So where am I? What am I doing? Finally, an update!

Well, if you follow my posts on Twitter, you know I'm laying low since the beginning of May. I went on vacation, visited my family out of state, and hurt my neck while kayaking. So my computer time has been limited, although I'm still gardening with my husband's help, and under his supervision I'm taking it easy. And hopefully with the help of physical therapy, this stiff neck will finally go away.

So what have we not written about? More lessons for the amateur gardener, of course.

My tomato plants had a growth spurt indoors during the April heat wave, and since I didn't plant them before vacation I returned home to a mini-jungle in the family room. Most of them are on the ground now, with the exception of about a dozen that will go in this weekend. Yes, a dozen...for a family of 2, LOL...Why? Because I can't bring myself to throw away the weaker plants and end off planting everything I have. My husband jokes that we'll have to set a table in the driveway this summer, giving away free veggies to the neighbors.

Another lesson? Hardening off veggie plants takes more than a day or two. Just ask the sun-scalded pepper plants that were in the ground before Memorial Day. I was a bit smarter this time though, and only put out 4 plants to start. But I still feel guilty, and apologize to the poor things every time I water them. The rest of the peppers are now in the ground too, planted on an overcast day, and covered with a row cover until I feel it's safe...plus day temperatures in the low to mid-seventies is helping too.

Now, repeat after me: do not overwater the cucumbers, do not overwater the cucumbers, do not overwater the cucumbers. I have yellow leaves on mine, and the rain on the forecast won't help that. So I'm hoping for drier days after tomorrow; a boost with fish emulsion might help, but just in case, I might start some new seeds on the ground or pick up extra starts at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Squashes are in, both zucchini and yellow squash. I still have the watermelon to transplant and narstitiums seeds to plant, on loamy ground this time (last year I started them on pretty fertile ground and yes, if you do that you won't see flowers, just foliage...which was fine, because it kept the weeds at bay).

Marigolds, cosmos, calendulas are planted. Moonflower, passiflora, and morning glory need to be transplanted and trellised. And I better not forget the sunflowers this year. And the herbs? They're everywhere. Chives and sage are in bloom, pretty light purple flowers that grace the entrance to my kitchen. Mints are in pots: chocolate, orange, mojito mint. Pinneaple sage and lemon balm for teas, also in containers. Chamomile, lavenders in a raised garden. And lemongrass and lemon verbena that need to be transplanted. And a bay laurel, new this year.

I'll post pictures soon, especially now that my new raised garden beds are almost all planted. In the meantime, back to the garden.