Successes and Unsuccesses

While trying to sort through these photos, I found that a not insignificant number of them fell into both categories and that the unsucesses (since they're not quite failures yet) were much fewer than the successes (Yay!). I am so psyched for what this summer will yield.

Successes

Even though I've been harvesting the lettuces and spinach, there's something extremely satisfying about pulling carrots out of the soil and finding these. (Also, Bonnie ate the tops)

Onions. An example of successes and unsuccesses, most of the onions  look healthy but there are empty spots for the onions that didn't make it.  Today, I seeded those spots with leek.

Sweet peas are doing well but not quite growing upward but outward. Still definitely a success.

Marigold. 75% success rate in this square. Incidentally, I've used up all the seeds in the packet  and there will definitely be one empty spot.

See the two little tomato globes? See? See?

Not sure how this got into this group because I had to install the cage upside down  to actually be able to pull some of the branches through and still ended up clipping off a lot of the plant. It was doing really well. I hope it survived my man-handling :(

My best borage.

Borage.  Some holes but still going strong.

Ah! So many plants. My favorite is the green beans spiraling up the trellis. Followed closely by the super healthy borage. I was a little worried about the cucumbers being shaded out but they seem to be holding their own okay. Jia you! 

And the winner is green bean number 8! It's reached all the way to the top and starting to grow sideways.

More sweet pea going crazy.

Sweet alyssum.

More sweet alyssum and blooming too.

Healthy morning glory! Later,  you'll see one that has been quite chewed up.

Dill, 75% again.

Lettuces, you guys are awesome. These are definitely the plants that keep giving.

Spinach to the left. 50% success, okay 25% right now but the little guy in front will start producing soon.

The lobelias have been blooming for at least a month now. The moonflower and morning glory are still alive but growing kinda slow.

The new pine mulch and re-cardboard-/mulching was a good idea. Definitely makes the front yard look better.

Geraniums, doing okay. I really need to do a better job weeding.

You can't see this but the sweet potatoes have roots already and I got them one week ago.

Potatoes! Not sure if you can make out the flowers but they are there. Really. I promise.

Super excited about the raspberries too! I hope the birds don't get to the ripe ones first. I wonder if I should wrap them  in a net or something.

Go raspberries!

One day I hope to do a thyme lapse where this little guy grows and covers that whole patch of gravel.

Pineapple sage. Look at those pretty flowers.

Tarragon. Enough said.

Strawberries! I know I was supposed to not let them set fruit the first year, but I couldn't help it (okay, mainly because I was too lazy to check regularly enough). Oh well, they seem to be doing alright.

Unsuccesses

I planted my jalapeno pepper plant too early and I think it's gonna be forever stunted.

Found a bunch of little green worms/caterpillars on my kale.  By the time I got up enough courage to remove them, there was really only one big one left and two tiny ones. I dropped them in the iris bed, hope that's okay.

Attempt to put the tomato cage over the the already full-grown tomato plant ended with at least half the plant being cut off :( Please survive Mr. Stripey.

Bell pepper plant doing slightly better than the jalapeno but not that great either.

Poor little chewed up morning glory.

All in all, not too bad for a first time garden enthusiast.

Picture Update of Raised Beds

These were actually taken last Saturday with pictures of the rest of the garden.

 First two pictures are of the same bed but in the second photo, you can see how big the tomato plants and sweet peas have gotten.

 Tomato and carrots doing great, the pepper not so much.

Yay climbing plants! Jia you! Jia you! And lettuce... which so far only Bonnie has enjoyed.

My First Homemade Birdfeeder

My gardening project for the weekend was building two upside down suet feeders and a T-post to hang them from. The T-post was made from one of the stakes left by the contractors that did the waterproofing for our basement and a board from a wooden pallet. The feeders themselves were made entirely from leftover wooden pallet boards that are starting to split (and completed splitting during this project) fastened by brass wood screws. This project, the raised beds project, and the soon-to-be-made compost bins makes me really want: a) a pick-up truck and b) a table saw, neither of which I will ever get because of a) gas mileage and b) space. Although the pick-up truck is really really really tempting and getting even more so.

Man! This picture makes it look really obvious how much better the right one is compared to the left.

This suet cage has the opening flap on the side, so I left that and the bottom part open..

The right one has a better quality suet cage that has the opening flap on the bottom. Somehow, I also managed to have the side screws right in the middle so that it doesn't lean. Overall, it was pretty fun and easy project.

Okay, so maybe not definitely Wednesday

but definitely pictures.

Bubba standing guard over my seed bag.

The potatoes are coming along really nicely. Just one in each crate which is probably just right.

   

The raspberry canes are blooming.

 

Herbs on the second tier: tarragon, lemon thyme and pineapple sage.

Strawberries!

What I think is Dianthus.

And the morning glory and moon flower. The next two pictures are all the bags lined up and the 80 %-done trellis from fishing lines.

White geranium, hosta and annual lobelia.

Irises with newly planted daylilies. So far, the daylilies are still alive.

Okay, super tired of fighting the formatting of this post. The end.