Wow. Time continues to feel like it’s flying by. On some days it doesn’t feel like we’ve done much, and on others we definitely feel the effort. It’s been incredibly rewarding so far and TONS of learning. Here are the notes from our garden adventures for May 2022. But before we get to that, here’s a portrait of our garden ambassador Dr. Gus.
May Planting Calendar
May 8
Photo updates from a visit to the garden. Not much happening… YET.
May 12
Snapshots of the growing seedlings on the roof.
May 14
Progress in the Food Garden
​​Cement Planters
- ​Nutri-Red Carrot
- Rainbow Blend Carrot
- Capitano Beans
- Tricolour Bush Beans
- Cocozelle zucchini
Unfortunately we forgot to water these planters since they are underneath the deck and haven’t been getting the massive amounts of rain that we’ve had lately. So the soil was bone dry and we are not seeing any signs of life, so Papa will plant flowers in there this year. We already have the beans and zucchini also growing elsewhere, so that’s okay. Maybe it worked out of the better because we’ve learned that carrots really like sandy growing material, and the soil in the planter wasn’t sandy at all. We’ve pivoted and will make a second attempt at carrots in grow bags with a good sandy soil mix.
​Front Yard
- Beet Blend
- Chioggia Beet
- Hybrid Broccoli Blend (transplanted)
- Green Magic Broccoli (transplanted)
- Amazing Cauliflower (transplanted)
- Fioretto Cauliflower (transplanted)
- Lettuce Blend
- Salad Bowl Lettuce
- Butterhead Lettuce
- Yukon Spinach
- Varna Organic Leek
- Zebrune Shallots
It’s hard to tell at this point, especially as a number of the flowers we left in may have crowded out the attempting seedlings. There were gorgeous tulips we wanted to keep up for parents’ enjoyment , so we didn’t cut them until today. As well, with the compost top-up we did in this bed, we may have disturbed or stunted any seedlings that were on their way. Hopefully not, but time will tell and we’ll reassess planting more seeds as we continue to observe. It has also been downpour levels of rain and cold this week, so maybe with this barely spring weather the seeds are nopeing out of breaking out.
However, both the broccoli and cauliflower transplants are looking good. There are some holes on the leaves, so we’ll have to decide what to do in terms of pest control. Lettuce has also popped out. Yay! With the ease of growing lettuce and how plentiful a packet of seeds is, we may growing lots of these this summer!
Veggie Patch
- Guelph Millennium Asparagus (crowns)
- Purple Millennium Asparagus (crowns)
- ​Snowy Eggplant
- Black Beauty Eggplant
- Wild Galapagos Tomato
- Blondkopfchen Tomato Seeds
- Black Krim
- Principe Borghese
Annex
- Lebanese Cucumber
- Lemon Cucumber
- Suyo Long Cucumber
- Green Dragon Cucumber
- ​Super Sugar Snap Peas
- Snap Pea 141
- Cocozelle zucchini
- Winnifred’s Garbanzo
- Chiba Edamame​
A few things sprouting.
Random Spot Between Flowers
- Cocozelle zucchini
No sign of progress…
Garden Soil Compost Top-up
Another trip to Creative Bricks n Blocks for a yard of compost that we used to fill some planters, top up others and also give a layer of compost to some of the garden beds that didn’t get covered in the last run.
Patio Compost Top-up
Sprouting Seeds Becoming Plants!
May 17
Planting Potato Bags
- Purchased a total of 6 Potato Grow Bags (2 sets of 3 purchased from West Coast Seeds)
- Maybe not as good as breathable ones that we got for the spicy pepper plants and carrots, but feels sturdy
- Planting
- 3-5 inches of soil & compost on the bottom
- Place seed potato with xshoots upwardÂ
- We used sea soil vegetable container mixÂ
- Added special potato fertilizer granulesÂ
- Roll back sides of bagÂ
- It grows unroll bag to create more spaceÂ
- Bag rolled down to expose to sunlightÂ
- 3 inches of soil on top of tubersÂ
- S feels he might have put the potatoes too close together, but it’s planted and done so we’ll find out later…
- Quantity
- Used 6 grow bags
- 2 bags of seed potatoes
- Keeping the potato bags not in the family garden, but rather our rooftop patio.
