Mostly Good News

 First the less than great news. This tomato bed was the second one started. It really is quite a ways behind the first ones. The 2nd and 3rd one in the front both got topped by a giant rat (deer). They still look happy, if a bit runty. I am curious if I'll get much from them.

Front row: A Grappoli D'Invierno, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine. Back row: Cherokee Purple, UNKNOWN!

The strawberries seem happier in their new location and out of the pot, but I'm not seeing a ton of berries. Kale seems to be flourishing, but leaves keep turning brown. I think the rocks get very hot, which neither of these seem to like too much.

Cucumbers are a very weird mix of dying and aggressive growth. The new growth seems pretty healthy. I guess I should prune out the dead/dying leaves. I DO have a large number of flowers.

Zucchini seems very happy here. Harvested 13 lbs already. Does not appear to be slowing down.

BUT seeing the first sign of vine borers. The little brown junk to the right of the strange foam is vine borer sign. If I can overcome my nervousness, I may go bug hunting with an exacto knife, see if I can help this one.

The rampicantes charge to the rescue.

Rampicante close up.

Not certain which pepper this is, likely Big Jim or Anaheim. The pepper is almost as big as the plant. I think this pepper would be happier in a 2 gallon pail. 1 liter of dirt ain't cutting it! I should do an experiment with different sized pots and try and find the sweet spot.

Beans definitely happy. The Black Cherry tomato stuck in the back there seems pretty happy too.

These peppers (type? shrug) got about 10x happier after mulching.

These guys really don't seem to have enough soil. Until a week or so ago, the planter itself was only about half full. And no mulch. Seemed to dry out very quickly, but the plants were still doing pretty well. I filled up the planter with dirt (nothing fancy, just yard dirt). And I mulched with some old leaves and tiny sticks that I cleaned out of the driveway. They seemed happy with this, and I am thinking of hanging some rope from the gutter to use as a crude trellis. 

The basement peppers have been sporadically harvested, but it's getting to be time to do a big harvest. Need to come up with a plan for what to do with them. Might roast on the grill and then freeze. Would be great in soup/omelette/cornbread/whatever throughout the year. Also mulches them with that same leaf/stick litter.

Anaheims baby! The only downside is there are only 5 plants here. I wonder how many peppers I will end up with. I was worried they might be too crowded, but they seem to be doing extremely well. 

The kale in the back is doing so much better than the kale in the stone planter. What's more I think there is almost enough kale to supply my needs in this one patch. Would almost certainly be enough if I had this whole area planted.

The long beans are climbing. I don't know how big they will get.

Tomatoes in the stone beds are doing crazy well. If feel like I should be growing two in each square since they seem VERY crowded, I guess we'll see how they do.

Front: Cherokee Purple, Black Cherry. Back: Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter

Front: Roma, Hungarian. Back: A Grappoli D'Invierno, Beefsteak