Decorations for the Garden

According to the Ripley's rain gauge, we got about 1/2 inch of rain on Saturday.   Wahoo!

Other additions for this weekend - garden flags. 

I cut triangles from an old sheet with pinking shears then let my children color the cloth with fabric crayons.  Idea came from The Artful Parent.

 I also found a tree monkey in the garden.

No Nonsense: Staking Tomatoes

Just when you thought the world could live without knee highs...I've got the perfect use for them...staking tomatoes!  I learned this trick from my grandmother: cut strips from pantyhose to use to tie up tomatoes.  This bag of knee highs came from a garage sale last summer.

Nylon is perfect for tying up your plants because it is stretchy and forgiving.  It won't harm your plants.

If you would like a pair of knee highs, I have extra.  Just promise you won't wear them!

First Harvest

On Saturday I harvested the first of my radishes - sort of thinning them out.  I also planted more radish seeds near the tomatoes.  By the time the tomatoes need the space it will be too hot for radishes.  I learned this space saving trick from a local farmer, Eddie Stuckey.  He plants radishes with broccoli and says the radishes act as weed barriers.

However, I'm not the only one harvesting things.  Master Gardener, Charlotte, has been tasting sweet handfuls of strawberries every now and then.  It's a good thing she put up the net to keep me away the squirrels.

The first tomato was spied this weekend in the Bone Yard.  Congrats to the Bones!!

 Also in Charlotte's Spot: pattypan squash.

Yum!  Summer is coming!

And thank you Lord for the nice gentle rain.

Epsom Salts on Peppers and Tomato Plants

Thought of using Epsom salts on your peppers and tomatoes?  According to this article, it would be beneficial when the plants flower.

Suckers

When you hear the word "sucker" what do you think of?

-lollipop

-gullible person

-gardening

-all the above?

Growing up on a farm in Kentucky, when I heard the word sucker it caused me to groan.  Sweet treats were not headed my way that day.  Instead I would be walking through a field breaking off shoots of tobacco.  It was sticky and definitely not sweet.

Thankfully, when gardening on a small scale, pinching off the nutrient sucking shoots is not a miserable task.  Do it now before those suckers steal your joy.  Below are pictures from my tomatoes.

See also this article on pruning tomatoes.

New Signs

This weekend three more signs were added to our garden (with more to come!)

For those who don't speak French, poireau sounds the same as the family name, Poirot, but means leeks.  The sign reads something to the effect of Poirot's Leeks or Leeks from the Poirots.  If you don't know the Poirot family, Mr. Poirot is a chef at one of the downtown hotels.

Filling the New Boxes

At 6:30pm, the work team was rather small.

Some were cuter than others.

But more came; the hands multiplied.

The children enjoyed themselves.

I think the men will be sore tomorrow.  Though my husband said it was a great work out.

The women had a grand time talking.  :)

I left at dark and the pile was greatly reduced.  My children had very dirty bath water.  It was a super fun evening.