Garden Friday

 It's Garden Friday.

I hope those of you who had to deal with the hurricane

will be up and running soon.

Many of our friends down in Florida are still without power

and will be for days to come.

We continue to keep them in our thoughts.

 

It seems that the sheets I surrounded the tomatoes with

are keeping the squirrels at bay.

At this moment, I have a half a dozen tomatoes

I'm hoping to sample within a week or so.

I'm calling it a success!

Over the winter,

I will be fashioning my stake cages,

so that I'll be better prepared for next tomato season.

 

Peppers are still doing well,

despite overnights in the 50's.

Another success.

The Chioggia beets are making slow progress.

These are the beets that look candy-cane striped on the inside.

 

 

The Detroit Supreme variety is the one that my farmer friend Lynn grows in Florida.

They are so sweet and perfect for roasting.

I will be starting another pot of these as soon as I get some more soil.

 

Happily, the Slenderette green beans are coming along.

With the abundant rain we've had,

they responded by shooting right up.

 

This one should soon have flowers on it.

And where there are flowers, there will be beans!

I'll be staking this one on the weekend,

as it can use a bit of extra support.

 

I've been pleasantly surprised by the germination and growth of this Vates kale.

It's a variety I've never grown before,

so it is especially rewarding to see it growing without much effort on my part.

 

The Dino kale is a little slower in growing,

but as it is one of my favorite greens,

I don't mind waiting.

 

A lone broccoli grows in one of the buckets.

I'm planning on starting more in the straw bale garden,

as I've read that it is one of the most successful plants to grow in that medium.

 

Even the Brussels Sprouts are making progress.

This is a fun plant to grow.

Even if you don't enjoy eating them,

the way the crop grows is worth the trouble of starting it.

 

 

The straw bale garden is in the process of being conditioned.

We are on about Day 4 of the 10-day program.

 

 

Yesterday was the first day I added fertilizer.

I am using rabbit manure that I got from some fellow vendors 

at the Mooresville Farmers' Market. 

Man, does it stink!

But it is one of the few manures that can be directly added 

without further processing.

It doesn't burn the plants like some manure,

so it can be applied directly to the bales.

 

I finally found the dead rack plant section at our local Lowe's.

These dismal looking plants will be nursed back to health

and we will enjoy them until the first frost.

At just a buck apiece, they were worth the investment.

 Lantana is one of the best plants 

with which to attract butterflies.

We'll be planting this around our mailbox.

 

Blanket flower is one of the plants that I used in my Florida-friendly garden.

It also attracts butterflies and many other pollinators.

Plus, it just looks so doggone cheery.

In a couple of weeks, it'll look a lot better than it does now.

Here's hoping that the bad weather stays away

and that you can find something to celebrate this weekend.

It's the little things...