Continuing my tradition of spending $300 on supplies in order to
yield $25 worth of fresh produce, I got my deck garden planted this week. I am
awaiting the arrival of a trellis so that I can plant my gourds, but other than
that, it seems to be finished. It was nice to have a normal day after so many
months of upset.
Naturally, I will be adding to this in the next couple of weeks, during which
time I also plan to buy plants for the covered portion of the deck (the lanai). I
thought buying 12 40-pound sacks of potting soil would be enough, but it would
appear not. So, back to the garden center I head midweek.
I decided to do something different this year. Instead of growing plants that I
can easily buy at the grocery store relatively cheaply (carrots, radishes,
scallions), I decided to grow a wider variety of tomatoes, including heirlooms,
as well as green beans, and cauliflower.
I cut back on the number of herbs that I normally grow, because I found that
they were taking up space and I wasn’t using them (fennel, dill, sage, thyme).
I may change my mind when they all go on sale for 50% off at a pop-up garden
place that I frequent, but other than that I am growing massive amounts of basil
and parsley, because I use massive amounts of basil and parsley. I also have rosemary
that I overwinter every year.
My newest, perhaps most exciting addition, is ginger. I ordered it from Baker’s
Heirloom Seeds in Manchester, MO, and, as it is suited for my region, I’m
hoping for the best. I use a lot of ginger in Asian cooking, so I’m interested
in having the freshest of the fresh.
I’ve been watching British garden shows on BritBox,
and so decided to add more flowers to the garden, so this year I am growing a
beautiful multi-pedaled pink Morning Glory, as well as zinnias, petunias, impatiens, and purple Cathedral Bells.
The latter is a first for me, and I’m hoping it produces.
What I also learned from the British gardening shows (and what
should have been obvious to me, but somehow wasn’t), is to LABEL the plants,
and I did so with these wonderful Zinc Plant Markers
that come with their own carbon pencil.
I also decided to have a bit of fun, and grow gourds. Believe it or not, this
was the most difficult decision I had to make, because there are so many
varieties available. I truly found some amazing things, including the "R"-rated Elever Pumpkin
that resembles male genitalia. Don't believe me? Click here (but first, have the kids and grandma leave the room).
Unlike last year, I seriously hope to keep you updated on my deck garden
throughout the summer. I feel very fortunate this year that May has been
seasonal. Last year, we moved into May and it immediately hit 90° and stayed
there until October.
What do you have growing?
What do you have growing?
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