Since I was going to be in most of the day, I cooked a pot of pinto beans. I did go out to the garden for lettuce (had onions in the crisper) for wilted lettuce to go with the beans. Lunch was a simple meal of beans, wilted lettuce and deviled eggs.
I watered the east end (corn patch) a few days ago and will water the west half of the garden this morning.
The shade cloth is covering my lettuce bed.
The bad gardening stuff is happening.....rose disease on the heirloom roses; rust on hollyhocks and malvas, white cabbage butterflies hovering above cabbages and broccoli.
The potatoes are getting quite tall and leggy???? The volunteers look like normal.
I am wondering what that is about.
Hollyhocks and all members of this plant family don't do well for me for very long.
I don't practice a spray program so before I know it they are unsightly with rust.
I don't plant new ones.....the hollyhocks have morphed into a buff colored one that is actually very nice because it goes with anything.
The malvas started life as Zebrina and Mystic Merlin. This year I find only a single plant that looks like the original Zebrina.
The first is Mystic Merlin, the middle a cross and the blue one is Zebrina.
Before much longer they will look so bad, I will cut or pull them out.
I finished planting all the pot ghetto this morning. I also watered the west end of the garden for two hours.
I see the half-runner beans I planted at the base of the corn are coming up.
Lunch was sandwiches and cherry pie. I am still loving having the pie crusts in the freezer. It makes life so much simper.
I love half runner beans!! I can't find them here. I haven't seen them since I left West Virginia.
ReplyDeleteI love your kitchen garden and your wonderful flowers too. Hope you have a decent harvest in spite of everything going on.
ReplyDeleteHugs ~ FlowerLady
It's a shame that after the long winter and nasty spring weather you're having the problems with the garden.
ReplyDeleteI reply via email to your direct questions but I am never sure if you get them so will do so here.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, a friend gave me the seeds. They were from www.heirlooms.org.
They are called NT Half Runner.
I have planted hollyhocks several times and cannot get them to come up...what am I doing wrong? You have to have an inside day sometimes to play "catch up!" Have a great day Glenda...
ReplyDeleteI love the little Zebrinas. Mine had played out in all the garden bed moves. My SIL gave me some plants this year and a couple are going to make it so plan to save some seed to scatter.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came in about 1 o'clock from helping haul hay, we had 92 degrees. One more field to haul in and then we are done.
Everyone enjoyed your banana cake recipe I made-a keeper for sure!
Hollyhocks are a favorite of mine..love that buff color.
ReplyDeleteJoycee, try starting them in pots. I always start perennials and biennials this way. Put some plastic wrap over the top until they germinate. When they get about 4-5 inches tall, transplant to the garden. You could also try pre-soaking the seed first. I try to do that with most larger seeds.
ReplyDeleteBev, I will have lots of malva seeds if you don't get any....I haven't forgotten about the iris!
Samantha, I think I see a very pale yellow blooming now...will try to get a picture of it.
I had magnificent hollyhocks - blazing red and almost 8 feet tall a couple of years ago. Since then? Nada - bupkis. I've started new plants, put them in the same place, treated them the same and I'm lucky if I get a single 2-3' stalk. I guess they are temperamental. But I keep trying. Meanwhile I'll enjoy your pics. :-D
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the things going wrong in your garden. My hollyhocks get some kind of disease every year, probably rust. Mine are mostly yellow. I bought some double blooming ones for some height in the front, and the rabbits are munching on them. Yours are nice and bushy and full of blooms.
ReplyDeleteI like your shade cloth for the lettuce. My lettuce plants are getting ready to bolt. I've been eating large salads every day, though, and am keeping ahead with picking.
It is frustrating when you work so hard and then things go wrong. Hopefully enough good things happening in the garden to offset the bad.
ReplyDeleteI love Malvas. My mom grows them.
Thank you for posting such a useful, impressive and a wicked article./Wow.. looking good!
ReplyDeletekitchen garden