MargoMargo's Blog
MargoMargo's Blog
Last Post 363 days, 13 hours Ago
Jul 26, 2007 | 3:37 PM PST
Tags: seeds , peas , garlic , compost
Soooooo many Peeeeeeeeeaas!
And some garlic. Yum!
Clearly the bed that has lots of compost in it grows everything and anything 10 times better than the bed with no compost. Except beans. My beans are sad all around this year.
anybody have any good ideas about how to dry/save seeds over winter for next year?
Jul 6, 2007 | 11:34 AM PST
Tags: compost , beans , tomatoes , garlic , peas
It's been a while, and everything's growing so well. I should have given the peas something higher to climb up because now they are climbing out. But they are delicious, and they seem happy enough.
The raspberries are getting close to their end, but they have been so delicious. Kudos to the previous tennents who planted them.
The parsley is looking happy inbetween the tomatoes, though I'm not sure the tomatoes in the terrace are going to bear fruit. I think the soil could use some compost in a bad way, but it's probably going to have to wait till fall. The beans are struggling on too, and so far one of them is trying for a bean. I must have kept them inside too long, because once I planted them outside, they all got eaten and sunburned (despite my shade cloth and soapy water spray), only to recover slowly with new, darker leaves that can handle the outside clime. Not sure if they'll get around to many beans, but I'm glad they struggled though.
And lastly, I pulled a garlic up yesterday. Not sure if it's too early, but next time I cook, we'll find out!
May 23, 2007 | 4:07 PM PST
After several attempts to acclimate my tomatoes to the sun, I think they're finally ready to go outside. I'm going to replant the beans that were destroyed by aphids while wielding a spray bottle of soapy water and see if they do better this time round. Rachel has given me some curly parsley and garlic chives, and those will go into the mix too. Plus the raspberries have come back all on their own.
Things are looking so nice out back!
Hopefully I don't kill any while transplanting them!
May 14, 2007 | 9:42 AM PST
Tags: beans , tomatos , aphids , soap
Now that we're starting to get some sunny days, I thought I'd be such a good plant mommy and set my tomatoes out in the sun all day. Mistake! I sunburned (and nearly killed) half of them! (actually, that might be a blessing in disguise since I had way to many to start with) The poor little buggers are struggleing along, and they'll probably live, but may never get as big as they would have.
The other half of the tomatoes (now that I've learned my lesson) are staying outside for a few hours at a time in the sun and doing much better than their ill-fated cousins. Hopefully they will adjust and then I can plant them outside for the summer.
My beans were growing splendidly inside, so I plated 8 of them outside in various places around the house. Two of them had roots that were so entwined that i ripped them when separating them, and they are looking pretty sad. All the others are looking pretty happy except for the one in the front yard that's getting eaten by aphids! Bad Aphids!
Rachel suggested diluted soap and water to keep the aphids at bay, so I'll have to mix up a bottle of it tonight and give the poor guy a spritz.
Apr 23, 2007 | 1:43 PM PST
Tags: beans , sprouts , children
I think I planted the beans too early. The seed package said to plant in May or June after all danger of frost had passed. But i thought i'd start them early indoors. Now they're about a foot tall and taking over the living room table!
The carrots and peas seem to be happily stalled as little sprouts in the garden, but they'll have plenty of time once it's warmer to grow.
And the garlic sprouts seem to have stopped growing. I'm really tempted to pull one up to see if the bulb is growing ,but so far I have restrained myself.
It's as if they're my nieces and nephews: I take a lot of pleasure in caring for them and i want them to be the best plants ever, but at the same time I want to experiment with them. Like encouraging children to climb to the top of the monkey bars and jump off. They might break a leg, but they'd live. Will the tomatoes make it if I put them outside? Oops, not now, it's still too early.
Apr 11, 2007 | 9:43 AM PST
Tags: wall plants , low light , indoor plants
The other day my housemate and I were thinking about how to get more greenery indoors, especially into places where floor/window space is limited. We came up with the idea of a living painting - something you could hang on the wall, water every once in a while, and it would be pretty and clean your air for you.
Does anybody have any thoughts on plants that can live in little soil, possibly be in low light conditions, and are low maintenance?
Apr 11, 2007 | 9:37 AM PST
Tags: tomato , bean , seedlings , transplant
After the transplanting, only two of my tomato seedlings are looking like they're not going to make it. The rest are looking perky and smelling like tomatoes.
My beans are also starting to sprout. I wouldn't know this except for that when I planted them, there were two that I planted too close to the surface. Now I can see the shoots uncurling from the seed - it looks like the beans were in the fetal position, and now they are starting to stretch out.
Now I've got to wait till it's warm outside before putting them in the ground. Hurry up warm sunny weather!
Apr 6, 2007 | 11:24 AM PST
Tags: tomato , transplant , roots
Well, I transplanted them yesterday. Hopefully I didn't do too much damage. I definitely heard the sad sound of roots ripping once or twice. It's amazing how little of a root structure they have. When we pulled up the blackberries last fall there was 3 times more root than plant. These are just the opposite!
They looked pretty sad and droopy after transplanting, so I watered them and left to go out for the evening. This morning (and what a beautiful sunny spring morning it is!) almost all of them are looking perky again. So resiliant for being so small! Kind of like children - they don't break, they bounce.
I also planted some beans (kept inside with the tomatoes for now) and an herb mixture (also inside for now) I'm excited to see what I get.
Apr 5, 2007 | 10:21 AM PST
Tags: tomato , seedling
Tomato seeds grow so fast! Mine are already 2 or 3 inches high - they need to be transplanted!
How much dirt does a seedling need to be able to grow for a month or so before it goes out in the garden?
Apr 4, 2007 | 3:56 PM PST
Tags: bicycle , spring
The days are warming up, and my bike ride around Greenlake is more and more lovely!
This transformation began a month or so ago when the trees started to bud, and then tiny green leaves popped forth here and there. Pretty soon the bulbs were coming up, and now, the cherry trees are blooming, the daffodils are in full bloom, and the air smells warm and earthy.
It awakens the soul.
