Gardening 2012

It's a new year in the garden with new crops and some old favorites. I wanted to try something new with the garden updates by not being a crazy new plant parent and doing monthly summaries here instead. Way less work for me to compile and for you to sift through. :D

Returning Crops:
Bird's Eye Chilies - 'Super Sweet 100 Hybrid' Cherry Tomatoes - Jalapeños - ('Sweet' Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Oregano, 'Italian' Parsley, Stevia, Tarragon, & Thyme) - 'Grand Rapids' Leaf Lettuce -

Newcomers:
'Better Boy' Tomatoes - Poblano Peppers - Serrano Chilies - 'Blue Lake' Bush Beans - 'Wando' Peas - 'Berri Basket' Strawberries -

This is how my plants look on New Year's Day:
 Bird's Eye Chillies.
 Cherry Tomatoes.
Jalapeños, Parsley, and Bell Peppers.
 Herb planter of mostly Dill, Cilantro, and Parsley.
 More herbs beings started inside.
- - - - - -
JANUARY
- 01 - 02 - 03 -
I finally sat down to seriously determine a good planting schedule for the crop this year so I wouldn't plant seeds 6-8 months late. There's plenty that can be started up soon inside but I'm tempted to start everyone outside this year because of lack of space indoors.

Herbs:
The herbs in the planter were reduced to one of each type while starting new ones indoors.. I got a pack of garden cutting tools on sale and took to the three that have dominated the area: dill, parsley, and cilantro. I hung a few of the branches from a embroidery hoop from a ceiling fan to dry while we figure out what to do with them.
Lettuce:
New seeds planted in a pot indoors.

Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
In the first week of the new year, I destroyed my nearly dead cherry tomato plants. Phineas, Ferb, and Perry were chopped into little chunks and the pieces were put back into the pots and into the "soil" of half of the garden area. Just my way of trying to give some nutrients back.

Jalapeños:
Hanging in there, still trying to grow stunted fruit while suffering some frost damage.

Bird's Eye Chilies:
They are loosing yellowing leaves left and right this month. I genuinely freaked out but was reassured by many a gardener that these guys would probably come back in the Spring. I sure hope so because they are looking incredibly sad nowadays.
- - - - - -
FEBRUARY
- 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 -
While working out some of my general frustrations in the garden, I discovered that we have plant pests! So far, they look like aphids and bug eggs. I trimmed plant matter that the winter frosts had killed, weeded the areas that I neglected during the cold weather, and planted new crops for this year. Everyone is back out in the garden area and everything is right in this corner of the world, lol.

Herbs:
Have been removed from the planter and the surviving individuals have been put into their own little pots. Many of them are pretty sad-looking after the transplant, as usual.

Lettuce:
They have appeared with a vengeance! In the indoor location and the ones out in the former herb planter. However, the dog took a chunk out of the ones indoors, so I restarted again in the planter. 

Beans & Peas:
After much prepping and plant of new crops, the SO and I were running errands and I ended up grabbing two more seed packets. They are notorious hardy plants and quick starters so I cannot wait for them to appear!

Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Two Big Boy tomatoes and one cherry tomato pot were planted. Hopefully these cages that I used last year are big enough for these typical-sized fruits.
 
Jalapeños, Poblano Peppers, & Serrano Chilies:
One dying Jalapeño plant covered in eggs was tossed and the others had leaves trimmed and were sprayed down with dish soap and water. The other two types of peppers are commonly used in Mexican or Southwestern cooking, so the SO is especially looking forward (I'm not allowed to say "excited", lol) to see those develop.
  
Bird's Eye Chilies:
They are looking incredibly sad and bare. My mom and other very experienced gardeners are telling me that there's a very high chance that most of them will recover in the spring so I'm crossing my fingers.
- - - - - -
MARCH
- 08 - 09 - 10 -
The weather has been it's typical weird this month with swinging back and forth between freezing and hitting 90 degrees every few days. I have kept my fingers crossed that the pepper plants that have braved the winter season will come back this year. I'm also hoping to see the sprouts of the new crop appear any day now. My (semi-)patience was rewarded! Slowly but surely, everything is turning green once again. I try not to compare my garden's growth with the young plants that I see at stores and the local nursery. There's are so full and bigger than mine but I still prefer to try to grow my plants from seeds when possible.

