A Big Oopsie!

I really wonder where my head is at sometimes. I was out picking the peas (which are growing up and along the tomato cages) and I noticed what I thought was a an escaped tomato branch. Nope. It was a whole nother friggin' plant! I dug up marigold seedlings from one of my containers and planted them around the tomatoes. Turns out they were tomatoes, not marigolds. I have NO IDEA what type of tomatoes they are nor how the heck the seeds survived over the winter in my compost bin. I also planted some in the Victory Garden around the potatoes to keep away the beetles and haven't gone over there to check if they are indeed marigolds or wayward tomatoes.
The potatoes that were also growing in the bin are doing quite nicely in the yard now. However I noticed a few more in there when I was turning it the other day. No more potatoes, please.
Not so sure how well the melons are going to fare. The previous owner of Victory Garden home came by (he definitely does not own the house and was trespassing just as much as we are) and decided he didn't like the trellis so he took them down! Trampling all over the itsy bitsy melon seedlings in the process. I planted what I had left of the seeds about a week ago and still nothing. The melons were a stretch anyway. It was just something new to try.
Oh and last but not least - the caterpillar is an American Lady

What caterpillar?

Out weeding today - damn maple tree - and I found this guy hanging out. I went through 12 pages at bugguide.net and haven't been able to find it! Not sure if it a 'good' bug or a 'bad' bug. I am thinking black swallowtail but sent an email to my regional field coordinator for butterflies to check. Usually they don't have the red dots which is why I question its kind.

Staked the tomatoes today and the Sungolds are starting to flower. My handy book Trowel and Error says it is now time to water with epsom salt. 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water. The raspberries are now in full harvest mode. I am thinking I have gotten at least 2 pints in the paste 3 days! I love fresh raspberries.
So, I planted Garden Purslane a l-o-n-g time ago in some window boxes and was caring for what I though was purslane very diligently. Apparently they were weeds! The purslane has succulent leaves and they finally emerged from the soil. Light dawns and out went the weeds and in more purslane seeds. Now I think I got it down pat!

Backyard visitors

I don't think I ever mentioned that I have tons of bird feeders, birdbaths and bird houses around the yard. This week parents have been bringing their 'kids' to visit. Here is a juvenile cowbird. He sat in that feeder for a good 10 minutes with no help from mom and dad and he wasn't at all concerned with the dogs hanging around.

Here is the whole nuthatch clan. Not sure if it was mom or dad but you can see one of the kids getting fed. This family makes me laugh. One of the kids flies from tree to feeder back and forth with its parent just begging for something to eat. But never attempting to get seed from the suet feeder himself!

Not the best picture but these downy woodpeckers move so fast it is the best I could get. This is the dad giving a snack to his young one. Mom was in and out days before flying from feeder to the tree out front. Leave it to the guy to go about it the lazy way!

The peas have arrived - FINALLY

So this year I didn't pull them out because apparently tomatoes and peas make good neighbors. I left the peas in and they have finally started producing. Not nearly in the abundance that they did in years past but I guess that is what I get for using gajillion year old seeds!
And do you remember this is what the raspberries looked like on April 11 and here they are today.

And they are already producing berries. Still pink but in a few days they will definitely be ready to pick!
The heavy rain over the past week definitely killed some of the seedlings but I have dropped seeds in the same spots so hopefully everything turns out ok.
Something is nibbling on my eggplant leaves so I need to mix up a concoction of some sorts to ward away the pests. I am thinking hot pepper, garlic, water and dish soap should do the trick no matter what pesky pest it may be.

Picking up the mess

Woah! Yesterday's storm left a crazy mess. The rain came down so hard and heavy it looked like hail. My poor melon and delicata squash seedlings may not have survived : (
The corn/spaghetti squash plot is flooded - so much for good drainage.
However the potatoes are still standing. The ones I found growing in my compost bin and replanted look great! The ones I planted from my organic produce delivery - not so much.
There are branches, twigs and bunches of leaves everywhere! And the city doesn't do a yard waste pick up for another two weeks. I already have two full barrels (courtesy of my neighbors weeds and overgrown shrubs). We don't have a dump here and I don't own a chipper. I would really like one but they cost a lot!
So here are some more pictures of things in bloom here:
Astrantia growing alongside the bush

Nora Barlow Columbine

Ok, so not technically a bloom but this painter's palette is growing like crazy - everywhere! It fills in the shady areas nicely

And last but not least the Lamium

Spring Blooms

These roses were here when I got here not really sure what they are.

These black pansies heavily reseed! If one didn't bloom early I would have taken them out as weeds.

For the life of me I cannot remember what this bush is!!! My sister gave it to me last year and I must have thrown out the tag : ( It does smell heavenly though!

Impatients

Blue Girl Rose - they smell like lemons!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Whew...so much has been planted over the past three days. I put 6 tomatoes in my yard 2 of each - chocolate cherry, green zebra and sungold. Four of the zucchini went in my yard and the other two went to Tom for his last grow box. Around my zukes I dropped in some nasturtum seeds to keep away bugs and to add some color. I planted Kentucky Blue Wonder beans over in the V-yard and the Purple Stringless here. I put those on the back bean tower in the hopes that they will be easier to harvest since they are purple! The rest of the chocolate cherry and green zebras went across the street. The last of the sungolds didn't look so hot so I just may give them away :).
Today 36 corn plants went in. This year I started them in peat pots and regular old potting soil and in less than a week I had shoots and roots coming out from the bottom. Around the corn I put in spaghetti squash and next week I will add either edamame or bush beans - going with the old "three sisters" plan of attack.
The only things left waiting to be planted are the eggplant, melons, delicata squash and cucumbers. My cukes weren't coming up even after two weeks so I added additional seeds into the green slam pots and wrapped the marketmore in damp paper towels stuck in a tupperware container on top of the fridge and in three days they had already sprouted! I put those in the existing peat pots and hopefully those will be ready for Memorial Day weekend planting.
My chard look awful! I think it is getting too much mid-day sun. They leaves are starting to get brown and crinkly. They also have purple spots - pretty spots - but I am pretty certain they shouldn't be there. I planted more seeds along the back fence where the sun isn't quite so harsh.
I am thinking I am almost done, but then I think again and realize that everything still needs lots o' love after being planted! Rain is due on Wednesday so hopefully it comes and can save me the trip of dragging Tom's hose over the fence!