Hello VEGheads,
So far it has been true. April has already been very showery, meaning May flowers are on their way. For us in zone 9, our gardens may be on the cusp of full harvest mode. I've notice that I am behind in this years garden from where I would like to be. These are some cute little flowers that my nephew picked out and one of my favorite planted that my sister gave me as a gift.
Sowing:
I just sowed Zinnia's and Nasturtiums today. I'm still planning to plant Marigolds. These are the 3 flowers that are my absolute favorites for growing in the garden. They are all edibles!
Zucchini, I have 2 varieties that I am very excited about. Both are Renee's Garden. One variety a french heirloom: Ronde de Nice which is french for Round of Nice... Maybe nice and round. Because they are perfectly round and are harvested between the size of a baseball to softball. The other variety is called Astia which is also a french variety hybrid for containers. Bonus: My mother gave me a green zucchini because I hadn't bought seeds and didn't want to not have any zucchini.
Basil is another set of seeds that I purchased and Renee's Garden has a Basil Trio which is a blend of Cinnamon, Red Rubin's and Mrs. Burns'.
I'm going to try planting some quinoa again. I killed my seedlings last month. This plant is new to me and so it's all trial and error, Some other plants that are new to me are Loofahs and Okra. I've never eaten okra before but I know the flowers are very pretty.
Growing:
Newest addition is my little blueberry bush that I picked up from the Greenery on my birthday. I just recently transplanted it into this cute plastic container that I picked up from Dollar General. I drilled holes in the bottom of the container. Used organic potting soil and added coffee grounds for acidity around the base. I always used Soil Diva Plant Stimulant when transplanting.
Potatoes: I planted these on March 3rd just after my last blog went up. Now they are luscious and beautiful. This was a variety pack that was purchased from Home Depot so there are Red, White and Blue(purple) potatoes. About 9-10 plants. Last year I planted potatoes in a dog food bag... it did not go well. So I'm feeling much more hopeful this year.
Lavender is making it's debut after being featured in my last blog: Plants that I don't Mention. I cleaned up the dead stuff and transplanted into this white container.
Citrus trees: Red Mandarin and Lisbon Lemon tree. The lemon tree has blossoms, and the mandarin has new growth and we are going to transplant these into half wine barrels definitely this month. It just has to happen. I'm incredibly upset that I haven't done this yet.
Eversweet Pomegranate: The pomegranate has grown SO much. It's got lots of new growth. No blossoms, I don't see any signs of it flowering this year. I'm not expecting it to, just stretch those roots this year. Maybe next year. If I realize that it definitely will not be flowering this year. I will only mention it when I do something to it.
Nasturtiums: Look at the wide angle photo! It has grown so incredibly large and beautifully. Hugging the herb container and wrapping around the fence side of the garden bed. This may be the last time you see her. The reason is because I do not see any sign of this blooming either. I was informed that nasturtiums DO NOT like fertile soil. They appreciate poor soil. I'm weening the plants out of raised bed to make room for the summer garden, if she were flowering I probably would keep her. So if by the end of this month, there are no flowers you will not see her next month.
Strawberries: I noticed that somehow these plants rearranged themselves from when I planted them. So I pulled one of them out completely and put it in a little pot. And transplanted another one to a more roomy spot in the mini bed. The plants that were moved I cut off all the blooms and young fruits and hit them with some Soil Diva to ensure no shock from being moved. I cleaned up the mulch that was gross, and found tons and tons of pill bugs (rollie-pollies) and sprinkled diatomaceous earth. You can read my blog about my struggle here.
Herb bed: Booming. Even if you compare last month to this month it has grown so much. Oregano and peppermint we will need to start looking for recipes. The cilantro is bolting and once it flowers I will collect the seeds which are both seeds and a spice (coriander.) The purple sage is going green again. The cold made it very purple. Sage and rosemary are still struggling with powdery mildew. Thyme has sprouted.
Garlic: I think the garlic will be much happier now that I have removed the carrots. Rollie-pollies have also been hanging around my garlic which makes me very nervous. They were planted up on a mound. The mounds have since dissipated. I think I may move the soil again to remound the bulbs.
Unknown pepper: I'd love to say that my little pepper has seen better day but unfortunately... it's just always been a sad pepper. I have a crazy attachment and am just not ready to let go of him yet. So he's staying. He's staying sad right where he's at.
Leeks: I mentioned last month that I will likely transplant these to another location when I prep the bed for summer.
AeroGarden: The dill has just gotten to the point that it's not fun anymore. I will kill it this month. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I got the most from this plant. I'm okay growing this outside so I likely not do this in the AeroGarden again. The Basil has sprouted, I've already nipped off the top and the parsley keeps turning yellow fast. I've been considering trying to transplant the parsley in the herb bed, but I believe it will probably die when I do so I'm holding off.
Montressat Tomatoes: The tomatoes are happy so far. They will be staying right where they are. I have a few that are still in seed starting cells, if they make it, I will put them in the summer bed. Depending on how well they grow this month I will need to add the cages.
My young plants on my backyard table that will start making their way more into this section of the blog once I transplant them. The first photo is Jalepeno peppers and Carnival Mixed Peppers just sprouted or in the process of sprouting. The second photo are my 4 different varieties of beans that will need to be transplanted this month.
Harvesting:
Aside from the herbs peas are still being harvested. Crazy is that they are still kicking out flowers so I won't be pulling them out any time soon.
Preparing:
The 4x4 raised bed that we build is still empty. I'm not sure when I am going to be planting in here at this point. I do need to fill this box before building another bed. This sounds like a no brainer, but I really wanted to develop some of the ground in my backyard to make an in ground bed. However, my husband told me that I can not take up all of my dog's backyard. Here are all the weeds that are growing instead.
My main garden bed will be getting prepped for the summer garden. This included getting rid of the winter garden and adding soil amendments and then furthermore transplanting.
*Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
#whattogrow #Whattoplant #gardening #californiagarden #zone9 #garden #vegetable #homesteading #homestead #apartment #Blog #Spring #April #Summer