Herbs:
Tarragon has really recovered, exploded really. After the transfers have recovered, they promptly began bolting. I think that's the proper term for their flowering. I've tried my best to pick them off as I see them to encourage more leaf growth but they are very determined.
 
Strawberries:
An addition from a a great local nursery that I am the most excited about because of my love for fruits and sweets. I had some some research and was so happy when I found this basket variety that was already blooming. In roughly a month and a half, there will be ripe fruit. It perked up almost immediately and is budding like crazy.
 
The first day.
By the end of the month.

Lettuce:
They have taken off and the leaves are at least three inches long/ tall now. There's still something that's chewing into them from time to time. It may be harvester ants that have made their home next to the driveway which isn't very far. I started thinning some of them out and it has really made a difference so far.

Beans & Peas:
So many bean and pea plants have sprouted. I didn't thin them out like I typically do, but tried to transplant them further apart. I have really learned by lesson about not putting all of the seeds in the same spot. The beans flex their leaves in the oddest way but the SO has theorized that the sun is a bit too intense and it's hiding. I'm so used to my plants soaking up the sunlight and leaning way too much into it. The peas are reaching up and quickly. We take turns a few times a day to try to train them go up the tomato cage turned trellis.
 
Beans: Before & After.
 - - -
 Peas: Before & After.

Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Baby sprouts have appeared in all of the pots now. The first Big Boy appeared initially and after a really late freeze, warmer weather came with a vengeance and so did these little babies.
 
Jalapeños, Poblano Peppers, & Serrano Chilies:
We have Serrano sprouts all over inside one pot. I keep looking every other day for growth and there's just something about having a freeze, then weather that's too warm followed up by a good soak that is great for for sprouts to appear. Resilient little things.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
There has finally been new growth on the plants! One by one they have begun their recovery, I think. So far, just Gryffindor and Slytherin have regrown. The other two, especially in comparison, are looking sadder than ever. Possibly on the brink?
- - - - - -
APRIL
- 11 - 12 - 13 - 14*- 15*- 16 - 17*- 18 -
The color green has finally come back into the garden! There are still lingering bug eggs on some of my older pepper plants but the biggest news in terms of updates is that I started vlogging them! Those entries are marked by the little asterisk(*) and they are short videos. We've had extreme temperatures with it getting down to 56 degrees one week and 101 degrees the next. The plants haven't fended very well. There was a bit of new hardware in terms of a new hose, sprayers (something we haven't had before), and a fence built for me by the SO to keep out the evil bunny rabbits.


Herbs:
Most of the well-established herbs keep flowering and bolting in earnest, so I've trimmed the way back. There hasn't been much growth from them otherwise so I'm worried that they may be reaching the end of their lifespan. I'm not really sure. After many attempts to grow them from seed, we've picked up an Oregano plant from the grocery and Chives from the local nursery. They are doing pretty well in the garden. Any basil sprouts that make it are soon eaten by birds.
 
Strawberries:
There are tons of buds and flowers. Some bird delved into the first ripe fruit, but we've been able to pick some tiny fruits. FMIL and I ate them and they were incredibly sweet!
  
Lettuce:
Thinned down to three plants, these poor plants have been eaten down to nearly nubs twice by little bunny rabbits until the SO built a gated fence as an anniversary gift of sorts. The leaves have recovered well since being blocked off.

Beans & Peas:
The beans' leaves have gotten quite big now. They still close up under intense afternoon sun, so we've moved them to the back row and thinned out some of the plants. While they are still getting sunburnt in certain spots, they are really starting to flourish in the partial shade. The peas were starting to grow about an inch a day, we began to get pea blossoms and even two tiny and thin pea pods. The day after I took a picture of the flowers, they suddenly died and were crispy. I have no idea if they were burnt by the sun or reacted poorly (but belatedly) to some plant food I had given them days before. It was a little heartbreaking.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Some extra cherry tomato seedlings have sprouted up in the Big Boy containers. Funny how these remnants from last year's crop are popping up now. 
 
