Chime

 Loud, original and beautiful. 

WHAT? I HAVE A SECOND BLOG???

OH. MY. GEEZ!! I completely forgot I had this blog spot. LOL!!!! "Neglect" is an understatement. Everything in it's own time I guess. 

Welcome back, me. And hopefully - YOU! 😀 Just, wow.

Compost

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I had my FIRST dumping of kitchen compost today!!! So happy. 😂

I used a 5 gallon bucket to transfer the small crock's 'goodies' with a bunch of wet and dry leaves from the winter.  I didn't rake when the leaves fell because the bees need them.

And we all know how I feel about saving the bees. 💬

My bounty included: banana peels, potato peels, egg shells, coffee grounds w/filters; tomatoes, trimmed green bean peels, apple peels and a host of other good shit.

Now, I'm trying to figure out who to add this to a corner of my garden so: I won't have to make trips back & forth; and how to NOT attract critters.

I guess when I put it out there, I'll just turn it all over and let it marinate into the ground.

And we all know how things get when they marinate. I want it to be rich and wormy.

Ewwww...., but yay. 💥

Until soon!!!!

 This is the Community Garden. A couple of years ago, I considered joining; $15/plot for a year. Very secure with a combination for gardeners only. When it just started out a few years ago, they didn't have water aside from a nearby house willing to share their hose. I'm glad to see today they have several hoses for the sharing.

I love the whole community 'thing.'

The garden is also bigger. There is plenty of room to expand from houses that have been torn down.

 There was word in the beginning of theft - stealing others' veggies. Can you stand it? C'mon folks. Hopefully that's over. But while I looked around, I missed being able to grow my own space. Maybe one day later on...

Pictures by me.

Heller! (Madea Style)

Welcome back! Looks like it's time to dig in the dirt again!! We literally had NO winter in NE Ohio. I was so happy, even though it was rather weird. Just light dustings here & there as opposed to a couple of feet of snow. Everything started budding & blooming in April! This caused huge problems for lots of plants. One day I took a picture of a beautiful Magnolia & 24 hrs. later, it was dead. Three major frosts before it was safe to leave anything out. Even though temps are hgh, I still don't plant the garden before May 10th. It's what the Amish say, too. And they should know.

I've been eating A TON of spinach. I have to have it in the house. I'll cook dinner, but I usually eat spinach salad instead. Mangoes & Kiwi are ranking pretty high on the addiction list, too. The bean sprouts & alfalfa sprouts are always on the spinach.

 I'm going to grow lettuce in a big pot on the patio. I don't want to put it in the garden. It's so delicate, I want it nearby.

Speaking of the garden, it's time to roto-till. Scream! The tiller we rented last year was a beast. WAY too large for my little space, but the nearby shop doesn't rent small. Yet just a pitchfork was major work. It has to be done.

Lastly, over the winter (or lack of it), I fell in love with fresh cilantro. During a veggie/fruit shopping craze, I added it to chicken soup in the crock pot. Addiction. It's great on the everything if you want a tart, lemony taste. When I use this, there's no need for salt in my book.

I'm not sure what I'm growing this year. Last year, my tomatoes didn't do so well, & neither did my green peppers. They took nearly all summer to finally grow anything & it grew was very small. I will try cabbage again & spinach for a first time. I have to work with the space I have.

Again, thanks for coming back if you're reading this right now. I hope you join me for another season of growing :-)

Welcome back! Thanks for stopping in! Things are still going on in the garden. You see the cabbage is turning more & more 'ball-like'. I don't know how long I'm supposed to wait; I keep comparing it to cabbage in the store. I keep using the EcoSense beetle spray since those damn things still seem to be hanging out, and keep watering.

Memo: even though the temps are cooler here (70's), outdoor plants, flowers & gardens STILL need water. I almost forget that every year. The dirt still gets dry; cool, but dry.

SCREAM! Is that what you think it is? Yes, it is! FINALLY, the watermelon has produced.... now that it's nearly mid-September. But I'm so excited to have it. It climbed right up the fence & did it's thing. The vine is still strong & sprouting those tiny yellow flowers & a couple more real tiny melons. Next year's lesson: start from plant as soon as the ground gets soft.

I love how this ivy looks against my garage that is screaming for a paint job. It's outta control & it's not good. I think I mentioned this before.
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See those little suctions? They latch onto the wood & completely cover whatever is still & flat! Bad for the wood & bad for paint. Yet such a nice photo subject :-)

ANOTHER SCREAM! FINALLY - the bell pepper plants are seriously almost tall as me & have finally sprouted!!! Yayness! I don't think I've ever seen the plants get this tall before sprouting. In the early years when I still had sun (before willow took over), I remember the bells being short, bushy & full of peppers.

The 'sometimes hot/sometimes sweet' peppers are still giving off tons o'peppers. Even the hot ones make anything delicious if you dice them super-fine. Then all you notice is the kick!

Rosemary is still hanging in - gone girl! (lol!) Now that the cucumber leaves have mostly withered, Rose can keep getting the sun she needs. You can't tell from this angle, but it's really bushy/hearty.

The cukes are still giving off fruit. These are new ones on the other side of the fence. Leaves that grew thru the wire & continued to grow. I am real pleased with how they did this year. Next year: give them more stability. I wasn't ready for how fast & crazy they grow... especially since in the early stages, I wasn't sure if they were 'zukes' or 'cukes.'

The 'Bells' coming on strong. Tiny white flowers mean 'lots.' Between these, Rosemary, the peppers, and abundant farmer's markets, I'm seeing this in the very near future @ the next grilling. Yum.

