Garden in February 2015

I'm so pleased with the growth on my surviving tomato plants as well as how much lettuce, cilantro and sweet peas we are constantly enjoying and sharing from our garden. Within the past weeks, I also planted more carrots near the base of the flourishing sweet pea vines, more lettuce and spinach and a few green onion roots from onions purchased from the store (that are growing!) I also planted a few small pieces (bite size) of red potatoes after allowing them to dry out over night on my counter and pieces of the small unripened potatoes pulled out after the freeze just to see what happens. I also planted about 6 tomato starts from James for this upcoming season. I'm hoping for a great tomato harvest (for once!).

My cherry tomato plant. Feb 4

Tomato that ripened on the vine after the freeze.

New growth! Cherry tomato plant.

Green onions, both from seed and from planting store bought onion roots.

The New Year's Freeze 2015

So late December and surrounding the start of 2015, we had a dip in temperatures. A few garden plants suffered mild freezing the night before the official "freeze warning", but I covered the tender plants during each night of the freeze (air temps below 35-ish). Here's how my garden fared:

Plants that were not damaged:
Lettuces
Cilantro
Sweet Peas
Carrots
Cabbage
Spinach
Green onions

Plants that were damaged but salvageable:
Tomato plants
Marigold flowers

Plants that were killed:
Zucchini
Younger tomato plants
Green Bean
Potato (an experimental planting)

I picked a decent harvest of zucchini before the plants dying off. Tomato plants had not provided many ripened tomatoes, but the cherry tomato had hundreds of green tomatoes. I used them as an experiment and my results were very interesting. The tomatoes continued to ripen off the bush and also a few that were on a low live stem on the bush after trimming away almost all of the plant. New growth is filling the bush in and I still have hope for the plant for this season.

All the fallen green tomatoes off the frozen cherry tomato plant Jan 9, 2015

The same cherry tomatoes several weeks later, many ripened and taste great. Jan 30, 2015

A fraction of a very abundant and enjoyed Sweet Pea harvest

I chose a few plump pods to try drying the peas for planting next year.

The cherry tomato plant after the freeze, Jan 17

The zucchini plants post freeze

The cherry tomato plant after I groomed away all the frozen leaves and branches. Just a glimmer of hope in it living. Jan 17.

Not Enough Time

I haven't had the time set apart for blogging and my gardening journal has suffered. In an effort to catch up, I will post photos I have taken along with their dates and simple descriptions. I love my garden and many things have changed since my last October posting!

DECEMBER 23rd 2014, before the freeze! Everything was planted from seeds except for the huge cherry tomato plant in the center of the garden (starter purchased).

Caught a Caterpillar

Lots of holes in the leaves of green bean and cabbage plants. I caught one little caterpillar mid-feast, but I didn't have it in me to kill him after his photo-shoot. So, he was placed in a leafy plant in my yard that grows wild and has plenty to spare. Hope he likes it there.

In the past weeks, I gave the green bean plants two tomato cages to help keep them up. I also had a friend give us some mulch/wood chips and I layered them around the larger plants to help keep in moisture.

Everything is growing so fast.

Green Bean plant eaten by caterpillar

Other green bean plant with first bean

The hungry one

Zucchini and cherry tomato

Compost Cantaloupe

Green Bean Flowers

Zucchini

Carrots

Lettuce Varieties

Cilantro

Snap Peas racing upward

Marigolds

Tiny green onions

Butterfly in flight from citrus tree to citrus tree

First day to see both tortoises out of their hole in a few months

My garden today. 

I'm working on getting my old sprinkler hose and timer working to use on days that I can't water the garden by hand. I need to fix the hose connection and add a few more sprinkler heads and it will be great! All the seeds are growing, even those planted before some flooding rains. I love this time of gardening when each time I come out I see growth.