Kelly's Summer/Fall 2020 Container Garden

[MissS]

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.

What a wonderful learning experience for the two of you. It's so much fun to share gardening with your children. I love watching them doing these types of things. Their faces are so intent on their task and they are so proud when they are done. It always brings a smile to my face to watch them play in the dirt.

[Cultivator]

Dr Wyche's and Black Beauty sprouts inside under a cheap grow light, and the first bloom on my $0.50 clearance Cherokee Purple is opening (I pinched off the very first buds)!

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(The Black Beauty sprout at the edge of the cup was sown by Georgie)

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[Cultivator]

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Went to grab this caterpillar who was munching on my oregano and found this spider friend was already taking care of it for me! This is why we let spiders be. Thanks, friend!

[Cultivator]

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She helped me harvest herbs again this morning before it got hot out, I didn't realize she was wearing the same dress as last time lol. I made pesto with the basil, hung the oregano to dry, and the mint is marinating with chicken and a bunch of other seasonings for a curry for dinner tomorrow.

Bean update: I planted my beans too late, I'm finally stubbornly admitting it. Lots of flowers but they all fall off. Oh well, it's pretty and has been nice shade as well as something to learn from for next year.

[Cultivator]

Clearance Cherokee Purple update :

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[Cultivator]

Long time no update! Sorry bout that. Been busy. Here's some photos!

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Cherokee Purple is getting huge and has set at least 8 fruits already.

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Amaranth are enormous and going to seed any day now (hopefully right when my indoor fall tomato starts are ready to head outside so I can reuse those buckets)

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All three of my mints (Doublemint, Chocolate Mint, and Yerba Buena Mint) are doing very well.

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Zinnias are trying to go to seed so I've got little flower arrangements all over the house.

I'll add a pic of my indoor fall tomato starts in a bit. I also pulled the pole beans last weekend after they got infested with treehoppers and gave me no beans, planted another round in fresh dirt after cleaning out that box entirely (I also suspect they may have had mosaic virus). Sowed Indian coriander today as well. Starting carrots this month, too. I successfully rooted a sucker from my Cherokee Purple, so should hopefully have plenty of fall tomatoes. Rooting a Doublemint cutting as well. I have marigolds all over the garden doing well, calendula in the front, and more zinnias.

[Growing Coastal]

Everything looks good and the amaranth looks interesting. If the amaranth is near maturity and you need the buckets you could probably stand the root balls on the ground somewhere while the seeds ripened.

[Cultivator]

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They look even better today, but here's my fall tomato starts last night. I had to make some changes yesterday. They were way too leggy and stretched out, so I repotted them all deeper (up to the cotyledons because the cotyledons are still hanging on) and lowered my grow light closer to the plants. I also added a fluorescent craft light for extra light so they hopefully will get stronger before they get taller. This is my first time starting tomatoes from seed, so I'm learning a lot. I'm also bottom watering now with a tray underneath and I added more holes to the cups to help promote deeper root growth.

Also, I'm just gonna let the amaranth go as long as they want to. I can get more buckets if I need to.

[MsCowpea]

What an enthusiastic garden helper you have! Your garden containers look great.
Stunning amaranth. I never knew it grew like that. If you can grow in Texas heat I should try that striking variety in Fla.
I did just buy some Jamaican callaloo seeds which is a type of amaranth. They grow a lot of it near by. Used in callaloo soup but I have never grown it.
Your bargain CP tomato has done really well!

[KathyDC]

My first year growing from seed I grew all indeterminates in 5 gal buckets, they did very well and it was really nice not to bother with weeding! Just keep them well watered and you'll be just fine. I had a ton of tomatoes that year.

[bower]

Wow the Amaranth is amazing! I meant to start some this year but, one of the things that didn't happen. So nice to see your little girl growing up in the garden. Hope you get a great crop of fall tomatoes!

[Cultivator]

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Sweet Basil, Dark Opal Basil, Doublemint, Chocolate Mint, Yerba Buena Mint, and Zinnia harvest

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Cherokee Purples getting huge

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Planted Black Nebula carrots in a bucket today, in a mix of compost, perlite, and potting soil with bigger chunks sifted out by hand. I did 2" spacing so could only fit 15, probably could have put more but we'll see how they do. This is a learning year for me. This is my fourth time growing carrots and I'm hoping to get some big sweet ones this year.

