A Wet June

As June begins to wind down I'm still waiting for Summer to kick in completely. This month has had some great warm days (low 70's) with plenty of sun, but Seattle is currently inundated with cooler temps and plenty of rain. Thus, my onions are suffering. The corn is coming along nicely, but could definitely use more heat.

Fortunately, the peas are growing like crazy. I will probably begin harvesting the first ones within a week. Also, one of the aluminum support poles (far left in pic) broke off at ground level and I discovered a half-fallen trellis one afternoon. I have tried to butress the broken pole with two other ones, and have position more vertical poles behind the busiest growth in hopes that the pile of peas will remain upright. Also, one of my 8-foot steel poles (front corner) is starting to bend over from the weight of all the vegetation. Since the workable soil in this spot only extends down about 12 inches, I am unable to drive any support poles down as far as I'd like. I will continue to add compost each year to give the plot a few more inches of workable soil. Anyway, I have tried to provide some extra support to this pole with some anchored string. Hopefully this will help keep the pole from leaning over any more.

Still Growing

The Rain is Back

Temperatures rose above 60 degrees for several days and the corn sprouted. Also, intermittent rain has definitely helped everything along, especially the peas and spinach. The temperatures are cooling off a bit for a couple of days and I hope this will allow the spinach to produce before the warmer Summer weather causes the plants to (inevitably) bolt). Also, in the background, the campanula ('Birch's Hybrid') has bloomed.

Middle of May

May Showers??

 Isn't May supposed to have rain showers? So far, this appears to be a record month for lack of rain. I've been trying to get out to the patch ever few days to hose everything down. Over the last week, the temperatures have been 60+ degrees and I'm concerned about the peas and beans (they just sprouted). As the pics show (taken last week), the peas are still struggling along, but are finally showing some new growth. Also, I've been harvesting spinach regularly. The onions are looking great. The calla lily plants are looking good as well. The more developed plant has even produced a bloom.

This Saturday I'm planning on spending some time cleaning up the plot (removing dead foliage, cutting back the tulips) and planting some corn starts. I need to check out Swanson's and pick up some corn as temperatures are warm enough to plant them. And, of course, more weeding. Thatch grass and fireweed is still present throughout the plot.

End of April

Well, it looks like the spinach is ready to begin harvesting. Also, the last of the tulips have finally bloomed, and the dicentra 'burning hearts' has sent out the first few crimson flowers.

A couple of days ago I began a new compost pile. There were plenty of leaves and lots of grass to build from. Also, I added two bags of coffee grounds from the Ballard Starbucks. Today, I turned the pile for the first time and ended up getting roasted by the heat emanating from the middle of the pile.

I replanted another bag of Alderman peas, but many still did not sprout, and a lot of sprouts from the first bag were ravaged by cut worms. As the picture shows above, I have tried to protect the successful plants with mini sticky note tubes to fend off attacking worms. Hopefully, the plants will get better established. Fingers crossed.

Finally, I discovered some celery starts a week ago at the Bellevue Nursery. I planted them toward the front of my plot so they will get full sun, and not be blocked by later vegetables (e.g., corn, beans).

The Color of Spring

Well, the weather is still behaving erratically. One day, it will be warm and sunny, whereas on another day it will be wet and cold. Thus, I'll have to hold off on any warm-weather plants. I have planted two separate groups of Alderman peas. I pre-soaked (sprouted) and innoculated these seeds to give them a head start, and covered them all with remay, as the birds will eat unprotected seeds.

As the pic above shows, my hellebore are in full bloom, and several of the tulip bulbs from last year have re-bloomed. I'm definitely planning on getting some more bi-color tulips next fall as the crimson ones look absolutely stunning. Also, there are some spinach starts in the background that are beginning to take off. My two dicentra 'Burning Hearts' plants have survived and show signs of green growth.