Top 6 Things I Did Right in 2007

1. Compost tea really does seem to increase yield (at least in tomatoes) and cut down on disease. I did have black spot on the green peppers, some damp rot in a couple of lettuces and a pansy (planted too close together) and the downy mildew that swept through the vines (planted too close together). This seems light compared to the myriad of awful things the gardening books warned me could happen.
   


2. I vibrated the tomato blossoms with a battery-powered electric toothbrush, and a huge number of tomatoes set.
   


3. Radishes work well as a "trap" crop. I found this out by accident. The first crop of radishes got pretty heavily chomped - but almost nothing else did.
   


4. Marigolds and borage brighten up the day for everyone; are great in salads; and do seem to be good companions for other plants. They certainly didn't seem to hurt anything.
   


5. Cucumbers and squash love bone meal and kelp. Sea Magic and compost tea make a great foliar feed.
   


6. A layer of worm castings really speeds up seed germination! (I learned this by accident.) Worm castings also make a very effective treatment for black spot. (I learned this in desperation.)
   

June 3: Better photos!

There's a higher-resolution setting on my digital camera! And I finally stumbled on it! So here's some better photos of the garden, starting with, above: an overview of the veggie-bed. Our first crop of mesclun is now bolting enthusiastically. We're going to have a BIG salad this next Wednesday: I'm pulling up the bolting plants and we'll eat them flowers and all!

Next is a shot of the "lavender patch." We have three kinds of lavender now. The tallest is "Goodwin Creek" grey lavender; the middle-sized one is Grosso; the two smallest (picked on by birds before the netting went up) are Provence. That's going to be a lovely-scented corner of Pioneer Square! Little bits of sacred basil are coming up all over, too.

And here's the glossiest cucumber in the garden. Nasturtium, borage, and marigold are supposed to be good companion plants, and this cucumber has all three as companions. Maybe there's something to this.