I got my beans sown yesterday and threw some urea on the alliums, broccoli, and lettuce. It didn't rain overnight but thunderstorms are moving this way from the southwest and will get here in a few hours.

I'm feeling pretty foggy this more morning from the second jab. Arm's sore and body aches so I guess it did it's job. Hopefully it goes away quickly.

Jack - Hope you start feeling better soon. My first shot was worse for me.

Len - Four of five Sunburst squash seeds have germinated in less than 48 hours!

88?? So it is 48 here right now and might get to 60 this afternoon! Love seeing those squash seeds germinate.

Hang in there Jack the peace of mind will be worth it.

It's just hazy enough outside that I think the hardening off of my plants will go well today. They will be in the hazy sun for about two to three hours then shade for the rest of the day.

Just direct seeded some carrot seeds. More to go.

One of three carrot bags with a few weeks between sowings.

Cindy these five little sprouts are all that came up from those Italian flat onions. I hope they are tasty!

Cindy these five little sprouts are all that came up from those Italian flat onions. I hope they are tasty!

Think I have eleven sprouts, Len.
Pretty sad showing.

Richard - I'm thinking of hanging them on the racks I built to dry garlic under the house overhang in back. She said grandma sewed them with twine. But that assumes maybe more peppers than I'll have to dry.

I will get some pictures of my onions tomorrow, but I got over 100 sprouts from both types (Red of Florence, Texas Early Grano) and the Caraten leeks I planted. I harvested another big pot of the purple teepee beans too. They are easily the most productive beans I have ever grown before, but the annoying part is they turn green when you cook (no matter how: boiled, stir fried, etc). Still haven’t got a female squash plant yet, even though over 80% of my tomato plants have tomatoes on them. It looks like the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom mockingbird paradise over here now. Maybe I need a wild cat to prowl my backyard for the next few months. Most of my pepper plants look good although none of them are beginning to sprout (maybe I should plant them earlier too) yet. My garlic plants may need the area cleared of weeds better than I am doing as the ones I have checked have just one bulb about 1.5 inches across so far.

Wild tomatoes

Peppers

Onions

Leeks

Potatoes

Richard - Thanks for the tour! What’s the big tomato?

I took advantage of cloudy, calm conditions yesterday and I was able to get almost half of my tomatoes planted out. I was crossing my fingers the whole time because there was a chance of severe storms later in the day. I’m glad I took the chance because we didn’t end up getting anything! I took this picture this morning. They all look happy.

These are the most advanced strawberries. I can almost taste them.

Tuesday I discovered that my first row of peas are beginning to bloom. Good eating is right around the corner.

Margi - Everything looks great!

The roll of black plastic, what it is called specifically and where did you purchase it, please?

Richard and Margi I love the photos. It is a really nice morning and I did a walk about so will post from phone below.

Asparagus, I won't harvest any more this year.

Onions and beets are happy but volunteer potatoes barging in.

Sunniest bed waiting for squash or tomatoes.

First potato sprout under straw

Cindy - The black plastic is primarily used for weed suppression I think. Home Depot sells it in the paint section along with the clear plastic used for drop cloths. A 10' x 25' roll is under $10. I'm going to use it on all of my tomato and pepper beds this year and probably on the melons as well. If you are careful with it you can use it for 2-3 years or maybe more.

Here is a link for it : Black Plastic - HD

Thanks, Jack.

Need to run a couple of errands today so will also stop at HD.

Margi, the 3 tomatoes together are Dark Shekel and the one by itself (light color) is Sweet Tangerine and the dark one is Dark Star.

Perfect timing Margi, thanks, there WAS a tree rat zeroing in on the Sweet Tangerine

What a deal LoneJack! Wish I could find the same thing here in Canada!

Linda

Cindy - I hope I'm not too late with info on the black sheeting that I use in the Tomato rows. From Greenhouse Megastore this stuff is great! This is the 3rd year I'm using it. I roll it up and store it in the shed over the winter. There's a kind of fuzzy backing on it that made the roll up and store process a little tricky at the end of the first year because dirt stuck to it. So, I had to wash it off...I mean it was clumped on. I try to get some grass clippings on it to cover the surface to cut down on the UV damage. This is expensive stuff, but it has really held up well. I've used many other types, like from home depot or similar, and sometimes they make it through the season without deteriorating too much. I've found that even if they hold up pretty well, it seems things can still sprout and grow underneath. That is NOT the case, however, with this stuff from Greenhouse Megastore. Worth the expense, in my book.

I discovered when I went back and looked at the pictures I posted that you can see the cluster of strawberries at the near edge of the berry row/patch from the tomato picture. :-)

Thanks, Margi- As it turn out I never made it to HD. Will chick out your link next.

Looks like they are out of stock on most of the larger sizes. Should be back in stock May 7th, right around planting time for me.

Mother Nature is looking after me this week. I was a bit worried about a few of our tomatoes after transplanting, but it’s been overcast most of the week (and we had rain this morning) so all is well with them.

I stopped by a nursery yesterday to get some calibrachoas and ended up getting a couple of Better Bush tomatoes, an Old German, and a Pineapple tomato plant. I haven’t grown any of these varieties before so, I thought I’d give them a try.

I forgot to add, we’ve been getting a few ripe strawberries every day or two. So far, not enough to use in a recipe but enough for a nice snack.

Our peaches are about the size of almonds now but we lost a few due to the rain and wind this morning.

Jamie - Pineapple is one of my very, very favorite varieties and I grow at least one plant every year. It's delicious!!

Thanks for the comment, Cindy. I’m looking forward to trying it!

Our potatoes are coming along but some more slowly than others haha

Baker Creek is donating all proceeds from seed sales this weekend to relief efforts in India

Something decided to eat the tops off half of our cucumber seedlings last night so I started some replacements.

I also had forgotten about this iris - I think I got it at Lowe’s last year or the year before. Isn’t it stunning?

Oh, Jamie. Would you be willing to share that iris with me?

Most definitely, Cindy. When is the most appropriate time to propagate them? I believe these rhizomes are large enough to divide

Any time after flowering. Also can be done in July. Too much later and it’s chances of flowering are reduced for the next year.

Yes, Jamie, Stunning!!!

Ok, Cindy. I’ll get it to you at the right time

I got it started on time this morning haha

May Thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6115402/veggie-tales-may-2021