Kelly's Summer/Fall 2020 Container Garden

[Cultivator]

Summer garden (all started from seed except the Genovese basil and Italian oregano):
- Love Lies Bleeding amaranth
- Purple Podded Pole Beans
- Echinacea (purple coneflower)
- Texas mountain laurel
- Genovese basil
- Italian oregano
- Red Knight marigolds
- Giant zinnias
- Hopi Red Dye amaranth
- Dark Opal basil
- various birdseed sunflowers that the birds and squirrels snuck into my containers

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[Cultivator]

I know, where are the tomatoes??? Those are for my fall garden, I wasn't brave enough in the spring to start tomatoes for the summer. They're coming, don't worry!

[Cultivator]

Okay, here's a tomato so this garden belongs here

I snagged this lone Cherokee Purple off the Lowe's clearance rack for $0.50 today when I was supposed to be buying a birdbath. I did get the birdbath, too, but I couldn't say no to a $0.50 heirloom plant. This evening, I pruned the leaves off half its stem and buried it in a 5 gallon bucket with compost and potting soil. I'll likely clip those bottom leaves once it gets a little bigger, I just wanted it to have enough to photosynthesize properly. It's under my covered patio where it'll probably stay, since it's insanely hot here right now. Here's hoping I'm able to rescue this plant and get a decent harvest off of it!

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[MsCowpea]

That is a very good deal for your Cherokee Purple tomato. Very pretty sunflower and amaranth. I guess nobody is escaping this heat wave in the U.S.

[Cultivator]

That is a very good deal for your Cherokee Purple tomato. Very pretty sunflower and amaranth. I guess nobody is escaping this heat wave in the U.S.

It was 108° here yesterday! Hot even for Texas, lol. Thank you!

[Cultivator]

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Today's basil and oregano harvest! It's worth mentioning that I was sure this basil plant was a goner back in April when it was suffering from a fungal issue due to too much moisture on the leaves. But with sunlight, mulch, patience, and frequent harvesting, it's provided an absolute abundance! This is my fourth major harvest from this plant this growing season, and I've harvested handfuls here and there in between major harvests.

[worth1]

IMG_20200715_104302_350.jpgToday's basil and oregano harvest! It's worth mentioning that I was sure this basil plant was a goner back in April when it was suffering from a fungal issue due to too much moisture on the leaves. But with sunlight, mulch, patience, and frequent harvesting, it's provided an absolute abundance! This is my fourth major harvest from this plant this growing season, and I've harvested handfuls here and there in between major harvests.

Yeah last year mine had black spots all over but I think I sprayed diluted bleach and it outgrew it.

[Cultivator]

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Here's how I dehydrate my basil without a dehydrator:
1. Wash
2. Salad spin dry
3. Pull leaves off and sprinkle onto dry baking sheet
4. Stick in 170° F oven and check on it every 30 mins until crispy (usually 90 mins for a full baking sheet)

[Cultivator]

The great thing about container gardening as a beginner gardener is being able to move plants easily instead of having to figure out ways to protect them while they're stuck wherever I planted them. I also get to baby my plants which gives me the opportunity to learn what they like best for when I eventually garden on a larger scale. Pulled my beans under the porch because they were getting sunscald and there's been a ton of new growth this week! Hopefully it'll be cool enough in the shade (they still get afternoon sun, porch faces southwest) to flower and fruit.

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Also, I'm loving the sneak peek of color on one of my giant zinnias.

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[Cultivator]

We're on a boil water notice until Friday, the plant for our area had a power failure last Friday. Not allowed to water outside until Wednesday, then not again until Saturday. I'm not sure how my plants will do, but here's hoping we get some rain. Seriously considering saving bathwater to use in the garden.

[worth1]

i had to pump water out of a creek one time to water new trees.
500 gallons at a time.

[Cultivator]

My daughter, running laps around my beans, sniffing my doublemint, and my snapdragons are going to seed with their little skull pods. Plus a few more shots of the garden now that everything is under the patio roof.

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[worth1]

Looks like your boil water notice has been lifted.

[Cultivator]

Looks like your boil water notice has been lifted.

Yep, they lifted it yesterday! Still under water restrictions, though. Hopefully we get rain this week!

[Cultivator]

Giant zinnias are opening up

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Basil and tender amaranth leaves that went on sandwiches for lunch

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I'm pretty sure these are flower buds on my beans finally!

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[Cultivator]

Love Lies Bleeding amaranth

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Red-stemmed apple mint called Doublemint (mentha x gracillus)

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Sweet Genovese basil with a spot from rain

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Restarted Hopi Red Dye amaranth in a water bottle cloche because the birds keep eating my seedlings

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Basil harvest helper

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$0.50 clearance rescue Cherokee Purple getting big and healthy

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[worth1]

Homemade pesto.
It freezes very well.

[Cultivator]

Homemade pesto.
It freezes very well.

This batch got dried again. I need to get some parmesan so I can make pesto next harvest.

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[Cultivator]

I might be crazy for doing this, but this is a year for experimentation and learning. We started fall tomato seeds today which will stay indoors for a while since it's insanely hot out this time of year. I've never started tomato from seed before, and I've never grown indeterminate varieties before, but I'm excited to see what happens! Georgie helped me sow two seeds per cup, they're Solo cups with holes drilled in the bottoms and filled with MG seed starting mix. I have LED grow lights that I will try to figure out once the seeds germinate. Growing Black Beauty and Dr Wyches Yellow. More fall seed starting later this month and next month, but these are the only tomatoes along with my clearance rescue Cherokee Purple that we're trying this year. They'll be grown in 5 gallon buckets and a big pot (maybe 20" diameter?) which used to hold a Satsuma Mandarin tree years back. We're going to stake them as single vine plants and prune heavily.

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[Cultivator]

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Now that's a bean flower!