click on picture to enlarge
On the last weekend of the month, Memorial Day weekend I spent a couple of mornings at the garden with a baseball game in Seattle between. I planted a couple of more store bought cucumber plants and some cucumbers have come up from seed. I am slowly digging in partially composted leaves around the plants along with fertilizer to give the soil more organic matter and hold the moisture better.
This last week of May seems to have produced days in the 70's and nights down to 50, no extremes.
I have also harvested my first greens, spinach and some beet tops for the salad mix, very tender and I expect to harvest my first broccoli in the next couple of days!! Each time I visit the garden is looking more like a garden.
I have spent time researching some speckled leaf disease that seems to have hit some of the tomatoes. I will be treating it organically at first; milk, baking soda, water and a couple drops of soap. Hopefully this stops it and the plants thrive. I will also be adding bone meal to the tomatoes in the near future after speaking to the prize-winning tomato grower at the community garden recently.
first Spinach and Broccoli, Click on Broccoli
The first weekend in May began on a positive note, warm and some sun. I planted more seeds; beans, cucumber, watermellon and I cleaned up an area with bricks and flat stones on the edge of the garden that I suspected was a slug hangout. Feeling very hopeful I planted a couple of cucumber starts. I met and spoke with Walter and visited his garden.
A storm blew through Portland the next day, fifty mile an hour winds, hail and in a minute or two the ground was covered with debris, tree droppings Cold rains followed for several days, back to turtle necks for work attire. The tomatoes and peppers are still in the greenhouse and doing well. Their introduction into the garden seemingly pushed back from mid-May to the end of May perhaps.
In mid-May one morning I stopped at the garden and watered. The rains then came for the next twenty four hours and the high temperature reached the mid-50's. I have some new appreciation for the Farmer. The weather lens this Spring has been through the garden, germination, looking for consistency. I wonder if it has been a colder than usual Spring or am I the new farmer anticipating the season ahead of schedule.
I have silently speculated about when to put out the tomatoes, the peppers, cucumbers? May 17th was the day, with some concern since it is/was so warm that day. The prize tomato grower was at his garden spot when I got to the garden at 8:30 am and he was still there when I left at 11:30 am. This was the day for the warm weather vegetables. It really looked like a garden when I left, although I was certainly concerned that my home grown tomatoes were not ready for intense sun, I guess we will see if they can make it.
