It gets HOT here in Los Angeles so this is the time of year I'm typically in the house by the air conditioning or in the pool. My garden gets neglected.
Last year, in addition to this cyclical neglect, my knees were bad and that slowed me down. In March when I'd typically be thinking about cleaning up my garden and getting it ready for Spring planting, I was in the hospital getting both knees replaced. Then there was pain and rehab for several more months. So in early July when it was getting about as hot as it does out here, I finally had had enough sitting on my butt and began reclaiming my garden. I didn't take any "Before" pictures. ...just don't know why it didn't occur to me to take pictures of 7' tall weeds. But it's done! And I've begun planting a VERY late Summer garden and I did take pictures of that!
This tall raised bed is in a shadier area. It will have root crops. Right now it's seeded with carrots, watermelon radishes and golden beets. The seed packs are nasturtiums I pulled up and "rescued" to plant someplace more appropriate when they've grown on some.
This one next to the first gets a little more sun. It has zucchinis. No-one needs this many zucchini but a six-pack was all I could find. Happily, there's a food bank at a church near me. I'm sure they'll be able to get rid of what we don't use.
This one gets full out sun and has a 3 year old stand of strawberry plants. It's so full they're starting to try to escape through the side!
This spot is for growing in-ground. I've got Kentucky pole beans that will use the chainlink as their trellis. They'll screen out the compost area. In the ground are corn seeds -- hope there's still time for them! -- with purple pole beans planted to grow using the corn stalks for tellises and wax bush beans planted in between.
The next bed has another zucchini and cilantro.
The one next to that has a red bell pepper and a jalapeño pepper at the front and a pumpkin vine that will grow small pumpkins at the back. I plant to train it up the trellis and support the pumpkins with panty hose or something as necessary.
This bed has an established zucchini. How many zucchini could I possibly need??? But I thought this one was a yellow crook neck squash when I bought the zucchini six-pack. If I find a yellow cross neck squash I'll replace the smaller zuke.
It already has a decent number of male and female zukes so I should be able to fertilize them as soon as the blossoms open.
My last bed has a rescued tomato that volunteered from the seeds of last years that the birds were kind enough to "plant" for me. There are also parsley and basil and green onions will come up from seed in the ground in front of the box.
Finally, it's FAR too hot for lettuce. It would bolt in about an hour in Los Angeles in August. But this pot I found at the garden center would just be so pretty with fluffy lettuces growing in it so I planted it and it's residing in a sunny window in my family room.
Last year, in addition to this cyclical neglect, my knees were bad and that slowed me down. In March when I'd typically be thinking about cleaning up my garden and getting it ready for Spring planting, I was in the hospital getting both knees replaced. Then there was pain and rehab for several more months. So in early July when it was getting about as hot as it does out here, I finally had had enough sitting on my butt and began reclaiming my garden. I didn't take any "Before" pictures. ...just don't know why it didn't occur to me to take pictures of 7' tall weeds. But it's done! And I've begun planting a VERY late Summer garden and I did take pictures of that!
This tall raised bed is in a shadier area. It will have root crops. Right now it's seeded with carrots, watermelon radishes and golden beets. The seed packs are nasturtiums I pulled up and "rescued" to plant someplace more appropriate when they've grown on some.
This one next to the first gets a little more sun. It has zucchinis. No-one needs this many zucchini but a six-pack was all I could find. Happily, there's a food bank at a church near me. I'm sure they'll be able to get rid of what we don't use.
This one gets full out sun and has a 3 year old stand of strawberry plants. It's so full they're starting to try to escape through the side!
This spot is for growing in-ground. I've got Kentucky pole beans that will use the chainlink as their trellis. They'll screen out the compost area. In the ground are corn seeds -- hope there's still time for them! -- with purple pole beans planted to grow using the corn stalks for tellises and wax bush beans planted in between.
The next bed has another zucchini and cilantro.
The one next to that has a red bell pepper and a jalapeño pepper at the front and a pumpkin vine that will grow small pumpkins at the back. I plant to train it up the trellis and support the pumpkins with panty hose or something as necessary.
This bed has an established zucchini. How many zucchini could I possibly need??? But I thought this one was a yellow crook neck squash when I bought the zucchini six-pack. If I find a yellow cross neck squash I'll replace the smaller zuke.
It already has a decent number of male and female zukes so I should be able to fertilize them as soon as the blossoms open.
My last bed has a rescued tomato that volunteered from the seeds of last years that the birds were kind enough to "plant" for me. There are also parsley and basil and green onions will come up from seed in the ground in front of the box.
Finally, it's FAR too hot for lettuce. It would bolt in about an hour in Los Angeles in August. But this pot I found at the garden center would just be so pretty with fluffy lettuces growing in it so I planted it and it's residing in a sunny window in my family room.
