Trying Sweet Potatoes

I bought some sweet potatoes from Home Depot on Sunday...8 plants for $3. They were around 10 inches high and looked pretty healthy. The brand was Bonnie...the variety Beauregard.

They were planted today. I put 4 in the back of the garden (less sun) and 4 in the front of the garden (more sun). They went directly in my sandy, dry soil. Supposedly sweet potatoes are OK for that.

Let the experiment begin.

Oh Four Four

I am officially 0 - 4 in my summer plantings. 9 days ago I planted:

Queen Anne Blackeye Peas
Peking Black Southern Pea
Wild Cherry - Tomato Cherry
Georgia Green Collards

The QA peas came up and were eaten immediately. I think a few PB peas came up a few days later. Those were eaten immediately also. The other two are MIA. Maybe it takes 2 weeks for them to germinate. Who knows? (Not me).

Anyways, I am now trying to do some starter pots for the seeds. Maybe I can transplant them when they are larger.

The round green pots contain QA Peas. The round black pots contain PB peas. The other is a mix and match of the other two. I put the pots under the potting table. I don't think they need direct sunlight yet and I am worried about them drying out. I went ahead and put them in pans of water to get them through the day. It is just an experiment.

Bean seedlings getting eaten

My bean seedlings are getting eaten by something. The seeds pop up really nicely, then overnite, the tops get eaten. I initially thought it was racoons or some animal. I tested this by placing small plastic planters over the sprouts in the evening. In the morning though, the lanters were undisturbed but the seedlings were still eaten.

grass fertilization

Last weekend I fertilized the grass with a 29-3-4 weed and feed. I also put a bug killer down.

Cuke Problems

My Cukes are problematic. I have tried a number of things....here are the latest results.

Type: Burbee Straight Eight seeds

Problems: Mold/Fungus - light white spots that look like mold.

Also, loosing leaves...I get new growth but then the new leaves go bad pretty quickly.

I tried a milk spray and Ortho Garden Disease Control.

I did get a number of cukes that I ate fresh and jarred.

My Orchid

I bought an orchid from the orchid lady on business 41 last month. I asked for something 'with the best chance for survival'. It lives under the backyard oak with a staghorn. I have been hitting it with a hose a couple of times a week...kinda like fake rain.

Type: Dendrobium Hollywood

Tomato Results

The last batch of tomatoes are now out. The best of the bunch were Bush Champions. These were bought from the venice farmer's market guy.

1st Summer Plantings

Today, I planted the following in 4 of my planters:
Queen Anne Blackeye Peas
Peking Black Southern Pea
Wild Cherry - Tomato Cherry
Georgia Green Collards

All of these are from seeds purchased from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

I emptied two of the planters and remixed the soil.
For fertilizer I mixed in a Lesco 8-10-10 Palm and Tropical fertilizer.
Why that fertilizer? Cause that is what I got.

What do I really want to accomplish

To feed my family fully on the bounty of the land. Well....that goal died fairly early on based on my first plantings.

Actually, my first goal was to get rid of the grass in my backyard. This I accomplished with Great White Shark methodical killing efficiency. All it took was my gardening skills. It was funny because only after the grass died did I realize that it was a goal of mine.

Skip ahead three or four years.....

My latest goal is to learn how to grow one useful vegetable a year. The list so far:
1. Tomatoes - My skill is a 6 out of 10. I get varieties from the local farmers market and have varying success. Usually I get some good tomoatoes each season.
2. Peppers - These are easy so I give myself 8 our of 10. I just don't like peppers so the success is blunted.
3. Cucumbers - This years project. My plants start off with a bang but end with wilt, worms, fungus, etc. I did get enough cukes to jar up soome pickes so I call it a 3 out of 10.

Failures: Watermelon , corn, cantelope, onions, squash, etc. Not a single inch of fruit from any of these.

I am an Unsuccessful Gardener

I am an unsuccessful, frustrated gardener. Plants fear me. They fear when I purchase them. They fear when I pay them attention. They fear my neglect.

I really suck at gardening.

But my main failing, is that I am also disorganized. So frankly, I can't even learn from my mistakes.

Even my successes are failures.

What were those tomatoes that grew so well? Where did they come from? When did I plant them? Did I spray them with anything? Would a monkey have a better chance at reproducing those tomatoes than me? (the answer is yes).

So in hopes that I could possibly learn from what the hell I did in the past, I am putting together this journal to track my goings on in the garden. Maybe, just maybe, I might learn something.