Spring Garden Update: Week 5
The tomato plants were becoming a tangle of vines, so I bought some galvanized cages for $1.97 a piece. They had some really cool looking colored ones, but at $4.99 a pop I passed. I should have caged/staked the plants earlier, but was able to get them into the cages without much damage.
The tomatoes in the raised bed are doing well. The Brandywine and Black Prince are the tallest. The Brandywine has one small tomatoe and is loaded with flowers. The only other plant that has tomatoes on it is a Big Boy. A picture of the fruit is posted below.
The three tomato plants in pots are also growing well. The Early Girls (the two on the left) are starting to flower. The Celebrity is also beginning to flower. If my plants produce well I am going to be giving tomotoes away to my neighbors!
To assist in yielding the most tomatoes I can I applied the second round of organic fertilizer. Each plant got 1/3 of a cup and I mixed it into the soil. Fertilizer is something new this year, and so far I have noticed the plants are growing faster, and they are a deeper green.
The yellow squash flowers began opening this week. The plant is loaded with buds. The zucchini is in a similar situation. I am eagerly waiting to see what happens when the flowers fall off. I assume a small squash will grow out, though I am not certain after my squah/zucchini failure of Summer 2011.
With regard to watering, the garden is getting 20-25 minutes with a soaker hose in the evening. Ideally I would like to water in the morning, but it is still dark when I wake up. As it continues to get lighter earlier, I think I will switch up my watering schedule.
Looks like everything is growing really well!
Everything is growing very well so far! I am excited that we may actually get a squash or two. I’m also considering adding a second raised bed to serve as a herb garden.
It’s looking good! I’m about in your shoes on the plants. I just posted new pictures (on my blog), like yours. My squash is way behind
. How about a timer on your watering system?
I thought about putting a timer on it, but the spigot I run the hose from leaks (out of the top). Until I can replace that, I just hook up the hose by hand and turn it on. I don’t want to lose/waste a lot of water during the day. By the way, thanks for the comment!