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.

Since the garden failed epically with dry, hot, unforgiving ground, I did herbs in pots. I don't know if I mentioned before, but here's progress:

I have huge bush of Basil. It smells so good - every time I water or rotate the pot, the smell knocks me out. Now it's going crazy - I'm going to harvest & freeze in a Ziploc. I was going to do the whole ice tray thing, but our freezer is small. My Italian bella BFF, Lisa, has promised me seeds of Italian Basil from the old country. Bring. It. On. :-)

I have Sage & Chives in a pot, too. The sage is getting really hardy. The chives are still under control. Since this was all a last minute thing, next year, I'll use much larger pots.

And lo and behold, the red and sweet banana peppers I saved & threw into a pot are sprouting. The pot isn't that big so the peppers will be small. I'm just thrilled to have 'em. The tomatoes, spinach and cukes died an early death. It got so hot so fast this year.

This is all I have to share 'garden' wise. My lettuce was okay, but it bolted early. I ate as much as I could. The cilantro didn't go well, either. It got really huge, but got bare & sprouted pretty little flowers. Hmmm... NOT how it looks in the store.

Live and learn, huh? I think next year I will get those pre-potted tomato plants that come all potted & staked for you. My sun is so limited with the huge trees. It's a blessing and a curse.:-)

Pictures by me.

Late summer

Welcome back!

I've been regularly getting lots of cucumbers. In fact, more than I know what to do with. I've been eating them plain, with onion in Italian dressing, over spinach salads, putting slices on my puffy eyelids... they're growing still as I speak. Some grow in heavily marked with lines - i don't know what that is, but they're still good.

This is a freak of nature for sure! The cuke started small, then grew thru the hole in the wire & continued to grow. I can't remove it from either side. Of course, the bad-girl gardener in me thinks it looks like a penis! (LOL!) "The Garden Penis." Hmm... could be a book... :-)

The peppers are still growing steadily. Since they're for the most part hot, I don't use them. Dwayne chops them very finely and adds them to different things, but no matter how small he chops, I can still feel the fire. They're beautiful, but deadly (LOL!)

As you can see, the cabbages are looking great! Seems the closer it gets to Fall, the better they do. I read that you should try to leave them out as long as possible. Hey, I've seen old-school gardens that had greens and cabbages with snow on them. The colder the better. I am glad to see the center finally form into a ball. A friend of mine told me they would never get to that stage.

FINALLY... the green bell pepper plants have small fruit on it. They plants are nearly at my shoulder & I'm 5'5"! I have never seen them grow so tall without producing anything, but I'm glad they growing.

The tomatoes didn't do near as well as I thought they should. For two mighty plants, I've gotten a total of MAYBE 6 tomatoes all summer! They're are delicious, but small & very few. They have lots of sun - I don't know what happened.

The watermelon plants were a flop. They're still growing long vines w/tiny yellow flowers, but I don't expect anything. An older lady told me Ohio's hot season isn't long enough for the melons to grow - from seed. Next year, I spose I should start with small plants. Trial & error, indeed.

The pack of sunflowers seeds I put out never did anything. The beetles ate them down to the ground. No big deal on that one. On the outside of the garden fence where I transplanted lots of Moonplant, it is growing wild & crazy which is what I wanted. It lines the fence & hides the garden from the street. Score!! Moonplants comes back each year w/a mighty vengence, so I cannot wait to see what next year brings!

PS: the rosemary is still hearty & delicious. I use it quite often when cooking. The smell is like perfume :-) That's all for now - stop back again soon!

Do you see what I see??? :-)

Welcome back, friends!! :-) As promised, here is progress of the garden. This was early this morning around 6:30 a.m.

I nearly passed out when I noticed so much growth, even though I just watered last nite. Notice how the sweet peppers grow in an upward direction? Hmmm.... The cucumbers; should I stake them? They're spreading out & going wild!

Also, the tomatoes have outgrown the cute little stakes as I knew they would. they're getting heavy & making the plants lean. On to bigger stakes.

Even tho planted in the rocky part of the garden, the watermelon is thriving. This is my 1st attempt ever at this - from seed - so i'm very happy.

Notice how huge the cabbage plants are? Hmm... I'm documenting all of this for next year - they should've been planted further apart. Always remember to leave room. Even though the plants are little & oh, so cute when you buy them - they will not stay that way. And that's a good thing! :-)

More tiny white flowers on the sweet pepper mean more tiny peppers on the way. The bell peppers haven't done anything yet, but get tall. It should be soon!

Notice how the cucumbers are crowing out the rosemary??? Scream! LOL! Also, lookat those 'feelers' on the cukes - dying to wrap around something. I discovered in the garage, I have left over trellis (from the trellis project in previous post). I am going to rig that up tonite, so they can do their thing.

This is all so trial & error, but to me everything looks great.

For some color, I picked up two packs of Zinnias. I love these things. I tried planting some by seed & they epically failed. So to fill in the space where they didn't produce, I bought some.

This is a good time to get some extra flowers for next to nothing if you need some. Places are trying to get rid of them, so now's the time. Most folks think 'it's too late', but not me. Lower prices mean I can go crazy & experiment with everything.

