Flowers and Vegetables Update

I am battling septoria/leaf spot, but hoping these make it. These are the 15 year tomatoes.

The girls enjoying some mac & cheese...

Hydrangea

Marigolds in the garden

Peppers

l-r Gloriosa daisies, Hopi Red amaranth, Black Eyed Susans

Snake skin in the garden

Sunflowers behind the chicken coop

1st Evening Sun sunflower

Tomatoes!

Tomatoes are starting to come in! But, I'm also battling leaf spot. I've had to cut out big chunks of tomato plants and hope it doesn't spread further.

Paul Robeson tomato

Hopi Red Amaranth, Black Eyed Susan and Gloriosa Daisies

Evening Sun sunflowers are getting huge, no blooms yet

Winter Sown Container List

Sown 3/21/14 using Schultz potting mix, all marked with numbers in paint/grease pen

1. 15 year tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/14/14
2. Jaune Flamme tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/14/14
3. San Marzano Bush tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/14/14
4. Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Pepper (3 seeds) - sprouted 4/21/14
5. Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Pepper (3 seeds) - sprouted 4/14/14
6. Paul Roberson tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/21/14
7. Quarter Century tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/21/14
8. Eva Purple Ball tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/21/14
9. Slavic Masterpiece tomato (rare) (4 seeds) (did not sprout) One did sprout at the end of June and was planted!
10. Red Pear Abruzzese tomato (4 seeds) (did not sprout)
11. Black Eye Susan - sprouted 4/21/14
12. Black Krim tomato (4 seeds) - sprouted 4/21/14.
13. Bluebonnets - sprouted 4/11/14
14. Hopi Red Dye Amaranth - sprouted 4/11/14
15. Pink Coneflower - sprouted 4/14/14
16. Gloriosa Daisy - sprouted 4/14/14

Tomatoes opened 5/10/14

3/30/14 -

Lett 1 - Lettuce blend - sprouted 4/08/14, harvested 4/6/14
Spin SH 1 - Spinach (space hybrid) - sprouted 4/11/14, harvested 4/6/14
Spin SS 1 - Spinach (salad select) - sprouted 4/10/14

5/8/14

MY - Yellow Marigolds
MO - Orange Marigolds
Z - Zinnias
L - Lettuce blend
C - Columbine

Tomatoes!!

It looks like it will be a tomato overload summer if everything works out well... I just started my uncle's 15 year old tomato seeds. I already had Black Krims to start. And now today, I got my free seeds from WinterSown: Red Pear Abruzzese, Jaune Flamme, Slavic Masterpiece (a very rare Russian), Eva's Purple Ball, San Marzano Bush, Quarter Century and Paul Robeson. I guess this means the garden just got a bit bigger. They also sent mixed red/yellow/orange bell peppers (my luck they will all be red) and parsley. Parsley will go in the butterfly garden. 

I also got seeds for Black-eyed Susan, Evening Sun Sunflowers, Hopi Red Dye Amaranth, Pink Coneflower and Gloriosa Daisy. I see a colorful garden in the pasture this year! The sunflowers can also be chicken treats! I'm thinking maybe the section past the bonfire. It has to be in a place where my husband can easily mow around it... hmm... Wherever it goes, it has to be a place where it can be permanent some most, if not all, are perennials.

I am going to attempt to winter-sow the flowers and maybe the peppers. My rough understanding is you put growing medium in milk jugs (water jugs in my case) and put them outside. It makes like a mini-greenhouse and then you can sew directly. I think if I put them on the one side of the chicken coop, it should be protected enough that they won't blow away (I hope!) and get decent sun. 

Garden Update 6-24-13

As always, you can click on a picture to make it larger.

First icicle radishes

The acorn squash is spreading out and getting huge!

Something is eating my fairytale eggplant, but the flowers are lovely.

First Melrose peppers

Flowers on icicle radish that is going to seed.

Supposedly, if you let icicle radishes go to seed near zucchini, squash bugs will stay away. 

We'll see!

Baby zucchini

Tomato row

First of many (Rutgers)

The Heinz is huge! 

My poor, pathetic Red Haven peach tree.

Peaches

Watermelon isn't doing much yet.

Beautiful nasturtiums 

French marigolds

Garden 2013