Jalapeños, Poblano Peppers, & Serrano Chilies:
The Poblano and Serrano Chillies were constantly being eaten by birds. Thankfully, there are still seedlings popping up to take their place. I cannot seem to find more Poblano seeds in the stores anymore but the Serranos are starting to take off after each time they recover. The Jalapeños all have buds. Well, three of them do. The fourth was snapped by the wind at its base. Eventually, the first Jalapeño plant (with the most leaves) began fruiting!

 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
Buds have started appearing on Gryffindor about two weeks ahead of Slytherin, who is often a few weeks ahead of the last two. That seems to be their pattern for all of the stages this year. However, none of the flowers are resulting in fruit. They bloom and then dry up.

- - - - - - 
MAY
- 19* - 20* -
I was gone visiting my family in Florida for a grand total of three weeks this month, so the SO took care of the garden for me again. The transformation was expected but still a big deal! The day I left, we caught a quail couple casually shopping the buffet. There was a bit of an ant infestation with the hints of monsoon coming our way. Temperatures were consistently just above 100 degrees so the garden definitely suffered at the same time.
Pre-FL.
Herbs:
Cilantro finished flowering and died out, Dill flowered and I got rid of it before leaving, and Tarragon was almost done flowering by the time I came back. Parsley flowered and finally finished up after two years, Chives hung in there and even became bushier. More of the original Basil's sprouts were eaten and I tried to plant more Basil, Cilantro, and Parsley in a new pot together.
 
Strawberries:
More growth upwards with more flowers. It's tender leaves were starting to burn from the intense sun while I was gone. Thankfully, it was steadily producing more leaves at nearly the same rate.
 
Lettuce:
It was pretty much ready to eat when I left, but no one thought to harvest it while I was gone. So, it began to grow a tall think stalk with flowers that I waited a long time to see but ended up acting like miniature dandelions. By that time, the leaves shriveled and were burnt along the edges. 
 
Beans & Peas:
I planted more pea seeds before leaving but anything that manage to start sprouting were eaten by thirsty birds. The SO rotated the beans as they continued to shy away from the intense heat. They did manage to flower under the protection of bigger outer leaves.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Better Boys both doubled in height while I was gone. BB1 started flowering and the Cherry Tomato plant just about tripled in size because it was just a baby when I left. The SO didn't notice how much they had grown until we took a look at the before and after comparisons I later made.

Jalapeños, Poblano Peppers, & Serrano Chilies:
The Poblanos were working on a new set of leaves when I left, but were quicken completely eaten while I was gone. The Serrano Chilies were doing very well (all things considered) and have begun to fruit. The SO was kind enough to try to send me cell phone pictures of these peppers. They had branches regularly ripped clear off. The Jalapeños had about a dozen of 1 inch long stubby peppers together with plenty more flowers. The SO wanted to wait until I got home so I could see them ripening on the tree, but critters ate them days before my return.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
Gryffindor was flowering well when I left, but it didn't produce any peppers until about a week before I came back. Slytherin was starting to regularly flower upon my return.
- - - - - - 
JUNE
- 21 - 22* - 23*-
The plants were fed but with temperatures hovering around 110 degrees, the garden with so many plants trying to recover from critter damage suffered greatly. I found it very hard to stay excited and hopeful about anything staying alive.
 Post-FL.
Herbs:
The Chives are very bushy and long. While some dies from the sun or old age, it's replaced and then some! There is barely anything left of the Parsley besides what's hanging in there from the flowering. In the new herb pot, there are at least two new Basil plants and either a Cilantro/ Parsley in there too. It's hard to tell with those two until the leaves get bigger and have their own scent. The original Basil seems to have stagnated. The Oregano is so full with so many flowers. They're attracting flies like mad. The Thyme is stubbornly chugging along while the Tarragon is done.

