Garden Journal: 25 April 2009: Soybeans and tomatoes

Soybeans and tomatoes

Tomatoes are setting fruit, soybeans are coming along nicely, watermellon has sprouted, corn is tasselling. Have mulched with leaves--figure weeds from leaves can't be worse than indemic grass.

Lemon tree in self-watering pot is putting out new leaves. Appeared to not like being constantly watered. New strategy is neglect.

Garden Journal: 18 April

Planted more watermelon seeds: another "Bush Sugar Baby" (Burpee) and a Fordhook Hybrid (also Burpee). We don't have sprouts yet, but should soon after an inch and a half of rain followed by sunny, warm weather. Also set out a gourd plant; we're grateful to Julie's mom for alerting us to the fact that gourd, squash and melon plants can cross-pollinate, resulting in flavorless melons. The gourd is planted well away from the watermelons.

Dada's sunflowers continue to thrive.

Garden Journal: 13 April 2009

dada-planting-watermellons

Today Julie and Dada planted watermelons in space opened up by ruthless harvesting of lettuce.

On Saturday also moved a tomato from my failed self-watering container (wrong kind of soil, I think) to the tomato bed and replaced the chicken wire enclosures with store-bought tomato cages.

Soybeans are up and growing well.

High winds

High winds

Dada and I took the first bike ride of the year on Sunday. It was a very pretty day but pretty windy. We stopped at the top of the hill in Town Lake park to have a snack and gaze on downtown.

The wind wasn't really this strong but it was gusting enough to knock the bike over, even after I put the kickstand on the downwind side.

After we left the park to head home we stopped at Sandy's for a couple of ice cream cones. Julie was just done with a meeting she'd been at so she met us there. After our snack we rode home, stopping to chat with our neighbor Sherry, who happened to just pull into her driveway as we were passing her house.

A nice ride, but I am definitely out of shape. Very glad the pollen and weather are now conducive to outdoor exercise.

Growing Up Fast

Green Playground, 2006

Green Playground, 2009

Dada and I happened to be at the "Green Playground", which is what Dada calls the playground at the Central Market north. I took the second picture, which is essentially the same pose as one I remembered having taken several years earlier. I thought it would be interesting to present the two pictures together.

Garden Journal: 5 April 2009: First sunflower

First sunflower

Dada's first sunflower burst into bloom a couple of days ago and was able to get this picture on Saturday.

Soybeans have sprouted, as have the squash in the milpa bed.

Mulched around the peas in the pea teepee with leaf-heavy compost from the compost bin. The recent rains have the compost bin working pretty well.

Added a soaker hose to the milpa bed and another to the tomatoes, soybeans, and peas. Total investment about $25.00 for hoses and quick connectors. Also bought another watering can to make hand watering easier, $11.00.

We've decided to leave the potato tower at its current height: we think that will be plenty of potatoes for our needs.