Updates On Miscellaneous Plants and Gardens

Looking back through my posts I realized there are a few things I've neglected to mention, so here's a list of all the things I should have mentioned, but didn't.

• The Repels-All seemed to keep the critters away for several weeks. I have not had time to re-apply it, so I'm still having to put up with chippie holes in my garden. They don't dig far, just enough to make an indentation. I found a hole outside my garden and I fill it in with rocks and pebbles every day. If I ever get to Lowes, I'm going to get some expanding insulation and fill in his hole for good!

• I have two container garden tomatoes; one has 2 or 3 plants that didn't fit into my garden plan and the other has one of my experiment tomatoes. They have both grown well, but I have to water them every day as they dry out very quickly. Somehow I ended up with a Calendula plant in one of them. It doesn't get much sun since the tomatoes are so bushy, but I'll leave it there and see what happens.
• Back in July I mentioned I was going to try and root some Basil and Lemon Balm. The Basil was a huge success! I took the cuttings on July 5'th and planted them 6 days later on the 11'th. I'm still working on the Lemon Balm, but have finally gotten some to root.
  
• Our herb container garden is doing well, except for the Lovage. I think it's getting to much shade from the Fennel and Pineapple Sage.
• I bought 2 Clematis plants to climb the lattice and make it look a little nicer. They seem to be doing well.
  
• My Brandywine Tomatoes have gotten blossom end rot for the second year in a row. I don't think I'll grow quite as many next year. I've been giving them more water, fertilizing and cutting off runners and some of the larger leaves in an effort to get more calcium to the tomatoes. It seems a little bizarre since Brandywines are supposed to be the easiest heirloom tomato to grow. On the other hand, the Mrs. Benson tomatoes have had no problems and are producing much larger fruits than I expected.

Farewell~
Sarah

Culinary Fun, Tomatoes, and To-Do Lists

Did you all enjoy your Labor Day Weekend? I know I did. We had a wonderful picnic on Monday, complete with hot dogs, sausage, baked beans, and (my specialty) grilled potato skins. I even got to use a fresh-picked tomato! Tuesday I made Pesto Chicken for dinner. It turned out really well, as did my experiment of putting some pesto on tomato slices and broiling them.

I have good news, and no, I didn't save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico(R). The slugs seem to have vanished from my garden! I'm not sure what persuaded them to leave, but I don't really care, as long as their gone.
My tomatoes have finally started to ripen. The Mrs. Benson tomatoes are very large, weighing between 8 and 15 ounces each. So far I have not gotten any Brandywine tomatoes; the ones that ripened got blossom end rot. I'm somewhat surprised since Brandwines are supposed to be very easy to grow, and not prone to disease. I guess end rot is exempt since it's not a disease, but a calcium deficiency in the fruit. If I can get to the garden center some time soon, I will try to find a calcium spray for the leaves, so more calcium can get to the tomatoes. In the meantime, I've been trimming the plants of unnecessary leaves and runners in an effort to keep the leaves from absorbing all the calcium. I'm also fertilizing and watering the plants more often.

Due to the cooler weather most of the flowers have slowed their seed production, but I'm still getting seeds from Calendula, Cosmos, Anise Hyssop, and Salvia plants. On the To-Do List this fall is revamping my flower garden, and finishing the new bed around the mailbox. The bed around the mailbox will be getting Lavender and Rose Campion. I'm not sure what else is planned for it. For my flower bed, we are going to put in a mix of peat moss, top soil, compost, and sand. We're also going to reshape the border to make it look more like a circle than a wavy line.

Farewell For Now~
Sarah