garden update

Shortly after I planted my seeds, we had a cool spell here in Burbank. And by cool, I mean the 70s. Nonetheless, I ended up rotting most of my seeds (pretty much everything- the beans, the jalepenos, the basil, and the other herb for jesse that I can never remember). The cucumbers came up, as did the tomatoes. I've replanted the others multiple times, but the seeds either dry out or rot. I can't seem to find the right water level. The weather here is hot now (in the 100s all last week), so I water, but the seeds rot, so then I replant and don't water and they never germinate. Oh well. At least we'll have cukes & maters.

Here are the cucumbers. 

I'm enjoying training the little tendrils to the stakes. Any plant behavior works for me! The other side of this long planter is full of beans. I'm determined to get some beans this summer. I plan on pickling beans this fall and I'm HOPING that they come from my garden.

Here are 2 of the tomato plants. I got 6 plants, which was going to be a little much, I realized, so I gave a couple to my friend David. 

While Southern California is a good place to grow things because of the reliable sunlight, it is not a good place for mosses and ferns. I set up a corner of my deck as my "Seattle corner", with 6 pots of moss and 6 of ferns. Every day I misted these friends, usually more than once per day, keeping the soil moist and drainage good. In spite of all of the love given to these plants, they have wilted and failed. A little bit of my heart cries when I lay eyes on this corner, but I tell that bit 'Don't you worry, some day we will take naps on moss and play in the rain again'.

Here is that sad little corner.

Most sad is the news that the katydid seems to be no longer in residence. She has been growing fast, with long green wings that have ornate veinage mimicking leaf veins. I spooked her earlier today and she flew! but just to the wall 2 feet away. I captured her and replaced her on her jasmine plant (on a new piece of lettuce) and left her alone. I figured I should take a picture of her, as she has changed so much since the last picture, but when I went to find her this afternoon, she was MIA. I scoured the plant, but I think she is gone. I'll look for her again and let you know if she turns up.

I think I'll go look right now...