Oh yeah - the tomatoes are a real disappointment. Folks say here & there that theirs didn't do well either. I can count on 2 hands how many I got & they could be eaten in 2 bites. The plants still have green medium-sized fruit of them, but the bottom leaves are turning yellow, like it's time to close up shop soon. Waaahhh... maybe better luck next year.

Random thoughts for next year:

• I would like to go a little bigger. No one seems to have any interest in the huge lot, so my little piece o'earth isn't hurting anybody. I would like to give the melons more sun, as well as the tomatoes.

• I will have more herbs. When I grew before, I had every herb: rose, thyme, sage, basil, chives. I was over run w/them, but I used them a lot, passed them on to friends. The smell is something to behold

• I will have more flowers mixed throughout. I think that's so cool, plus it adds color. As you see above - everything is the same color. The 'Bee Balm', that is shocking bright pink, has gone to stick for the Fall/Winter. I'll put it in the ground so it can come back in the spring.

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time :-)

Update

Welcome back, friends :-)

Everything in the garden is coming along, EXCEPT for the green bell peppers! What's up with that? The plants are very tall, but not producing anything.

However, I have A TON of the hot/mild peppers you see here. I say hot/mild because some apparently are screaming hot & some are mild. Still can't figure that one out, but they are very tasty - especially in spinach salads.

The CUCUMBERS (yes, they're cucumbers after all - LOL!) are delicious! It's so amazing that the tiny yellow blossoms produce such hearty fruit! It's amazing - one day, it's a flower, the next day, it's a huge veggie that appears to grow before your eyes.

My tomatoes aren't producing NEAR as well as I thought they would :-( And the tomatoes are small as you can see. Small, yet tasty all the same.

Nothing on the watermelon front, but the vines are long & trailing across the garden. The vines have tiny yellow flowers, but no sign of the fruit yet. We'll see what happens with that.

The cabbages are flourishing and starting to form round heads. I'm so proud of them. I had to get more EcoSense Insecticide spray - this product really appears to keep the beetles, slugs, etc. away, so I would recommend it to anyone on their garden and flowers.

If using the spray on flowers - DO NOT SPRAY THE BLOOMS! I've learned that the hard way. It's gentle on the leaves & keeps pests away, but it will kill your blossoms. DUH!

And that's it for now. I just wanted to keep you all updated on what's happening in my corner of the growing planet. Thanks for stopping by. Next time, I'll whip you up something tasty :-)

Update

Welcome back, friends! Lots of growth going on. First I want to say if something is eating your plants and/or veggies - this stuff is the way to go. Remember I had my bottle of melted Ivory Soap? WRONG!! Well, not too wrong, but a little too strong. I found this stuff @ Walmart. I was going to get Sevin Dust, but when I found this with the "eco", "sense" , I wanted to go this route.

See beneath the vines? There's a nice sized cuke or zucchini.
I'm not so sure. LOL! This veg is long & thin, so I'm guessing
it's zuke.



I love the tiny yellow flowers. The beginning of the veg.


Delicate, but so strong! They have wrapped around the
fencing & pulled the hook nearly out of the ground!

Had 1 red tomato so far. It was small :-( Yet tasty :-)

SURPRISE! These aren't sweet mild at all. They're pretty
h-o-t! I can't eat them. Maybe I grabbed the wrong plant.
Wow & ouch!

This is "killer ivy" that grows all over anything nearby.
I have to keep it off the garage, it's horrible for any
structure. I could destroy it, but...it's so cool against
the worn paint, isn't it? :-)

Okay - a little white flower now means more super hot
peppers. Yay???

The watcher of the morning glories. Real birds
don't like him. :-\

Bee balm. I thought I would put it in front of the house
where I have a blank spot, but the bee attraction didn't
go over well for D. Too pretty to put out of site in the
garden, but it needs lots 'o sun.

The watermelon vines are growing long w/tiny yellow flowers. It's been very hot so I water often. I staked the tomatoes w/the tall stakes. Still no bell peppers - just white flowers. There are so many notes I'm making for next year.

Thanks for coming by!

Pictures by: me

Progression & growth

As you can see - the cabbages are really taking off! I can't believe how great they look!




Welcome back!!! Thanks for stopping in. I've got lots o'growth going on.


The power of the vine. It needs to climb & will wrap around anything!



Everything is pretty much doing all the work itself; my job is to keep it watered & try to maintain it. The melons - I ended up staking them w/cute little stakes - again. Don't think it's going to work - the vines are powerful! Do you stake melons, or let them run? The feelers on them have already wrapped around the little fencing I have.

The sweet yellow peppers are really bursting out. I have 2 that I think are big enuff to eat, but I'll let them grow more. In on picture, the green bell peppers are also tiny, tiny little buds, but the picture may be blurry. I was in hurry this morning :-)

See all the yellow blooms on the cucumbers? That means lots of fruit. Again, will they get too heavy for the stakes? I don't to leave them on the ground cause I know that causes rot. We'll see - this is all trial/error & there are no mistakes. Only lessons for next year :-)

I know the rosemary always looks the same, but it truly is really hearty & bushy. I love the smell. And with all the wild mint that was already there, I love smelling it whenever i step on some or water it. The smell is fantastic!! :-)

Thoughts for next year, thus far:

• experiment with more of everything. I have the space
• start off w/staking tomatoes when they're small
• try collard greens to accompany the cabbage
• do a couple more tomato plants
• if using seed - start inside before spring in peat moss pots. i laughed @ that idea when we had late snow - now it's not so funny (LOL!)
• add in flowers for color. love the garden, but it's so.... green. splashes of red petunias or geraniums will perk everything up.

Well, that's all i have for now. If I think of anything else until the next visit, I'll be sure to put it here. Sunshine & growth to you! :-)

Pictures by: me :-)