Posts

Patio plantation: July 4

Image
It's been a while since I wrote anything for this blog, on the one hand. On the other hand, not that much has happened. We had set out tomato seeds and corn in the little Burpee starter trays. A couple of weeks ago, Jane put them out. The plants did not survive. She also put some pepper plants in a couple of the small containers where we had some peas and carrots that weren't doing well. June was kind of cool and rainy, so I didn't get out there that much. It wasn't gonna be that much fun. Went out today to see how things are going, and it's not too bad. It's been very hot and not terribly rainy, so everything was kind of dry. The onions are wilted and probably need to be pulled, but I'm going to see if they green up with some watering. The potatoes planted alongside the onions in the raised bed are doing pretty well. The scallions in one of the small containers were thriving, but now they are looking pretty wilted and may need to be pulled too. But again, I...

Patio plantation: new crops starting

Image
Well, a little time has passed.Last week, several days ago, anyway, Jane put the tomatoes and corn into the Burpee seed starter. Yesterday comma I started a new mushroom kit. Here's what the garden looks like now. Waiting for the seed starter kit for the corn and tomatoes to be ready to transplant it outside. Corn and tomato starter Potatoes and onions Cucumbers Peas, carrots, scallions

Patio plantation: progress report 5/23/25

Image
 The potatoes finally showed up. Here's what everything looks like today. Carrots, scallions, and peas Grass??, carrots, and scallions Cucumbers Potatoes and onions

Patio plantation: progress report 5/8/25

Image
I stay so busy, it’s hard to keep up the garden, let alone the blog. Now that I’m on vacation, maybe I can catch up a little. When I’m not in the hotel room or ship's cabin with my keyboard available, I’m going to dictate on my phone like I’m doing now. I’ve lost track of where we are with this blog, so I will go on with our status as of May 1 st . The mushrooms did OK, but we didn’t harvest them before they dried out, and we can’t use them. I’m going to get another kit and take another swing at it.  With the patio garden, I’m going to post some pictures that’ll show where we’re at as of May 1. On May 8, we’ll be leaving for 10 days, an Alaskan cruise. I’ll be busy getting ready for that. I return to work the day after we get back. That means I won’t be doing much in the garden for a couple of weeks. Jane has a few days after vacation that might allow her to do a little in the garden. I won’t be able to post an update until two or three weeks after this post. Just a few words...

Patio plantation: mushroom kit

Image
4/17 I started the mushroom kit. It’s pretty simple to do. Open the package, soak in water, then put aside. Moisten twice daily for ten days. 4/26 Here is what it looks like. Theoretically, the mushroom should be ready to eat tomorrow. Have to be washed and cooked. I’ll give it a try. In the future, I think I’ll try something a little more adventurous like growing them in a pot on the front porch.  

Patio plantation: mold in seedling starter kits

Image
  Created by Copilot Last week, we started some vegetable seeds in a starter tray. We planted snow peas and cucumbers. They started sprouting promptly, maybe just a few days, but when we took the cover off, some of the cells had hairy-looking fungus in it. We wanted to eliminate the fungus, and I proposed using a small amount of spray mold killer in the cell. However, the mold killer we possessed was not food-safe, and Jane was anxious about proceeding with that approach. She searched online and discovered an unexpected and interesting treatment, which we decided to try. Here is a link that describes the use of chamomile tea to treat fungus in the garden How to Use Chamomile Fungicide to Stop Plant Diseases in Their Tracks Jane tried it, and it worked. On doing some of my own research online, I discovered other methods for treating mold on seedlings. Unsurprisingly, a dilute bleach solution was one of the suggested treatments, though I wondered whether it might pose a risk of t...

Patio plantation: a sprout!

Image
  Onion