if you would like to give them a home....
    you could either come and collect, or we could meet in the middle...
    can't leave the potager for too long...
    still too much ground to prepare and the climbing beans are falling in love with each other!!

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  2. What is that red thing hanging like a dead bird scarecrow?

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    1. I'm glad you pointed that ? thing out, Evelyn! I had concentrated on all of the curly stakes and that verdant green everywhere!

      YES! Please explain, Walt!

      Mary in OR

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  3. Walt,
    Fresh veggies, nothing like them! This is perhaps the best part of summer, growing one's own veggies to consume. Green beans are especially good. I have yet to grow them but I will.
    Ron

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  4. I had problems with green bean seeds too, with seed I'd saved. Fortunately I had some older seed which was fertile - I'm supposed to be a Seed Guardian with Garden Organic for the poor thing. I also found some old Cherokee Traili of Tears beans which were fertile after we failed to raise one last year. Ask for yout money back if seeds didn't come up (you can't do that if you raise your own)! We mean it about the cucumbers. La Diva won an All-American selection. The other variety of cucumber we have is Marketmore, also from the USA. We have Crookneck Squash to spare as well.
    Yes, what is that thing hanging in the tree?

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  5. I look forward to watching your garden grow. There's nothing like fresh!

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  6. I always enjoy watching your gardens grow.

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  7. tim, thanks, but I think I have a couple of sprouts now! I also planted a bunch more seeds, just in case.

    evelyn, mary, I should have taken that down. It's a broken twig in the tree with a couple shriveled brown leaves clinging on.

    ron, I've had good years and not-so-good years. One year I had so many green beans that I had bags of them in the freezer!

    pauline, thanks! As I wrote to Tim, I think we're going to be ok. I see two sprouts this morning, so more will come.

    mitch, n'est-ce pas !

    michael, me too, it's so very satisfying when it works. :)

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  8. Um - we have an excellent recipe for sweet cucumber pickle if you have an excess. There's only so much pickle one can eat, however. I'll put our spares outside the gate with a sign "Servez-vous" and maybe someone will take them. P.

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