When will spring...I mean summer arrive?

It is May 26th.  It is 45 deg.  It is raining.  I've given up on spring since it is already the end of May.  Supposedly summer will arrive on Monday.  I went to the garden the other day, again no pics...blarg.  Everything was doing well except a few zinnias which have a white leafy thing.  There were some holes in a few zucchini leaves as well as the beans.  A bug must be munching away so I'll have to figure out an organic solution for pest control.  The rabbit fence seems to be doing its job and the tomatoes are actually growing despite the constant cold and rain.  I do worry that the weather will affect how much fruit they yield.

Weekend work

I was an idiot and didn't take pictures this weekend.  Everything seems to be growing except my zinnias.  They seem to have developed a white leafy thing.  I'll keep an eye on that and then decided whether or not to pull 'em out.  I added some Epsoma Kelp Meal to fertilize my plot.  Our community garden is supposed to be all organic so synthetic fertilizers are out.  Also, I laid down a layer of mulch.  We have a very sunny spot and it will be hard to water often.  I hope the mulch will help retain the water better.  Next time I will definately take some pictures.

Building a rabbit proof fence (and a pea trellis)

On Sunday my main tasks were to build a trellis for my peas so that they may grow up to be happy peas and to build a fence that would keep the rabbits from eating everything.  They ate my broccoli seedlings, some zinnias, and all but one green bean plant. 

For the trellis, I used 4 36 in wood posts.  I used L brackets on 2 of the posts, though I will shore up the other two when I have time.  Then I draped a nylon trellis net over the posts and used a staple gun to secure the net to the posts.

For the rabbit proof fence I used 6 36 in wood posts, 24 feet of chicken wire and a heavy duty staple gun.

Lots of pictures below, but I am proud of my work.



pea trellis front



pea trellis back

support posts for the fence

happy tango lettuce and romaine lettuce that will be protected from hungry rabbits

wrapping the chicken wire around the bed

mission accomplished!

A wet and rainy weekend

This weekend was very cold and rainy.  Mid May in the Chicago area is usually not as bad as this!  On Saturday I stopped by the Root-Riot to pickup free plants that were donated by the Oak Park Conservatory.  They are leftovers from their annual flower sale.

Verbena Bonariensis

Sage (not sure what type of sage)

English Daisy (bellis perennis)  This may or maynot have pink edges.



Tango Lettuce hidden under a salad container until I put up my wabbit proof fence



My peas actually growning!

Thyme (again, not of the type)



My plot looking north




My plot looking south



Seedlings were kindof a bust

I went to water my plot on Tuesday and found that most of many of my seedlings died.  I have a couple ideas as to why this happened.

1. The nights were still chilly
2. We had a sudden 30 degree temp change that really stressed the plants
3. I put them out too early

Luckily the peas and beans survived but the broccoli, zinnias, and most of the marigolds didn't make it.  Lesson learned is that I may just buy the plants next year instead of starting from seed since my condo is small, gets little to no natural light, and I'm afraid using a grow light may make my neighbors suspicious.

Also, this weekend our garden will receive the leftovers from a garden sale  so perhaps I will be able to replace a few of the lost plants.

My plot

My mother's day wish was to get a chance to garden.  So, early on Sunday morning I went to visit my plot at Root-Riot.  It was sunny which helped to take the chill out of the air.  The day before I purchased:

1. Tomatoes (better boy, red grape, roma)
2. Green Pepper (cal wonder)
3. Sweet Basil
4. Cilantro

I decided to purchase these items instead of starting from seed since I have no room for a grow light and I couldn't get my act together to start the seeds early enough.  I'm just hoping that it finally gets warm and also that these plants don't die.

I also decided to plant my seedlings.  They were getting big enough where what little light I got through my kitchen window ceased to be sufficient for the growing plants.  Here are some pictures of my work.

my 3 tomato plants, 1 pepper, 1 basil, and 1 cilantro



Tomato




Basil




Zinnia seedlings




Cilantro and Zinnias




Broccoli seedlings




Cal Wonder Green Pepper



Sugar Snap Peas



More Sugar Snap Peas

 I also planted some summer squash seeds as well as nasturtium and kale.  Some folks in the garden are adhering to the "square foot gardening" technique, but again, time and energy are not on my side this spring.  Perhaps next year I'll try it if this year turns disastrous or has little to no yield.  Sorry about some of the sideways pics, I was a) trying to avoid shadows on such a sunny day and b) I didn't have time rotate them but I'll try to fix that problem.

Starting from Seed





Here are some of my little seedlings.  I've decided to try Marigolds (burpee mix), Zinnias (state fair mix), Broccoli (di ciccio heirloom), and green beans (tenderpod bush).  So far, so good...I just wish my widow had more sunlight.

I've joined a community garden!

I'm a condo dweller and missed being able to dig in the dirt and try to grow things.  When the opportunity to join the local community garden.  It is called Root-Riot and so far it is really cool.  The plots are 4x8, hence the totally non-creative blog title.  The two locations are in Oak Park and on the far west side of Chicago.  I've joined the Oak Park garden. 

I've started some seeds already but I will also be planting things that  have been started by a greenhouse, like tomatoes, peppers, and some flowers that bees and butterflies love.  I'll try to post some pictures of my little seedlings as well as the early progress of my little plot.