Strawberries:
We moved it away from the sun by trying to hide it behind other plants (like the lower tomato branches, but those are burning away). Too many of its leaves were burning up and the new growth was no longer keeping up. It's still steadily producing tiny fruit.
 
Lettuce:
The leaves are dead and all that remains are the odd-looking stalks. I'm not sure how they are hanging in there for so long but I haven't had the heart to dispose of it all just yet.
 
Beans:
I dragged the bean pot inside to the original gardening corner, trimmed off the mass of burnt dead plant matter to find just three healthy plants with some flowers and a bean pod!
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Better Boy 1 is very tall but hasn't produced any fruit despite its steady stream of flowers. Better Boy 2 is filling out quite nicely and has hints of starting to flower soon. Cherry tomato plant is definitely flowering all over. Again, it's really nice to have something so familiar still doing well in the garden amidst all the bad news.

Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The Serranos were dragged inside to recover because keeping them on the porch didn't see to be enough. The fruits are starting to ripen at nearly three inches in length. All of the Jalapeños are losing their leaves from either sun damage or just focusing very heavily on its flowers. I'm getting worried that they are on their way out if its priorities don't change soon.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
Gryffindor's fruits should start ripening any day now while Slytherin is getting its first few peppers. Again, every few days the quails go down the line and ravage a new Hogwarts tree. They seem to be the favorite now that the Poblanos are gone and the Serranos are hidden away. Oddly enough, while branches are being torn off, the fruits are avoided. I figured if this was for the moisture, not having taste buds that registered heat would make the chillies a perfect snack. I just don't know enough to understand.
- - - - - - 
JULY
- 24 - 25 -
Not sure what else to say besides that the garden has taken so much damage from birds and the intense heat and sun. Every time it seems to finally be on the mend, the cycle of abuse starts over again.

Herbs:
Chives are abundant, the three newer Basil has gone wild (and overwhelming the baby Cilantro and Parsley) while the original is finally starting to grow again. The Parsley has finally kicked the bucket and every time I trim off the Oregano flower buds, it doubles back and attracts tons of flies.

Strawberries:
It has been moved onto the patio towards the back of the pack to try to protect it from further sun damage. It has been very burnt. Hoping that it recovers soon.
 
Beans:
They are still indoors and healing. I may have to bring them back out soon when there's a bit less direct sunlight on the porch because I think the pets are eyeballing it. Or at least its dirt.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
All of the tomato plants are flourishing leaf-wise on their upper two-thirds. The bottom third of branches are taking a lot of heat damage. Cherry tomatoes fruits are starting to appear. I'm glad that they are mostly focusing on leaf growth, unlike everyone else in the garden.

Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The Jalapeños were indoors healing because there are barely any leaves left. The SO tried out one of the ripening Serranos and deemed it quite hot and spicy- great for a secret ingredient or extra kick in the pants. Eventually, the Jalapeños and Serranos were brought back onto the patio to toughen up again.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
The quails continue to terrorize the Hogwarts of peppers. Slytherin has stopped flowering and fruiting while Gryffindor continues to flower but no longer produces fruits. It's been very frustrating watching my oldest plants suffer.
- - - - - - 
AUGUST
- 26* - 27 - 28 - 29 -
I didn't even take a photo of the overall garden this month. This was the closest that I got after a very gusty monsoon storm. Even that hasn't been nearly as amusing in terms of garden growth. It's helped them start recovery, but every time they do- they're beaten down again! It has just been so frustrating and discouraging watching everything suffer to different degrees. Only thing left to do is to keep trimming off the dead branches and leaves and do some weeding that was a result from the monsoons too.

Herbs:
Chives and Thyme have hung in like troopers. The newer Cilantro and Parsley are barely hanging in there underneath the abundance of the newer Basil. It's getting so tall! The original Basil seems to have reached a pausing point in its growth again. It may start to flower soon. The Oregano is going wild and I'm regularly trimming off flower buds to minimize flies buzzing around me every time I have to water.

Strawberries:
They are nearly dead despite being in the shadiest spot on the porch hidden behind the smaller chili plants. I wish I could keep it indoors, at least for it to heal, but the cats are way too interested and I'm pretty sure that the leaves are extra bad for them.
 
