Garden Journal Entry #4: End Of May
End of May Updates
May has had lots of sunshine and a decent amount of rain, though I expect summer storms to really start in the first two weeks of June, as we are out of school and this is what always kicks off summer vacation.
I have to admit I neglected the garden a bit and there were some stretches of no watering. Everything managed to bounce back though, as it always does, with a good drink.
May 16: Figured out it is birds that are eating my strawberries. Brought the strawberry trays inside my back porch. Not as much sunlight but no birds. We'll see. Do not have high expectations for these.
May 17: Read about propagating herbs and decided to try it. Took cuttings from my dying rosemary bush and the small amount of lavender that has looked so puny for so long. From everything I read, all you need to do is make a cut at the bottom of a healthy stem, place it in water and sunshine, and wait for roots to sprout. Some people say dip it in a root stimulator (store bought or cinnamon apparently works), but I didn't do that. It seems that lots of people do this inside their house all year long.
May 18: Found some self-watering pots on sale at Target (score!) and finally decided to try planting my over-ripe and sprouted garlic. I have four pots, and put two-three bulbs in each. I completely buried one clove about three inches down with the sprout end up. I'm storing these on the back porch (mostly out of the sunlight) and keeping the soil moist but not too wet.
May 20: Have been harvesting spinach, basil, and cilantro and making really yummy salads for lunch.
May 20: Picked and ate five delicious (though small) strawberries today. The girls loved them.
May 23: Harvested a big bunch of cilantro and made cilantro lime chicken for dinner.
May 25: Noticed one of my garlic bulbs has finally poked through the top of the soil. Very exciting.
May 28: Major nighttime thunderstorms but sunny all day; harvested sweet mint, peppermint, and lemon balm for herb-infused water.
May 29: Lots more rain at night and sun during the day.
May 31: My kids counted 28 tomatoes growing total. Also, it seems one of my little rosemary herbs in water has finally sprouted a root. From what I've read, once one starts, the rest tend to come all at once. Very hopeful.
Thoughts For June
I'm hoping this is the final week of life in my current house. As soon as I hear from the carpet guy and get an installation date, I'm sending out the email for moving plans. Next weekend?! Haven't closely scoped out the new place for where to deposit the garden. Also haven't decided what to do with my raspberries (which I want at my new house) and the stuff in the compost bed.
- Need to fertilize in the next few days and give everything a scoop of coffee grounds.
- Spray pepper plants with epsom salt water.
- Cover raspberries with a net to prevent birds from eating everything again.
- Transplant rooted herbs in water to soil.
