Ready, Set, Grow
Two weeks after planting, we're waiting for some vegetable action
We planted things. If you’ve been following along, you’ll recall I’ve been growing some Rutgers Tomatoes from seedlings. Those little guys are still growing, though there pot is a bit bigger now.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we cleared out our Cape Cod garden beds, added some compost, fertilized, fixed the fencing, and planted some store-bought seedlings.
Here’s a rough layout of the garden:
The main garden area does get quite a lot of sun. The smaller bed on the left is a partial shade area. In retrospect, the trees around the yard have grown taller and ultimately created more shade in the yard over the last decade. Who would have guessed?
We also had to cut down a fur tree that for many years was a petite stick, a hint of dark green. Unfortunately, it was growing too big and became a threat to the septic system, as well as shading large portions of the garden.
Meanwhile, the seedlings we planted have been in the ground about two weeks now. In the above bed, what had been an herb garden, we have strawberry plants creeping along on one side. We put them in the ground two years ago, and they are slowly taking root. Since this portion of the garden has been fortified to prevent Peter Rabbit from snacking on the berries, I decided it was also safe to plant a few lettuces. We’ll see how that works out as there isn’t any irrigation over here, and we’re going into a stretch of time where I can’t tend to them every day.
We are starting to get some strawberries. Last year the plants were fairly new, but birds and rabbits feasted on the fruits. Now they are well caged in surrounded by chicken wire and a bird netting. Over Memorial Day, they were nothing but little buds. Now they’re turning into green fruits. Unfortunately, I suspect they’ll mostly ripen before I return to pick them.
The main raised bed is looking good and installed an automated watering system. It comes on once a day for about 20 minutes using the soaker hose. Last year we were watering twice a day, but I think it was probably too much water and stunted the plants.
I’ve also planted a lot more tomatoes overall and added in som marigolds. The marigolds are supposed to be good for thwarting pests. The basil and other herbs hopefully with augment the tomatoes’ growth.
I fertilized the bed over Memorial Day, and I probably should have done it again this past weekend.
We also have garlic, planted over the winter on the left that hopefully will be ready to harvest in July. Along the bottom of the photo I have green beans growing along the edge of the raise bed, hoping it will use the fencing for climbing.