Today I:
Removed 5 living strawberry plants from the pond plant tray, leaving empty pots for about 25 that died of wet feet. Adapting strawberries to aquaponics is looking difficult. Planted vitex seed I froze last fall (in case that helps) in those 25 pots. Should be a nice vitex crop for fall roundup. Had a couple come up IN plants on the bog tray and they are thriving there, how interesting.
about to rig a sunshine reducer over my full sun organic bed that has strawberries and cantaloupe in it. Before I do I will fertilize with bone meal and epsom salts. This bed perpetually has too much nitrogen from years of compost, grows some great swiss chard. I will be using white plastic lattice a couple of feet up if I can find the materials, and if that fails, I'll toss a sheet on top. I've already lost 1/3 of the berries I planted here in late June, only the ones getting the most sun, so that is who I will protect.
Repotted a Leopard plant start given by a pond customer. Actually she tried to get me to split a giant plant, but I opted for the little runner that was destined toward my trash. Can't go where the dogs are, it is poisonous
fixed a new rack for the porch plant rack, where most of spring RU plants still are, if I fear the heat and drought would kill them. I will plant when fall rains start and beds are ready
about to move the sweet potatoes into their deep bag garden but I suspect I should dig in a full bag of bone meal and some epsom too, as the dirt is from the giant pile of Garden soil from Rocky's and it is rich in mushroom compost. Will toss a sheet over these to help them adjust, they should be ok tomorrow I think
checked the chickens and the bees. Need to build a tailored watering system for the gardens on the lot, have discovered if I water my tomatoes enough I kill my zucchini and yellow squash, seems the borers do better when the ground is soft and wet
Will plant some Red Texas Star Hibiscus seeds in the long deck pots
Catching up with my garden
ok, the sweet potatoes are not planted, nor the seeds for the Texas star hibiscus plants, but the grid is over the strawberries and they got bone meal / potash / epsom salts, as did the sweet potato bed and the tomatoes and remaining strawberries and blueberries on the pond bog garden. The strawberry bed partly shaded, and one of my favorite garden spiders, whose egg sacs I carefully preserve so I have more next year. This year I have had a bumper crop.
