In this week’s update, we’re starting to see our garden really take off. Plants that were already big have started to bloom and produce fruit, while plants that were small or looked a little unhealthy have started to grow and look like they’re going to make it. We also needed to tackle some of the grass in the beds that was becoming unruly, and we side-dressed many of our plants with bone meal. Finally, what is this update’s seed of the week?
Visible Growth
Since last week’s update, we’ve been blown away by how much growth there has been in the garden. The tomato plants we bought from the greenhouse, as well as the original Queen Aliquippa plants I started, have all started to blossom and produce fruit. The Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, and Yellow Pear plants all have fruit on them, while the Queen Aliquippa plants have numerous blossoms. Our pepper plants are the same way, with two of the Cal Wonder plants having at least one fruit. The small starts that we transplanted last weekend have grown and are looking healthy.
Our melon, squash, and cucumber plants are also showing a lot of growth. The spaghetti squash plant we bought at the greenhouse has 15 or so blossoms on it, while another plant that I started inside (we think it’s a pumpkin) is also blossoming. All but a few of the plants in our melon bed are doing very well, including our cucumber plants, where we’re starting to see baby cucumbers growing behind the blossoms. Lastly, our eggplants are growing a lot of fruit, with the largest being roughly three inches in length. It’s safe to say that the heat and sunshine have been wonderful for our garden.
Mowing Inside Our Garden Beds
This weekend, we realized that we needed to deal with the grass that was growing in the last garden bed we planted in. We had been using long shears to trim everything, but Magz smartly suggested that we try getting the mower in between the plants. Yesterday, we did and had so much success that we used the mower in our other beds, which made for much less work by hand. I maneuvered the mower while Magz helped me not run over any plants. While no plants were harmed, I did run over a wooden marker, but after 30 minutes or so and many squeaks from Magz, we were done. She is my Richard Hammond. We’ll be using this method moving forward to save time and work.
Side Dressing Plants
With our plants growing well and starting to bloom, I applied a layer of bone meal to our tomatoes, peppers, beans, and our more mature melons, squash, and cucumbers. I like bone meal because it’s easy to apply and gets absorbed pretty well, but I want to find a better fertilizer. I like bone meal when transplanting starts, but I would like to find something more water soluble or even a liquid fertilizer for side dressing needs later in the season. The bone meal has worked, though. The day after I applied it, we got a nice rainstorm, and the plants looked perkier afterward.
Seed of the Week
This week’s featured seed is the Black Krim tomato. We’re growing these from seed and from starts that we purchased at a greenhouse. These tomatoes are originally from the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea and were named after the Isle of Krim. They gained popularity in that region during the 1850s but didn’t become commercially available in the United States until the 1990s. They may have been the first “black” tomato to be sold in the U.S. These are the first black tomatoes we’ve grown.
Up Next
At this point in the garden, we’re largely managing the garden. We’re dealing with weeds, making sure the plants are properly watered, and generally ensuring that everything is healthy. There’s a chance that by next week’s update, we’ll have harvested at least one tomato, eggplant, and/or cucumber. How are your gardens doing? Happy gardening!
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