This is one of Rick’s Cherokee Purples in the SG.

Impressive insect netting, Kim!

Larry, my neighbor/friend grows potatoes in fabric grow bags. I'm not sure the brand or size (but they're not giant). She surprisingly gets a lot of potatoes. She has maybe somewhere between 12 and 20 of the bags. She gets enough potatoes to can.

I don't know where I'm going to put our potatoes if they do as well as last year. Especially if Rick's garden in Morris does well too. Canning is probably not going to be an option, but perhaps if it's the only things I can, maybe I can squeeze in a day/night of canning potatoes. But, I'm going to need to eat through more of the jars currently in our pantry to make room for them if so. We use the food in our pantry, but don't make as many chilis, soups, and casseroles with canned tomatoes and beans since it's just the two of us at home now.

Last year I spread them out on Ethan's bedroom floor, but that will no longer work in our house. New carpet plus they're coming to visit and will need a room to sleep in.

It would be nice to have them ready to harvest towards the end of summer like the northern people do. And like the sweet potatoes. They could be stored in the shop and utility room that way. But, that's not how it works here.

The Cherokee Purple is a plant that Rick purchased.

Amy, my heirloom tomatoes don't look great. They got a little stunted in their potting mix. Normally this will work itself out once they're planted in the ground and get some nourishing rain and nutrients from the soil.

Hopefully I'll eventually get some tomatoes too!

What herbs did you buy? Herbs are my favorite.

Glenda, I need a cat mint too! I haven't seen any hummingbirds yet!

Nancy, I need to look into a fringe tree. I have elders and beautyberries now. And an Oakleaf Hydrangea.

What is something that stays somewhat short and doesn't spread too much? I want something like that at the west side of the native (plus red poppies) garden.

Sorry about the school garden, but am glad you could distribute the plants and all.

I watered some things last night. Felt bad because some plants were really thirsty. I'm simply not used to needing to water in April. The horseradish, rhubarb, and cabbages were especially dry.

Y'all, I don't know if I've already said this, but last year I put a couple of dead gaillardia plants (with dried flowers attached)in one corner of the property--sorta near where the Indian Paintbrushes are (and lots of other wildflower---yarrow, purple, and yellow). I've been watching it closely and there are probably a 1000 gaillardia coming up in that corner. Tom is going to kill me. He's doing really well about not mowing everything and letting me enjoy the wildflowers. I'm the biggest pain about this and luckily he's playing along. I have things marked---I insist on walking him around the property before he mows each time, to remind him of the wild violets and still very small beautyberries. I realize at some point he'll need to mow the area with the gaillardia/yarrow/Indian Paintbrushes and the purple and yellows that I can't think of their name right now. But, if I can hold him off until June....

We were looking at that corner a couple of nights ago, our neighbor (with the growbags of potatoes) was walking her dog and she asked if we were putting in another garden. I showed her the wildflowers. She said that their mower has been broken this year until this week so her husband was unable to mow. She's never had so many bees in her garden before. She was amazed. Unfortunately her husband doesn't play along as good as mine. He already mowed.

Okay, now I'm just rambling. Have to work late tonight. Hoping for rain.

We got rain! It was not quite half an inch, but it was something. I bought a new rain gauge a couple of weeks ago.

Larry, if you have time and want to dig up the passion vines, I'll take one. If you don't, no worries. I'm going to look for at the OKC Flower and Garden Fest the week after SF.

Your Parris Island looks as good as mine. It's been a good year for lettuce, other than the past couple of days.

Lynn, have you looked for cottonseed hull yet this year? I use it in our beds around the house. Those beds are always the last to get cleaned up for the season, which is weird, because they should be first since it's what greets people to our house. We get cotton plants too.

Amy, your rat story is disturbing and hilarious at the same time.

This is the first year with my Greenstalk. I'm planning on topping off the pockets with fresh compost next year. The plan is once a month run some liquid fertilizer through it all. The GS has a reservoir on top. You water there and each pocket has a hole that waters it. I have the spinner base and it has a tube where the extra water drains from it. I put water and fertilizer in a bucket and pour it into the reservoir.

So far, I'm a huge fan of this thing. The problem is our patio has no cover and gets little shade. Once it becomes really hot outside, there will be issue. I do have the spinner base and can turn it so that the sides can take turns with the shade.

