Mid-May Garden Update

 

So it's the middle of May and it's averaging over 90 degrees outside.  Perfect conditions for growing tomatoes and  bell peppers! It would seem that, thanks to the Lord, Jesus Christ, my longsuffering on waiting for seed-grown bell peppers is over. I have been continually harvesting about 5 to 6 peppers per week without any real signs of them slowing down. 

Even these smaller ones - the later bloomers - seem to be taking a liking to the conditions.  As long as I keep them watered during the hotter parts of the day and pretty dry at night. 

Tomatoes

I have the same gripe as always when trying to grow these larger varieties of tomatoes. The WAITING!  Also, this is a very risky endeavor since after waiting for so long for these to ripen, critters - both of the flighing and crawling kind - want to have a taste of the sweet goodness. 

I'm hoping that this year, I started the growing early enough to be able to enjoy the majority of my bounty before Nature has her share. 

Watering

So, watering has never really been an issue, however, I'm always looking for better ways of maintaining constant watering. Not for my sake, but for the poor plants especially during the hotter months. 

As usual, I water from below.  Furthermore, having integrated the PVC pipe way of watering has made it quite convenient. 

I've also added this little meter in order to gauge how much water is really getting to the deeper part of the soil. Funnily enough, I first installed this device right after a downpoor the night before.  So it was interesting to see that the gauge indeed was working well and that constant rain will saturate the soil nicely. 

This reinforced the notion that I can save water by not having to water my plants right after or even soon after a good rain.  However, I do see now that I might have to install a better irrigation system since I can see that the way I currently water is not enough. 

On another note, I have learned something new this year - which is always exciting. Apparently, as long as I'm growing into the ground, two or even three tomato plants don't seem to mind sharing space with each other. In the photos above you may have caught that I have tripled down on tomato plants.  Once again, I love how easily gardening lends itself to experimentation.  I simply was too lazy to separate these plants when they were tender seedlings - or perhaps I had missed the safer window - and planted them together. It is a pleasant surprise to see them thriving as well as each one carrying two large tomatoes each. 

Wonderful Abundance - Blessing?

After many years of trial-and-error, it's so great to finally say that I am getting a seemingly bumper crop of green bell peppers! As you can see from the photo above, I've been blessed this year with an abundance of fruit. But, I'm sorry to say that I'm dealing with the same issue I've had when I have had bumper crops of other fruits and vegetables. 

No one is really taking advantage and eating them! Yes, my family is enjoying what I have produced so far; but since the production is so much, they can sometimes go to waste. Now I know why so many people learn to dry or otherwise preserve their over harvest. 

Of course, I will have to learn to do the same because I truly love watching the miracle of the birth of a plant from a seemingly simple seed into the growth of something sustainable and edible and delicious! 

P.S. And the pop-bottle watering system is working very well as always. 

Terrarium As Mini-Greenhouse

So, I found this terrarium at Walmart and instantly had the idea to try to simulate a large scale glass greenhouse. 

I figured it would be the closest to a high end version I could afford for now. I even thought it would be a good way to reverse engineer my own copy. As you can see, I am going ahead with staring a few Jalapeño peppers and cucumbers in this. But one more thing I also wanted to do is keep watering from the bottom as I have done with most of my starts, seedlings, and plants to much success.

But, alas, I soon realized that the terrarium is not water tight. Perhaps this is a good thing when it comes to its original use; as being able to evacuate excess water would be desirable. 

However, for my purposes, it's not ideal. I will try lining the bottom with aluminum foil to see if it will hold a water tight base. 

There's so much to like about this that I'd hate to call it a bust! 

Keeping Seedlings Watered

I was able to create these small paper pots just to get my seedlings started and wait for the proper temperature outdoors. 

It's very simple to water from below using these and because of the size being so close to the Solo cup size, it is very easy to keep algae from overgrowing.

Another added advantage is being able to use a variety of colors for my paper pots. This adds personality to my small office while waiting for the seedlings to grow larger.

Finally Got Bell Peppers to Grow

 

After years of trying and failing at growing bell peppers, it looks as though I will finally get a couple of plants growing after all!

As you can see, I've used the Jiffy Seed Starting Peat Pellets to start out the seeds.

All in all, it seems to have been a success.  We shall see what the future holds.

Lettuce, and Peppers, and 'Maters, Oh My!

So, I've learned that even though I can grow just about anything in the AeroGarden, it doesn't mean I should grow just about anything.

With its shallow basin and relatively low light height (the Harvest Lights only extend to 1 foot instead of more than 2 feet in the more advanced models), the AeroGarden seems to me to be the perfect way to start and maintain plants with similarly shallow root depth.

Air Pruning Results