Got Bt in the mail today to use on the webworms that are eating up my amaranth, but it's been pouring down rain all day so it'll have to wait. I also put my baby tomato plants on a chair on the porch a couple days ago to start hardening off. Going to plant them into 7 gallon grow bags very soon (maybe tomorrow). Next week, Japanese Giant Red mustard greens are getting planted, and next month the Texas Rose garlic I got at the farmers market along with the Red of Florence onion seeds are getting planted.

[Cultivator]

State of the garden this week! Beans have overtaken the trellis and have leaves bigger than my hand. Coriander, calendula, and holy basil are getting bigger every day. Red Knight marigolds are in bloom, thinking of harvesting and drying the flowers. Black Nebula carrots only had about 50% germination, so I stuck some more seeds in the bare spots. Zinnias, echinacea, marigolds, and curry plant are doing well on the shelf. Baby thyme is slowly growing. Japanese Giant Red mustard greens are putting out true leaves and taking on color. Amaranth are going to seed finally, this is the second set of heads I've harvested to hang dry in a brown paper bag. Tomatoes are doing very well but only two fruits so far, both Cherokee Purples and Dr. Wyche's have blossoms forming though. Herbs are doing very well still as well.

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[MissS]

You and Georgie have done a great job this year and have had a lot of fun doing it. I has made me happy to watch the two of you gardening together. I see that you are gearing up for Halloween. It's my very favorite holiday of the year. Are they going to allow the kids to Trick or Treat this year there?

[Cultivator]

You and Georgie have done a great job this year and have had a lot of fun doing it. I has made me happy to watch the two of you gardening together. I see that you are gearing up for Halloween. It's my very favorite holiday of the year. Are they going to allow the kids to Trick or Treat this year there?

Thank you! No rules against truck or treating that I know of, but we're personally not risking it. We're planning an Easter egg hunt of sorts indoors for G, and then will tape wrapped candies to skewers and stick them in the yard for any kids who come by. It's my favorite holiday as well!! Hoping we can still manage to make good memories.

[Cultivator]

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I am just the worst with keeping up here, sorry y'all! Since my last update, we harvested loads of purple beans, those two Cherokee Purples, lots of herbs and flowers. Got some Texas Tomato Food and now have over 60 fruits set between all 6 plants, and got a small greenhouse to let them ripen in. Befor the greenhouse got set up, the winds knocked some plants over and knocked a few green tomatoes off, so we made salsa verde. The beans hated the cold snap we had a few weeks ago and almost all their leaves died, but they've since regenerated and are setting beans again here and there. My calendula finally started blooming so I've been harvesting flowers to dry to make oil and salve. Marigolds are blooming like crazy and feeding all the bees, I've harvested and dried lots of their flowers as well for eating. My echinacea has started blooming slowly and is putting on a beautiful fall show. Speaking of showy, my Japanese Giant Red mustard greens are an intense purple and getting so huge. I've had one good harvest off of the three of them so far, and planted them too close to my pink plume celery but I'm still hoping the celery will be alright once the mustard dies back. My Black Nebula carrots are just about done, I pulled one last week to check and it was about as long as the bucket but had some thickening to do. The amaranth is slowly dying off, the stalks have turned a vibrant magenta and the flowers have almost all gone to seed.

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[Cultivator]

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!! Here's how my garden and tomatoes are doing.

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Georgie is holding our Christmas Day harvest and the last one is from earlier today when I forgot my basket.

[bower]

What a great Christmas garden. Your Georgie is a gorgeous girl! I hope you all have a wonderful year in 2021, safe and full of delicious bounty!

[Cultivator]

What a great Christmas garden. Your Georgie is a gorgeous girl! I hope you all have a wonderful year in 2021, safe and full of delicious bounty!

Thank you, same to you!

[Cultivator]

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Happy New Year! I picked eight pounds of tomatoes on my lunch break today.