I apologize for my recent chronic absence - the Internet at our apartment has officially gone kablooie (like that word? That's a Calvin and Hobbes special, right there!), so I have to come to WOG to do anything online. Also, Chris (my boyfriend) graduated from CSU this past weekend and his mom was in town for that, so I was somewhat distracted from my gardening and related duties. However, now that finals week is over and the summer is stretching before us, there is much more time to spend on said duties! But I'll get to those in a moment. First, a speedy update of WOG happenings.
The raspberries, peas, and beets are all looking fantastic. I recently learned that beets come up in clusters of 2-5 plants, because that's how many embryos there are per seed. I think I learned that from this book, but I can't remember exactly. Either way, the beets are indeed coming up in clusters, and the seedlings look quite healthy. There are still only a few carrots coming up, but I am confident that more will emerge shortly. The remaining onions look quite healthy, except for the ones that got crushed by our friend Louis' two-year-old son, Joseph - those lost a few leaves each, but hopefully the bulbs will continue to grow vigorously. The potatoes haven't really grown at all, but the leaves are still there. Perhaps the seed potatoes have been expending their energy on sending down roots. The seedlings in the coldframe are looking pretty happy. Two of the three garden huckleberry plants that we got at the Starter Barter have died (probably from cold, in spite of our efforts to keep them warm), but the surviving one will be nice and tough. Amazingly, the strawberries that looked dead have sent up new leaves - hopefully, they will continue to recover.
A less encouraging situation has been underway at the apartment - the seedlings there have not been very happy lately. I had been watering all of them daily, but the paste tomatoes began to wilt. After some light research and asking around for opinions, the consensus was that they had been getting too much water. I let the soil of all the seedlings dry out for a few days and watered them all again, and they started to look a little better. I waited a couple of days again to water, and this morning I still hadn't. When I looked at the tomatoes this morning, though, I knew I had to water them - not only were the paste tomatoes wilty, but so were the cherry and slicing varieties! I gave them and the rest of the seedlings a nice drink, and employed my willpower to restrain myself from watering too much. Hopefully when I get home later, they will have perked up some.
Now, on to the To-Do List:
1. Keep weeding! - Bindweed and kochia have shown up and are probably here to stay - but weeding will sure help.
2. Transplant tomatoes into larger containers. - They are surely running out of root space, all crowded into their flat.
3. Plant more carrots and beets. - That way, we'll have a steady-ish supply of both.
4. Buy some fertilizer. - We don't want any nutrient deficiencies!
5. Get more mulch. - Some of the pathways still aren't covered.
6. Paint and put up the rest of the fence. - This will help keep out munchkins such as the aforementioned Joseph, as well as provide some support for peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, and pumpkins.
7. Extend the hoop-and-netting system. - We'll need to do this anyway to cover the crops we'll put in later, and the sooner we protect the onions' leaves from Joseph and company, the better.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
WOG out.