Do you not love the little tin man @ the beginning. I do, too. I found him on a walk last week.

Thanks for coming by. Check back soon - I'll have more updates. I also have some fabulous pictures of flowers I captured on a photo walk last Sunday. See you soon! :-)

Stay a while...

Welcome back!!! Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have time for a little visit - I have lots to say :-)

If you're wondering what the blue bottle is; it's 1,000 pieces of used Ivory Soap & water. I use this to keep whatever bugs they are that love munching on my hostas & sweet potato plants. I found this idea sometime last year @ thrifty.com when looking for a cheap solution. All you need is a gentle soap (we use Ivory, so...), spray bottle from $1 store & wa-lah! This is 2nd year i've used it & it does stop the eating.

After a rain, you may have to reapply, but it doesn't hurt the plants whatsoever. Remember to do the underside of the leaves as well. Oh - & don't apply in direct sunlight or it will turn your plants filmy. Oh - & don't panic when it rains & the soap turns white. It's all good.

Stepping stone leading garden (sorry it's crooked)


See the little heart-shaped leaves? Well, those are purple, lilac & white morning glories getting started on their summer season. They come back year after year. Anything within reach, they will reach out & grab. This is perfect because it's leading up the trellis (below)

The tomatoes have gotten so heavy & bushy that it was time to stake 'em. I should've used those 90-foot tall stakes in the beginning, but... I didn't. This little stakes won't last long - in the past, the plants outgrew this height in weeks. I really dont care for the wire tomato cages. I've found that when your plants get taller than the cage, the plants bend & break :-(

This is "said" trellis. As you can see, my neighbors window overlooks my patio, so D built this for me about 5 years go. When the morning glories fill in, you can't see the window at all! Just what I was going for. It gives us and them privacy. Much. Needed. Privacy :-\

Follow me to the garden :-)


These shepherd hooks are SO adorable. Again $1.00 @ the DollarStore. I love all dollar stores. Cute/pretty doesn't have to be expensive.

The cukes are getting tall & spreading out. The rosemary gets bushier each time I snip some off for cooking. The gift that keeps on giving :-)

See how big & hearty the cabbages are? They're slowly forming into round-shape. Mind you, this is my first time EVER growing cabbage, so we'll all be surprised at how they do. Everything is trial and error - that way, I'll know better for next year.

This is the backside of my garden plaque my sis-n-law, April, made for me some years ago when i had enuff sun for gardening. April is crafty like none other. She can take anything & make it beautiful. Just one thing I love about her.






This is just a taste of the shade I have in the backyard that put my gardening on hiatus for years. After all the trees grew so tall & stole my sun, i tried growing in pots which failed cause not enuff sun time. There's the willow, birch, apple & maple trees. Keeps the yard & house cool, great for my shade garden (hostas), but no good for growing veggies. The empty lot behind me was/is a blessing.

I have another batch of super gross & yucky compost to put in the garden. Yay!!! It's easy to make quick little batches since my spot isn't that big. I think I fill up my plastic coffee canister about every 2 weeks. I think the worms really appreciate it :-)

The tiny purple flowers are Lamb's Ear that i moved from the side of the house to the outside of the garden. If you're familiar w/this, you know it never dies, it spreads & takes over everything. It blooms until summer's end & comes back year after year. If you have a blank spot that needs color, this is it. I did the same w/the Moonplant that grows crazy. Any that pops up in front is moved to outside the garden. I want everything to grow crazy wild back there! :-)

Did you notice the tiny white bloom on the pic below? That mean sweet, yellow peppers are on their way!! Yay-ness!

The watermelons are busting out! The stems are very fuzzy now. If only the sparrows would stop eating the leaves!!! What IS that? I love my outdoor, winged babies, but not when they follow behind me & pick what I've planed. If the zucchini makes it ~ it'll be a miracle. It still has it's poor, yet hearty, single leaf...

See 1 of 3 of my little garden gnomes I have to watch over everything? :-) I used to have four, but my son + a full garage = "oops, sorry mom." Sigh....

Well, thanks for stopping by, everyone. Hope I didn't keep ya too long. Please stop back again soon to see how everything's doing!

Growth

Welcome back! Everything is coming right along in the garden! The spot is so excellent.

I was so glad to go out one morning & finding the little baby tomatoes had sprouted!!

The watermelon seeds and the plants are really growing like crazy. I didn't think the seeds would actually grow since that area is so rocky but...

The green peppers (both green & yellow sweet) have tiny buds on 'em.

The cucumbers are doing well. This is a type that supposedly grows in a bush to save space. We'll see...

The rosemary is fantastic. It was hearty when I bought it, but it's strong & smells so good. I used it w/the baked pork chops for dinner. Mmmm.... the smell all over the house!

The zucchini survived a rough start (the sparrows kept eating the leaves - what the???....), but it has a strong, sturdy leaf, so there may be zucchini bread after all. I've never made it before, but if it grows...

.... i will bake it :-)

Pictures by me :o)