Bloomin' Tuesday

Cootie time has gone away,
and gardening catch-up time has arrived.
Nothing like being laid out for a week
to put you out of touch with the outside world.
Here are a few tidbits from this past weekend:

The Blue Lake green beans that have been sprouting,

were ready for transplanting.

Out to the square-foot bed they went.

One previously transplanted seedling was eaten by something,

the other is still hanging in there.

Hoping these two make it okay.

The San Marzano roma was doing fairly well in the small pot,

so I placed it in this container with a few eggshells.

This spot receives some shade, 
but we'll see if it's enough to keep it going.

The last of a few bulbs of home-grown garlic.

This will be planted in earnest next growing season.

For the most part, our vegetable gardening season is over.
It must seem strange to those of you in places 
where spring has just made her entrance.
It's just too blazin' hot here to grow much in the heat.
We will harvest what we can,
maybe start some sweet potatoes,
but that's about it for "summer".
I'll be planning my fall crops as I sip my lemonade.

All the flower seedlings that were started over the past few weeks,

were transplanted to containers or into the back garden.

These are the Titan sunflowers started in eggshells.

The leaves remind me of a dinosaur.

They got put out into the back bed.

Can't wait to see if they grow to the 20 feet, as claimed.

This season, fish emulsion is being used for fertilizing.

Every 4 weeks a good dose is distributed to food crops,

as well as being used on ornamentals and trees as needed.

Most of our plants are natives,
so fertilizing is not necessary.

Love how they flourish without much fuss.

One of my summer favorites, zinnias,

are starting to make their comeback.

Unlike yours truly, they don't mind the 

Central Florida heat and humidity.

Seein' lots of these cute lil' buggers around.

Nature's wonders all bundled up...

Cosmos prior to awakening.

Jasmine's snowy-white stars are refreshing.

Society garlic unfurling in its own time.

Native petunia has a soft, cooling influence.

 These are not native,
but come back year after year without fail.

 The African Iris, lantana and cosmos 
happily share the same sunny spot.

Butterflies especially enjoy these easy-care plants.

Beat the heat any way you can, buddy.

 

backyard farming connection