This season so far has been a mixed bag of successes and disappointments. On the bright side I was finally able to: 1) raise onions from seed as opposed to buying sets already germinated and growing. 2) I was able to salvage a zucchini plant (one out of 5 germinated) and it is producing. 3) I have a steady harvest of basil, rosemary thyme and parsley as well as Swiss chard and Bok Choi. 4) Finally..FINALLY two varities of lettuce have successfully germinated in an early summer, second session of planting, are growing happily in the shade of my slow-growing pepper plants. I have separated the plants, as I have always done into two areas of the garden: The raised beds (on the ground) and the elevated beds with grow bags. Every year is a new canvas with the raised beds as the trees across the road grow larger they cut out a bit more of the evening sun. 12 hours vs 7 or 8 hours makes a difference in daylight hours so putting long day tomatoes and late harvest peppers becomes a bit of a strategy game for placement.
The disappointments are nothing out of a usual “day on a homestead” My baby pepper plants I germinated and tended to with loving care during the winter were brutally nipped down by something burrowing into the bed. They are growing ( full and healthy!) but I fear they will never be able to produce in time of season end. The other let down is the type of tomatoes I chose. I did get a few beefsteak, plum and sauce tomatoes. I tasted some, and they are not quite the texture I was hoping for. I am going to assume that those I tasted are the “sauce tomatoes” The beefsteak style plants have not ripened yet, I am confident they will not disappoint.
The greenhouse setup is working beautifully. The air conditioner / dehumidifier watering system that Bill set up last season is doing a nice job of watering the auto-pot system. I made a mistake of putting newly germinated plants into the greenhouse too soon. Even with the shade cloth and the cooling system, it still got too hot for ideal germination. Good part of that bad idea is that not all seeds germinated (too hot) and once I moved them back to the indoor grow room the rest started to grow. I still have about 10 plants that need to mature. Hopefully mice or pillbugs won’t nip those down!
Grafedie in the Library 