This would seem to be my worst gardening season ever, putting me squarely back at "Black Thumb" gardener status. Here's the season rundown:
May 25 - planted onions, carrots, and lettuce in indoor seed tray that sits on a southern window sill. Also planted outside in my raised beds, radish, beets, lettuce, carrots, spinach, and onions.
May 29 - planted tomato starts in my cold frame "tomato house."
June 3 - planted two rows of green beans.
June 6 - replant lettuce, carrots, and onions indoors and out, since nothing came of first planting and transplanted ones from indoor seed tray "disappeared" from raised bed area.
June 15 - replant outdoors lettuce, carrots, onions.
June 18 - replant green beans. Planted peas since the ground finally warmed up some.
July 1 - replant more beans (5 germinated from June 18 planting and are "sorta' growing;" also transplant from indoor seed tray - lettuce, carrots, onions.
July 8 status report: Harvested radishes a week ago; they are the one thing that grew normally. Lettuce from the June 15 replant germinated and is growing OK. The lettuce I transplanted July 1 appears to be surviving, most of it anyway. Carrots from two earlier transplants are surviving even if not thriving, considering how long they've been "growing." The onions I transplanted July 1 are still "laying over" on the ground. After one week they should be standing straight up. But at least they didn't disappear like the last group of transplants.
I've watered daily, fertilized with a good organic fertilizer when I cultivated the soil before planting anything. I use Sluggo to control slugs.
The tomato plants are growing slowly, probably because it's been a very cool spring even in their "hothouse" but I did pick one Early Girl yesterday, so is not lost. Oh, and my "strawberry patch," a 4' x 6' raised bed produced about one berry box of berries total this season, compared to nearly a flat of berries last year. About half the peas I planted came up and look to be growing better than everything else, considering the late planting date.
This is my tale of gardening woes for 2022.
I have taken on the job of alley watcher. Much of my garden is situated on the west side of this tiny plot and the alley edge provides more sun. I prune the neighbors blackberry “hedge” and the gigantic encroaching laurel hedge next door. I have some swell hedge trimmers. I love my 40 volt Oregon hedge trimmer. I have a couple neighbors that collaborate and allow some gardening locations on their property . I have a large “cage protecting my trombocini that is this year unhampered by squirrels and up the alley a tiny spot for beets and such that i share , next to it is the butterfly bush/tree that i espaliered sort of to keep it verticle and compact and flush with the access road mainly for recycling and garbage truck pickups and deliveries. Waste management has not ever delivered any garbage for which I am thankful.