Beans:
Beans? What beans? These seem to have died off after a bit more sun damage even from the shadier porch. I didn't try as hard to save them because they have been in such sad shape for so long.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
All of the bottom branches for the tomato plants have either burnt off or have been sacrificed by the rest of the plant in order to focus on flowering. Now, I know why they are often planted with Basil. It's the prefect height now to product the bottom half of these very naked tomato plants! Something to think about for next year.

I am still pinching sucker branches, that's been a mini-chore that I've neglected lately. Not sure if I should bother with how bare some of it is. The cherry tomato plant is about four feet tall now. Better Boy 1 is taller than I am now (so more than 5ft) but refuses to bear fruit. I wonder what's going on- it's busy and flowering enough. Better Boy 2 has some promising fruit.

Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The Serranos are starting to fruit again! Its leaves are starting to droop and drop off. The Jalapeños are just about the same, short stubby fruits and barely any leaves. I'm not sure how it keeps going on at this rate.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
Gryffindor was nearly completely eaten and ripped apart. They all seem to be recovering. Barely. Mostly Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seem to be trying a new method of recovery with growing short bushels of branches and leaves.
- - - - - - 
SEPTEMBER
- 30* -  31 - 32 -
The same dangers continue to plague the garden but you wouldn't be able to tell if you just looked at the Bougainvillea. The hot summer just started too hard and too soon for the plants to ever get ahead of the curve. I do admire its resilience for surviving, no matter what sad shape it ended up being in. 

Herbs:
Oregano flowers keep doubling up and I keep trimming them back but this time further down the stalk. The newer Basil plants got pretty burnt on one of the more suddenly hot days (we're starting to go back and forth between bearable-almost cool to very hot), but that's okay because it was starting to double up on flowers anyways. That really did in any chance the baby Cilantro and Parsley had though. The Thyme is still doing well, no surprise there.

Strawberries:
My original plant finally bite the dust and I was so sad. During a trip to our favorite nursery for some plants to experiment on in FMIL's classroom, I made the "mistake" of checking out the fruit and vegetable plants and bought a new type of Strawberry. It had a ton of runners already but none of them made it because I stuck them straight into the dirt. Silly me, I knew better than that. It also had fruits that had ripened with more coming in. We tried out the sweet small berries.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
There are at least twenty little cherry tomatoes by the SO's rough count. The earliest had started to ripen and we had our first mini harvest. While Better Boy 1 continues to flower and not bear fruit, Better Boy 2 has had some mini ripe fruit for us to pick. I'm hoping the upcoming tomatoes are a bit bigger and live up to its name.
 
Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The second batch of Serrano peppers are growing to a nice length and we've harvested some that had begun to ripen on the bush. We were hoping that leaving them on would encourage more length, but alas. The Jalapeños were switched to the back and their fruits are chubbier than ever but still just as stubby. They are also turning red despite us crossing our fingers, so we regularly harvest a few peppers at a time.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
There are no more flowers, let alone fruits, and the chaos continues. I'm often in a state of distress over these winged assaults. This has just not been their year and I would be a bit heartbroken if these trees don't make it. With how attached I became to them last year after growing them from fruit and seeds from my mother's plants... I'm getting really mad at those friggin' critters.
- - - - - - 
OCTOBER
- 33
Autumn weather has been gong back and forth with warm days and very short stints of cooler weather. I don't think I took any pictures during this time but I did catch up with the rest of the garden summaries.

Herbs: 
Everything was cut down except the Chives and Oregano. The Basil was the last to go. Everything had dried up. 

Strawberries:
It seems to have gotten taller, but more and more leaves have died and none of the buds are becoming flowers, let alone bearing fruit.
  
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Fruits from the cherry tomato plant continue to grow and ripen, much less than last year's harvest. I'm keeping an eye out for the Better Boys. The middle one has a tomato that shows the most promise for having a big one. We've spotted a tiny tomato on the first guy- that's amazing! I'll be happy if any of the those get bigger than the cherries and taste okay.

Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
There are still plenty of Serrano Chillies growing and nearly ripening. There were even some new flowers by the end of the month. The leaves are big and droopy but it's working! The Jalapeños are growing slightly less chubby but longer. It doesn't seem like any of them are going to get a normal length. At least we know they're spicy!

Bird's Eye Chilies:
They are hanging in there! Still under attack but I think Slytherin may fruit again because there have been a few flowers spotted. New leaves are growing on each of the plants, hoping they bulk up as much as possible before it gets colder.

- - - - - - 
NOVEMBER
- 34 - 35 - 36 -
Some leftover shade cloth from MIL was put up in an attempt to discourage the birds that have been wreaking terror in the garden all year. Each of the tomato plants have gotten some form of fruit as well as in the small pepper plants. Even with the meager harvest, I've found myself planning what I would like to do differently next year. I also planted some seedlings of various leftover seeds (peas, beans, and some herbs) in old dirt cookies for kicks.


Herbs:
During a refresh, I took out the Basil and Thyme that had flowered and begun to wither which left the Chives and Oregano. The Basil was about half as tall as any of the tomato plants, flowering, and attracting bugs. The latter two are managing to hang in there and I occasionally trim the dead old matter.  
Strawberries:
No flowers or buds, but during the process of adding extra dirt to refresh, I found a creepy crawler was eating away at the roots and transplanted the plant to a new pot with fresher dirt. The longer leaves seem to be dying off and only the short stubs remain, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be any new growth.

 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
Better Boy #1 had finally gotten it's first and only fruit that has begun to ripen despite being the size of a coin. The bunch of tomatoes continue to ripen but nothing ground-breaking in terms of size or quantity, save for one nearly three inch in diameter on Better boy #2. 
Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The Serranos were weighing down the thin branches and all of the pepper plants have hardly any leaves left on any of them. There have been plenty of peppers to harvest that have been surprisingly spicy. By the end of the month, I moved them all back out to the garden area in an effort to get more sunlight without getting burnt. At least, that's the idea. Hoping that they'll buck up a little bit before winter hits.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
Still the usual critter damage, but the cover does seem to help with protecting the very top leaves from being eaten while also making it easier to cover up the plants in preparation for freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, it's also been windy on those nights and the covers blew off during the night and the plants suffered some minor frost damage.
- - - - - - 
DECEMBER
- 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 -
Most of the new seedlings are doing well, especially the beans. Peas are not far behind and I think that there are new Parsley and Cilantro sprouts that are not far behind. Hard to tell which is which until they get bigger. The rest of the garden is suffering more and more frost damage while I'm just letting the tomatoes go until they're beyond done.

Herbs:
The Chives and Oregano have finally started taking some damage from the cold but they are still hanging in there. I think the dead stuff on the Oregano is more from age than anything else. We haven't had much use for either in the kitchen.
 
Strawberries:
There been some action with the Strawberries, but it's all negative. Between being burnt in the sun and freezing in the cold, more and more leaves are dying off and there doesn't seem to be anything coming to replace them. I really hope that this plant doesn't die off too but that's probably the direction that it is heading in. Sigh.
 
Cherry & 'Better Boy' Tomatoes:
The tomatoes have finished up but I'm just letting it hang out. We still cover it when it gets cold, but mostly because it makes it easier to drape the blankets over the peppers in front of them. I've left what fruit is left on too- for decoration I suppose, lol.
Jalapeños & Serrano Chilies:
The Serranos have done so well since coming out to the garden. There's bunches of new and bushy leaf growth on the tops while sustaining what fruit it had started on. The Jalapeños are hanging in there and their newer fruits are slightly skinner and longer but still pretty stubby. I wish it would focus on new leaf growth too before the really hard winter hits.
 
Bird's Eye Chilies:
There has been more frost damage with more freezing and windy nights. It had mostly been on Ravenclaw for some reason. I'm hoping that they hang in there for the really bad nights that is being predicted to come soon. Either way, I hope they come back in the Spring just like they did last year. One can only hope. Hope and wait.
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