Friday, June 26, 2009

What's blooming today: a tour

The peas are done.



This hot weather did them in earlier than I'd hoped. My weekend plans include removing the vines to the compost bin. I'll decide in the next few weeks if I want to try for a fall crop or if I'll bend to my hubby's wishes and scrap those planters in favor of more open floor space.

So now it's time to move on to the warm weather crops!



Eggplant – Fairy Tale

OMG – so pretty!! If I follow Burpee's note to expect fruit after 50 days, I figure I still have 2 weeks to go. Will it really take that long? Or did the intense heat lately cause it to bloom early?




Sweet Pepper – Great Stuff

I figure it'll be a month and a half until harvest, if I even get one. None of the peppers look too good. They aren't getting the best light: the planters on the railing shade them. I wonder how they'd handle being transplanted. I'm afraid I screwed this up. :(




Green Bean

These looked a little wilted when I got home last night, but after a very thorough watering they were back to being quite perky this morning. Something has been damaging the leaves; I'm still trying to work that one out.




Sweet Basil – the Troublemaker
I'm labeling it "troublemaker" because every time I turn my back it sprouts a new flower spike. Doesn't it know flowers will make the leaves bitter?! Stupid plant.




Nasturtium - peaches + cream

Very pretty and tasty – I threw a few in a salad the other day. They're decent as a cut flower, lasting 4-5 days.




Trailing Lantana

It's been blooming on and off. It just started again after a 2-week break. I've had a bit of trouble with the basket it's in blowing around and breaking the hardwood stems, but it's still grown a lot. It was an impulse buy from Lowe's.




Strawflower

I once read that it's classified as an herb, but I haven't learned of a use for it. If I can bear to, I'll pinch off a few stems to dry. It keeps wonderfully well for dried flower arrangements.

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos! Question for ya, my basil is trying to bloom too, are you supposed to pinch the flowers off, or what? First time with gardening...

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  2. Hi! Yeah – generally, once basil starts blooming the leaves are more bitter. Usually the only time people let them flower is if they want to produce seed. And if you pinch the flowers off the plant will put more energy into making leaves. Plus you can use the flowers to cook with.

    I just pinched all the buds off my basil, had almost enough to make a batch of pesto (I had to harvest a few leaves to get enough for the recipe, but) it turned out great!

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