- Useful because the bags can be moved around during the season to maximize their sun
May 21
April Showers Bring May Flowers
Season is in bloom. Gorgeous rhododendrons and azaleas in the front yard that are just POPPING! Papa and S went to the nursery and Papa planted his annual hanging baskets which will make the deck vibrant for the season.
Front Yard
More growth in the front yard. The brassicas (cauliflower & broccoli), a few alliums (not sure which one, but we had some onion, chives and leeks), and lettuce are coming along. As well, that beets are coming along. There a few plants popping out that we can’t figure out what they are… but they don’t look like the common weeds that we’ve pulled out, so we’re leaving it and seeing what comes of it. Surprise veggie! Or we’ll learn more about what new growth of this unknown plant looks like! Maybe they’re turnips? Now that I recall, I accidentally bought turnip seeds instead of parsnips and we may have just thrown them in this patch. Time will tell.
Veggie Patch
Pictured above – the eggplant and tomato plants looking sad.
S cut the grass and we used the clippings to mulch the asparagus.
Above – transplants of bell pepper plants.
Since we’re running out of space in the designated brassica section (front yard), I said, let’s make use of the veggie patch and add some broccoli at the end. The leaves looked so healthy growing indoors, but they kind of leggy when we transplanted, so we staked them and hope they’ll grow more robust.
Veggie Annex
Oh YAY! The direct sow of the garbanzo beans and the peas are happening. Will keep an eye on them and stake accordingly
This is the random spot by the hydrangeas. I direct planted zucchini seeds but nothing has happened. I suspect we went too early on direct sowing, and the seed package did warn that planting in too cold weather could stunt the seed. May try again now.
Patio Updates
May 22
Digging Up Rooftop Bulbs for Storage
S dug up all the bulbs and is letting them get the nutrients from the greenery and will then trim them off. They’ll be stored in paper bags until we replant them in autumn. He decided to dig them up so we could dig around and play with these planters and new plants without worrying about damaging the bulbs in the process. As well, over the years the bulbs multiply as part of their growth process, so he took the opportunity to split the bulbs up as well.
May 24
What’s up doc? We planted carrots!
May 28
We “Built” A Squash Trellis
Here are the notes from today’s project to create a trellis for the squash plants.
Veggie Patch
Planting some started plants that Mom bought.
Oh look. There’s mushrooms! There must have been mycelium in the compost layer we added to all the beds. And AHA a fruiting body.
We didn’t expect it so soon, but the asparagus shoots are already coming up! We won’t harvest at all the first year; this will gives the plants a chance to really grow and become a long-term thriving asparagus for many years. Encouraging to see the first year shoots already!
Pepper transplants look great. The tomato and eggplant plants we transplanted way too early, and we’re not holding out too much hope for them. Lettuce are the store-bought plants that we put throughout the veggie patch.
Veggie Annex
The garbanzo plants are getting bigger! Woohoo. Snap peas are also ready for some trellis (last year we didn’t catch them early enough so they climbed on the ground and didn’t really do well. There’s also some tiny shoots from one of the other beans or seeds we direct sowed. Will have to see how they develop.
Front Yard
The Beginnings of A Three Sisters Patch
We started the squash seeds in trays on the roof, and they’ll be ready to transplant soon into the squash patch with the newly crafted trellis.
Watering System
We are keeping it fairly simple with an above-ground watering system. S bought soaker hoses to wind around the plant rows. He chose this method as it’s a fairly simple set-up (as opposed to in-ground sprinkler system) and if flexible/convenient and typically wastes less water, and functions well even with low pressure.
Around the Garden (Non-Food Plant Areas)
The Deck Is Prepared
Papa completed his hanging baskets. Looking forward to the summer blooms!
Views From Above
On the Rooftop
Propagating some mint & lemon balm in smaller containers.
OMG! Our potatoes are beginning to pop! Exciting!!!
Oh – and we’re making sure to pre-cat all the flower beds. LOL.
May 30
Gus: Guardian of the Garden
May 31
There were a few seedlings that didn’t materialize. Today we’re giving them another chance by planting the following seeds again. Hopefully the warmer weather and longer days will help germinate these seeds the second time around.
- St. John’s Wort
- Butterscotch Melon
- Candy Roaster Squash
- Echinacea
- Golden Pearls
- Snowy Eggplant
That’s it for now. On to a full and hopefully popping June ahead
