April 14 2018

It's been 10 days since the last update and a lot has happened in the garden.

Last weekend while I was making the Kokedamas Hubby put the support stakes in for the tomatoes and helped the bean plant get a bit of breathing room.

Those stakes couldn't have come at a better time. The wind has been insane over here especially since last Friday, with Saturday being worse.

It probably wasn't the best time to mow the lawn but Hubby powered through it 💪

(See the crazy lean on the plants? That's how windy it was!)

We did have a few casualties like the mint growing wild by the outdoor tap that got collected by the whipper snipper, and the random rose bushes also growing wild around the edge of the unfilled part of the lasagne, that I hacked out of the ground.

I did try to rescue them but changed my mind. I kept reading about all the nightmare stories of mint plants taking over entire gardens - so I pulled out all the mint from the garden and I'm putting them in a container instead.

The rose bush... Eh.. The thorns really put me off them and the fact that after we (thought) we pulled it out, it managed to grow back that quickly in the 2 months. It's already giving me a pesty feel.

Now that the alyssums are bigger I thought maybe it's time I transplanted them to the other side of the garden. I'm hoping it will battle it out with the grass and weeds and succeed, that way we don't have to worry about that side ever.

Alyssum is also said to be a good companion plant for many fruit and veggies, so just in case we want to turn that side into a food production side it'll be ready to go.

For now I planted them between rocks and underneath a tree. They're looking a bit dead though

April 16 2018

This is the garden today looking much tidier than it did 2 days ago after the mow and a bit of pruning.

You may have noticed I skipped the 15th, that's cos Sunday deserves a post all on it's own 🤩

The Salad Greens

I think it's time to harvest the lettuce. I had one that was growing out like a cone shape from the middle (I think it was getting ready to flower?) I pulled it out last week and threw it in the lasagne.

The rocket (arugula) leaves are enormous. I've never seen any that big before. And if that is "baby" broccoli I want to see what the normal size one looks like.

The chives I keep hoping would multiply so I can have more of them in the garden since I still cant get my propagation basils to work.

Tomat-row

Out of all our plants, I've noticed the tomatoes require the most care or maybe that's just what happens when you don't prepare for it, which we didn't.

We've only ever grown cherry tomatoes in a half barrel, never in ground so we weren't too sure what to expert and I figured, just plant it in and off you go so I didn't research it.

Despite that though, Hubby has done a good job looking after the tomatoes making sure they're supported surviving the strong gusts and the many fruits it will bear.

Eggplantia

This is starting to look very cramped and I'm wondering if I over planted in this section.

That capsicum has been that big for months and that colour for months. Seriously. How much longer is this thing gonna be ready? In saying that, I suppose it's just as well it only has one because I don't think the stem can handle multiple fruits.

The eggplants are looking great, again I'm wondering where my fruits at. Hopefully not much longer!

Flower Power

I know without a doubt I over planted in here and I wish I got to it before it got to this bushy compact mess. I've got branches and leaves from from all the different plants intertwined with each other.

Did you notice most of the French Marigolds are missing? 😉 I'll cover that on my April 15 update.

The bees and butterfly mix ended up being awesome. I'm pretty sure I have another variety of marigold in there somewhere.

I've noticed marigold leaves all share the same basic features. Its the size of the leaves that differ across the varieties. This is awesome since marigolds is one of my garden staples.

And thanks to the bee and butterfly mix I now have chamomile plants! It only just flowered the other day and it was such a welcomed sight.

Bob's Batch

Finally, our mate Bob.

Bob had to move behind the basil to give it support from the relentless gusts.

Here's the basil before I gave it a trim. Out of that little exercise I got 3 big stems ready for another round of propagation trials. This time I will try to wait until I have a nice thick root system.

If I didn't need it as a companion for the other plants I probably would stop trying to regrow it. I mean have a look at this basil plant? It's conquering this spot! And how much basil do I need anyway?

The rosemary, sage and brahmi seems to be on slow motion. Which is fine I suppose. Slowmo is tons better than dead.

As for the alyssums, it's cool to note despite the few plants I removed from that pile it still looks like a plush collection.

But wait, there's more!

There actually is but that will have to wait for tomorrow's BTC blog.

Good Night Steemit.

🌻 Arly

🍀 All pictures taken on my Samsung Note 8 🍀

Previously in the Black Thumb Chronicles..

Reclaiming our views | Companion and Lasagna Gardening | Hello Lasagna Bag Garden | Permaculture, Food Forests & Tree Guilds | Weekend Gardening Part 1 | Weekend Gardening Part 2 | Weekend Gardening Part 3 | Day 5 | Day 12 | Stage 2 of the lasagna and bursting bag gardens | Perennials vs Annuals | 41 days towards garden glory | Good Bye Bag Garden, Helloooo Veggie Patch! | Rainy Day Photography | Gnome Crazy | Oh, how my garden grows | Propagating Experiments (Basil, Carrots, Rosemary & Mint) | 25 Days Later | Propagation Results ☠ | [Garden Update ~ Goodbye Mint, Hello Tomato]