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  1. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    I just looked back at this post, and what I planted was quite close to what was planned back in December. The main change is that I eliminated corn, replacing it mostly with more tomato plants. I also added bush beans and borage. Some of the companion plants (nasturtiums, basil, garlic, white...
  2. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    So I did it. Planted just about everything this weekend. Low forecast to be around 40 in the main part of town tonight, so there could be an outside chance of frost out where I am. Fingers crossed! After tonight, it looks like frost chances are next to nil. I did keep a few tomatoes, basil, and...
  3. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Oh...and with highs looking to be in the 70s for the next 6 straight days, it seems to make sense to ground-seed some stuff tomorrow. I'll do an inventory tonight to see what I haven't planted yet. Also, I picked up some 20-cent packets of flower seeds at Walmart the other day, and there's an...
  4. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Yeah, at this point I'm not terribly worried about frost, more the warmer-season stuff slowing down some due to the lows in the upper 40s on some days. If this forecast holds, though, it does seem that I'd be better off leaving town with them in the ground. As far as wind/heavy rain, I've been...
  5. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Brussels sprouts and Melons on the left, bush beans down the middle, squash/zucchini on the right.
  6. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    The rest of the maters (backups/giveaway,) some cukes, and marigolds and red/orange/yellow/green bell peppers.
  7. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Sweet and Genovese basil. These have been in the greenhouse unless temperatures outside were over 60ish. (My south-facing deck has no shade basically all day long, so it’s always warmer than the air temperature.)
  8. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Current status pics coming up. These are my main tomato plants. I seeded at least three of each variety in jiffy cells, and 2 weeks ago I moved the strongest-looking of each variety into individual peat pots.
  9. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Decision time coming soon. We're leaving for a week-long family vacation on Saturday, April 20th. My wife and kids will be out of town the entire weekend of April 12-14. Average last frost date here is 4/15. If this forecast holds, I'm going to strongly consider putting all my summer seedlings...
  10. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    The main strawberry bed is now in place. There will be a few more in containers and in the kids’ gardens, but the majority are in this raised bed.
  11. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    My eldest (age 9) transplanting spinach into her garden. She LOVES lightly sauteed spinach. The tomatoes before thinning/transplanting. Tomatoes and basil enjoying a 65 degree afternoon. I've been doing a slow hardening off. (Not sure it's necessary with them being in the greenhouse, but...
  12. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    It has been a while since I've posted, but that's not for lack of gardening activity. To the contrary, the issue has been that much of my free time has been taken up by doing actual gardening stuff. The highlights from the last month-ish. (Pics in the next post). The tomatoes have germinated...
  13. Ben E Lou

    Saving Seeds From Year To Year?

    So my next-door neighbor saw me working in the backyard and came over yesterday with some seeds to give me. They’re, uh, kind of old. Just for fun, I scattered the arugula and lettuce in areas where I hadn’t planned to grow anything. Let’s see what happens.
  14. Ben E Lou

    Little Help With My Critter Woes?

    Yup. Planning on doing that.
  15. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't meant I haven't been busy. Here's a quick catch-up on the last couple of weeks. THE GOOD Laid straw bales to cover the cardboard in the walking paths. The girls have planted carrot and lettuce seed in their gardens, and the younger transplanted...
  16. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    They’ve asked for their own little gardens to call their own. I tilled a few weeks ago and have had their areas covered wtih black plastic since then, and today we built their beds. My favorite part of the day was during the trip to Home Depot with the younger. She saw the flowers in their...
  17. Ben E Lou

    Little Help With My Critter Woes?

    Last year I had significant issues with groundhogs, rabbits, birds, and squirrels. A dog or cat isn't an option just yet. I'd love to hear what has worked to rid your area of critter issues. I live (barely) inside the city limits, so I can't discharge a firearm legally. Do any of the decoys...
  18. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    Heh. Months ago I marked Saturday, February 2nd, as the day to put the carrots, onions, and radishes in the ground. I reckon if this forecast holds I won't have to do a whole lot of early watering. Goodness.
  19. Ben E Lou

    Chronicles of a Noob Garden and Gardener

    The ground doesn’t really freeze here, which is why the difference between January 15 and February 15 seems pretty doggone trivial...
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