Thursday Growth

Time for a growth report.



First, we have the trees. As of yet, they haven't made it into
the blog because we planted them last year but given that
they are in the ground, it seems acceptable to mention them.

The initial picture is the MacIntosh Apple Tree that is in
the back yard. It, like the other, is a good 2 feet taller
I and doing well. The other tree picture is the Gala Apple
that is across the yard. The flower there is Apple Blossom
on the Mac. I read somewhere that, to get better apples,
those should be plucked in their first year (that would be this
one), but the flowers are so pretty I'm not sure I'm gonna
be able to do that right now.

I know the next one is blurry but it is is significant. That
is the first sunflower of the year. It is growing near the
grape vine. It is also the first thing that has sprouted, from
seed, in the garden. I'm geeked.

The following is the planter table on the back deck. The red
petunias are on their second bloom (if I keep on plucking, they
keep on growing). The pepperes are likely gonna be transplanted
into the ground soon.

The first pot picture is the garlic. You've likely seen them before, but they are growing like crazy and I thought they needed to be shared.

Below that is my best success story yet.Those are the cucumbers I
thought were dead because they didn't break the ground. I exposed
them on Monday and have been hoping for growth. Today, I have
several more seedlings beginning to come up and they are beginning
to show some signs of life. I might have to pluck them soon, however,
less we have 80 pounds of cucumbers and cant give them all away
in a few weeks.

Should start seeing some growth from the other seeded plants soon.
Will keep you apprised of that.

My daily creative rambling...

Had one today.

I'm applying for a job where I would assisting students prepare for college work and to advance in education. That being said, I'm quietly freaking out about the interview process (don't believe me, ask Kelly). To that end, I have been using gardening as my escape valve.

I thought today of an interesting idea for the possible interview. Gardening is a lot like helping students. You have to prepare the ground, keep it free of weeds, water, fertilize and do everything. Knowing that, eventually, the fruit of your labor will sprout up and begin to bear their own produce.

Anyway. Its the thought of the day...

Some signs of success

Some positive news to report:

1. I have rescued my cucumbers. As I think I said I put them in pots. Vining plants like those have a habit of strangling out others. Anyway, I put seeds in pots about 10 days ago. After about 8, I was really worried. So, last evening when I got home from work, I started fiddling around with them. Turns out, I buried the seeds to deep. I had green plants, just under the surface which were in danger of dying. I moved the dirt away and got the green exposed. Today, I kept them in the sun as much as I could and there was noticeable growth just today. One crisis averted.

2. I have some sunflowers sprouting. I know, nothing major, but I am happy because it is the first batch of seeds that I put into the garden that have sprouted. Pictures to follow, but probably not until the end of the week. Hopefully, I'll have other success stories to tell at that point.

3. Also, in my ongoing pursuit of being slightly lazy, I found a place to put my sprinkler where I don't have to move it.

Fertilizer Trick

If you're looking for a fertilizer that works and you probably have at home, try this:

Go into your bathroom cabinet and look for some Epsom Salt. Look on the side of the of the package and see if it says "other uses". I'll be that one of them is as a fertilizer. Go ahead and follow the directions. I promise it does work.

One word of caution: dilute the salts soon after sprinkling. If left on the plant/leaves, it can burn them a bit if you don't. Or you could dilute salts in the water before putting them on the plants.

Growth

Some growth to report.

The top pots are garlic. I started them in pots because
the weather was to cold when we bought to plant outside.
I'm geeked because, as of this morning, I can see noticable
growth.


The next are Cosmos. I planted them in pots because they
were the only flowers I had that could support pots. They
just started popping up on Friday and are growing like crazy
since then. I'm trying to decide if I should transplant them
to dirt or to leave them in the pots. Might wait until it gets
a bit further into the spring and the risk of cold of reduced.


Finally, my Petunias. Again, I bought the white and blue so I
cannot take credit for those. However, the red ones in the planter
box are mine and they are doing well. I'm also impressed wtih
the peppers. I'm trying to decide if I should replant those as
well. I have a place in the garden and might do that this weekend.