I got a little crazy tonight and planted my tomatoes! I added rabbit poop to all the holes, then sprinkled around the top. I didn't take an "after" pic, because I had a bunch of cardboard smothering the weeds in the other 1/4 of the garden (summer squash will go there), and I moved those over to put between the rows here. She seeing as they are half decomposed, it looks a little junky .

24 plants out, I'm tired

The forecast said nothing about wind, but it was blowing strong last night. I looked at the forecast to see when it would stop, and everything was like "What wind?". If I'd known, of have put mulch on the cardboard. I went out to inspect the damage and one plant was broken in half from cardboard blown on top of it, but the rest were fine. I'm debating whether to let the plant grow or plant another. It broke above lower branches, so it'll grow new leaders. But I have extras. Today, mulch will go down.

The broken plant wasn't completely broken, and was still alive when I checked it this afternoon, so I taped it all together with grafting tape. Maybe it'll hold. I put thick mulch down, so the cardboard should stay put. The plants all look great. Last year I had a weird year of unhealthy seedlings. The first time I planted out, most died. I had backups, those died too. By the time some finally took, I was planting my plant sale plants and didn't have all the varieties I wanted. This year, they're acting like normal. It ended up fine, but not great. This year should be excellent.

I posted my plant sale on some local gardening groups, and said I'd trade for berry plants. So far I'm getting blackberries (they're not wild and invasive here, so that's a good thing), and garden huckleberries, which I think are actually related to tomatoes.

Plant sale is tomorrow, and it'll be windy . Of course. I might be selling them from the ground instead of tables. I'm so worried no one will show. I'll put up fliers today, but I worry. I live not too far from a major road, but there's road construction, so that'll limit the traffic. I need to stop worrying, people will show up.

Alright, guys, come get plants

Wow, that's brilliant!

Hope you sell out !!

I did not sell out, not even close. I did sell mostly to people who did NOT want plain red tomatoes. I don't think I sold even 1 mortgage lifter. But Berkeley Tie Dye was popular, and KARMA Purple Multiflora, and Azoychka. So that made me feel good, and people were so excited about the different varieties. I made up a sheet with a picture of each tomato, and a little description, and printed it on cardstock, so people could carry it around and find which tomatoes they wanted, that worked so well.

I'll sell again next week, and probably take random orders through the week. Whatever works to sell these guys.

Dawn wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 10:59 am Alright, guys, come get plants IMG_20210501_084409412_HDR~2.jpg

Those are nice! I would want some.

Amateurinawe wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 11:12 am Wow, that's brilliant!

Don't show your wife!

[mention]Growing Coastal[/mention] lol, yes , a very quick remediation to a growing problem - quite literally. However, I have committed to planting the first tranche out this weekend and moving others to clear further space. I am watching the local emsworth free ads for "tomato plants for sale to good homes" closely.....(note from wife: tomato loving husband available for free hire :-0 )

After last week's sale, I took down the greenhouse and left the tomatoes in trays on the ground. This would have been fine, but then the wind just blew like mad all week. I decided, survival of the fittest, and by this morning, many of the leaves were pretty chewed up. Lots of the plants were fine, but I didn't want to try and sell them. So I took out all of my special ones that I didn't want to give away. Berkeley Tie Dye, Cherokee Green, Stump of the World, Girl Girl, etc. And put the rest next to the sidewalk with a free sign. People were much nicer this time than last time I gave plants away. People were more likely to come get them when I was outside. One guy knocked on the door "are they really free?". 2 people insisted on giving me money for them. One gave me $3, the other $5, for like, 20 plants each . Everyone was happy.

I used to take plants to sales events... you never want to pack them up and cart them home again. At closing time I made sure they went to someone else's home instead. It's the best you can make of it, and as you say... everyone happy.

The money I made from the sale bought me 3 fruit trees, a raspberry and blackberry bush. The fruit trees are a donut peach, french prune (plum), and a pluot tree. After I got home, I found out the pluot needed a pollinator. The nursery didn't have any other pluots or japanese plums, and the french plum wouldn't work, nor the dozen apricot trees next door. Then I remembered a tiny plum tree I planted last year that barely survived called Red Prairie, an American plum. I looked it up and it seems like it'll do. It's only a foot tall this year, but it'll grow. I have a Nanking Cherry from the same order, also barely held on last year (ordered from one of those cheap plant websites, don't do that ), that also might work, but I couldn't find a definite answer on that one.

Today, I'll steal part of the backyard from the dogs, and plant the trees and bushes in there. My young dog still loves eating my plants. She doesn't challenge fences though, so the plants will be safe behind the fence. I'll also plant the saved tomato plants from the sale back there, I'll just let them sprawl. I had a bunch of winter squash sprout from my compost garden, so I'll move those back there too, and throw some flower seeds around.

These are the poor beasties that had their yard taken back. The rabbits live on the other side of the white fence, so the border collie is always there watching them. They still have plenty of space, though. It'll be nice having them removed from the neighbor's fence. They're nice neighbors who like having barbecues. We try to keep the dogs inside when they're out there, but we can't all the time. Cooper (the big brown one) likes to bark at them. Eventually, vegetation will block their view.

It's very hard for a dog when sausages are cooking on the Barbeque....

Especially a Cooper dog who is consistently underfed, according to him.

That's the main topic of conversation at the stressed dogs anonymous meetings, "our owners just don't feed us enough".

We have two whippets who look up wistfully once their bowls licked clean.

I found this growing in the compost garden (I made a garden bed by throwing all my kitchen scraps in the raised bed and topping it with dirt). I was about to pull it, there are Chinese elm seeds sprouting all the time, when I realized it looked like an apricot tree. I used plant ID app, and it said the same. Also said wild plum, and once said apple, but apricot was always first guess. I'm assuming this was from the neighbor's trees. They line the area between his place and mine, it used to be a doctor's office, but he's not practicing anymore, so I think he just lives there.

The cover has been off the greenhouse for a couple weeks. Today, I took the rug out that was on the bottom (there was an iris trying to grow under it, it had no color, those things are tenacious), and planted my luffas, cucamelons, and lemon cuke seeds. I know the luffas can get pretty crazy, one per corner might be too much, we'll find out. I then planted my peppers (Aleppo, Biquinho red, lipstick, and Thai chili), and eggplants. Then planted cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon seeds. Summer squash and bush beans are next. I also sprouted a bunch of kiwi berry (Hardy kiwi) seeds and they grew really well, not sure where I'll put them. I have 12 plants . They're supposed to be vigorous growers. To get fruit, you need a male and one or more female plants, I don't know how to tell those apart yet, so I guess I'll plant them all.