Back In The Saddle I Suppose

Welp, after some fallow years (only for the garden, mind you), I'm back.

My fiancée died April 2022, and while I already wasn't gardening before that, it was because I was maintaining that family.  Unfortunately, I have no rights to the kids as I didn't make them, so their grandmother is in control now.  I'm slowly weaning them off me, as I don't want them confused.

So anyway!

Turns out there was a lovely person at work who was always just kinda waiting for me to be single, and she's very understanding of my grieving and my needs, and boy oh boy, does she want a garden!

So, we're turning and amending beds, already planted out some store garlic (that I'm pretty sure was red inchelium anyway), the turnips and scallions from the list below, and we'll get radishes in the ground probably this weekend.

So yeah, I'm back.  Life is what happens when you're busy making plans.

Buena Mulata Pepper
Golden Beet
Red of Florence Onion
Yellow Brandywine Tomato
Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Crenshaw Melon
French Breakfast Radish
Orange Habanero Pepper
Cal Wonder Bell Pepper
Thomas Laxton Pea
Marketmore Cucumber
Dar Cucumber
Ishikura Onion
Asuka Akane Turnip
Butterfly Weed Milkweed

Brainchasm,  Boy, have I missed you!   Good to hear from you again.   I'm sorry about your fiancé.  That hurts.

Are you going to help your friend from work set up a SFG garden?  Photos!  Looking forward to anything you post!

sanderson wrote:Brainchasm,  Boy, have I missed you!   Good to hear from you again.   I'm sorry about your fiancé.  That hurts.

Are you going to help your friend from work set up a SFG garden?  Photos!  Looking forward to anything you post!

She's in an apartment, so she's basically going to live vicariously (and also directly) through my raised beds.  She's tried growing things before without much success, so I'm teaching her the SFG method, but also the actual art and nuance from the bit I've learned over the years.

That's one twist on building good relationships in beds- garden beds that is Welcome back, Brainchasm

Welcome back, brainchasm!  Sounds like you have been through a lot and had some stuff to deal with, hang in there.  Gardening is therapy, and glad to hear the doctor is back!

Some of the garlic is already peeking up, and the melon seeds we put in trays and under a grow light on Sunday night, some are sprouted as of Wednesday morning, lol.  Gotta love cucurbits.

Welcome home, Brainchasm...  I'm sorry to hear about what's happened.  And glad you're back.

Overly delayed update:

All the cucumbers crashed at plant-out, and the melons we started indoors with them never sprouted, not a one.

Tomatoes hooked in fine and are just starting to flower.

Radishes we direct-seeded came up, got pulled, and some eaten so far!

Turnips we direct-seeded got pulled up today; not round...too much manure/nitrogen.  They taste fine though.

Went for melons Round 2 and direct-seeded once it got warm, and they are all sprouted!  Now I have too many, and need to cull.

Grocery store garlic came up, but it's small and weeny-looking.  It won't be a garlic year; we'll order when it's in season.

Onions are uppish, peppers sulked A LOT when we planted them out, some failed, but some are alive and kicking, but they're all growing up from having fell over (too leggy indoors).

Her parrot generates ridiculous amounts of compost from her veggies and seeds and such, but alas, I have no browns.  I'm pulling grass and weeds to let it dry out just to scare up some browns, lol.

Seems like Nevada (or maybe just Las Vegas) somehow outlawed compost?  Nothing to be had at any stores, save some basic manure and whatnot.  I used to be able to find chicken, veggie, mushroom, forest floor, etc and blend it all, but there was nothing last time we went out looking.

Oh, peas are up like gangbusters, and I'm expecting to see first flowers soon on those as well!

And that's the update.  I'll catch some pics when I can.

BC, I do hope for some photos. So many good photos were lost on that internet photo site when they held them hostage. They disappeared from our threads.

I remember your garden with cement blocks, driplines and shade cloth. You even planted the holes in the blocks and had a volunteer sunflower. When Newbies ask if they can garden in LV, I tell them about your garden and also the woman in AZ, TinySpock? She had table tops.

It looks like your university guidelines have garlic in October. I'm in Fresno, and my Master Gardeners has garlic for Jan 15-March 30. I'm experimenting with grocery soft necks with some squares planted in October and some this late January. No need for us desert folks to order garlic, when the chances are that the garlic in the stores is a California soft neck.

https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/CampusLife_Planting-Calendar-LasVegas.pdf

In regards to composts. Yep, a real dearth of real composts. During covid, everyone panicked and wanted to start a garden for food security. Seeds disappeared off the shelves as well as other supplies. Compost industries couldn't keep up with the demand. I think they started bagging composts before they were mature. Almost all of them have to be screened now.

Have you checked with the weed nursery suppliers? They sometimes have some really exotic composts. I found Malibu Bu's Blend at such a store. The finest compost I have ever seen. And only $20 a bag. Dr. Earth's Organic Compost is filled with wood and other material that resembles shredded bark. But, once screened, it's good.

Uppish!  I love this word!  I’m using it….