Late Season Planting

Ok, so I know it is pretty late in the year to be planting bulbs, but Sky Nursery was selling bulbs 50% off. So, I planted 16 more tulips in the front of my plot.

Putting the Plot to Bed

Autumn Update

As the middle of October is just around the corner I figured I should post an update. The weather has become considerably colder and wetter making Summer a thing of the past. I have no more vegetables currently growing. The 70sf plot is empty except for mulched corn stalks. Also, I dug up the calla lily and transplanted it to the corner of the 70sf plot. It was getting too big to remain in my main plot and kept expanding.

I also began a new pile of compost about four weeks ago and it is coming along nicely (plenty of worms). I plan to spread it (regardless of completion) in the coming week, adding to the plot in spots needing help.

There is a perennial bulb sale at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture tomorrow. The bulbs I buy (and some from Sky Nursery) will replace the calla lily spot. Also, I need to acquire burlap in the next few weeks to put the plot to bed. Pictures to come as well.

Mark and the Beanstalk

Ok, the temperatures have been both hot and muggy lately (sort of like other parts of the country). I am picking beans and corn like crazy. Everything else has sort of fizzled out as we are now in the middle of Summer. The fuschia is still in full bloom, and the bees love it.

On my deck, the cyclamen purpurascens and hederifolium are currently blooming. Also, I filled the hanging baskets with a bunch of annuals. I got tired of watching the bluejays bury peanuts in the planters.

Beans and Corn

Warm Weather Ahead

The weather this year for June has been warmer than usual. In fact, the last few days have been mild and muggy. The combination of heat and humidity have done wonders for all my plants. Also, the forecast for this coming weekend promises temps in the 80's, with a possible high of 90 degrees.

As you can see in the pic below my broccoli grew enormous this year. So, I need to begin picking it before the temps promote it to flower. Also, the beans are doing quite well and growing quicker than the before can do enough damage to hinder them. The corn is progressing along nicely, certainly faster than last year at this time in the month. Finally, my bleeding hearts are really "going to town" with plenty of new blooms.

June Update

I spent three hours working at the p-patch today and accomplished quite a bit. The green trimmings from the hellebores were bagged up, taken home, and disposed of. The six-week-old compost was completely removed from the bin and spread around the main plot as well as the corn. I have two extra piles of compost covered and plan to use it in the coming months as more space becomes free (btw, the birds were going to town on my compost worms. Any time I was more than a few feet away the birds would chomp away on my unprotected worms. I hope a few worms survived, as they really help to aerate the compacted soil).

The remaining spinach in the main plot was also removed, as well as more weeds.On anther note, you can see in the third pic that the foxtail lily is blooming. I also planted a lupine (blue) in the center of the plot and hope to see it bloom in the coming months but at this point really just want it to get established.

I planted more bean seeds about a week ago (under remay next to the hellebores) to replace the ones that didn't come up (well, only one sprouted). I'm hoping to see some development any time now. The weather has been quite warm and everything is doing well.