It's wonderful how clean the food is that grows in it.

Kim, if I need help, I might message and pick your brain. I did manage to make a slideshow today and figured out how to put music with it. I've made a few other things too....newsletter, an invitation, thank you note. poster....

I'm incredibly tired and feel like I'm not making any sense, so will shut it now.

Larry, my kids aren't that interested in gardening just yet. I suspect over time they'll be more interested. Maybe not on the scale that I'm doing it now. But maybe. Ethan lives in a tiny apartment. I can see Stella wanting a garden when they get married and settled into a place with a yard. She had a garden at her parents' home. It was small and not well cared for, but it was there. Really, in Oregon things grow pretty nicely.

Mason mentioned something about wanting to grow some food "someday". We have a small herb box for her, but just haven't put it together and delivered to her it. I suspect that will happen over the next month as we clean and organize the shop.

Ethan was a very picky eater as a small child. Mason was not. It seems like he was born with extra taste buds. Even bubblemint toothpaste made for children was too spicy for him. He's still particular but eats a wide variety of foods. We are all sorta food snobs in different but similar ways. Except for Tom. LOL!

He likes good food, but will eat less than good food and isn't as concerned about it's origins as much.

I've often thought that I would be a predicament if the only food available is highly processed types of food and I was unable to garden. My system can't handle those well anymore. Even some of the restaurants that we love. I remember watching a video a couple of years ago done by a doomsday pepper type. (she didn't start that way but is now and I no longer watch her videos because they're so negative.) ANYWAY, she mentioned that all the organicy eaters need to add in a bit of junk so their systems won't get shocked by all the grocery store foods that they've stored away in their prepper pantries. I don't have that type of pantry, tho. I do have a pantry of foods we've preserved from the garden. At times, I'll stock up on some things from the grocery store, but they're mostly ingredients not ready-to-eat stuff.

I do get what she is saying. It makes sense really. But I probably won't do it.

Thanks for bringing a passion vine. I need to figure out where to plant it so it doesn't take over. I thought about in the back of the property where the wild violets and beauty berries are. Maybe I can fix up a trellis on the old shed back there. If it does fruit, I'll need to look up recipes.

Lynn, so many of the mulches have dirt and soil on them anyways, so it seems like diseases that come from the soil, would be on the mulch too. Like leaves.

The only issue I've heard about cotton seed hull, is the amount of chemicals that are sprayed on cotton crops. It's why I started using it only on the ornamental beds, but didn't have problems with in on the food crops when I used it. It's just so expensive, that I'm just using cheap pine shavings now around the tomatoes.

I hear what you're saying about wearing a coat today, Larry.

I went out to plant the heirloom tomatoes into the kitchen garden. I wore a knit hat and coat. Kinda bulky and cumbersome for gardening, but I was cold. Then, I would get hot and take off the coat. Then would get cold again. Figured out that I got hot when the sun peeked out and cold when it hid behind the clouds.

Speaking of hot and cold. Yesterday, when the cold front came in, you could feel the warm wind at the same time as the cold wind at the same moment. It was so weird.

So....they're all planted now. 18 heirlooms and 23 total tomatoes in the kitchen garden.

Really, I only wanted 2 of each heirloom, but until I get these acclimated better to my property, I'll keep extras if I get them. I only have 2 each of Abe Lincoln and German Johnson. And 4 each of Arkansas Traveler and Dr. Wyche. There's 5 True Black Brandywine. And one mystery tomato, which is probably a True Black Brandywine. It's a potato leaf.

I only have room left for the one that Larry is bringing to me.

Where are my little hand shovels?! My trowels? Super annoying. The garden isn't even wild right now. They've gotta be in the shop. (The shop is a mess. We've started working on it. Big Trash Pick Up will come soon.) I had to use one of the hand 3 prong things to plant today. Ridiculous. I guess I'll buy another trowel tonight. We must get to having a place for everything, so items are easy to find and easy to put away.

Messy storage places are fine when it's one person's mess. The problem comes with shared spaces. Our shop has my stuff, Tom's stuff, Ethan's stuff, and even Rick's stuff. If it's one person's stuff, they generally will have a system within their chaos and mess. BUT when multiple people share a space, things get moved around. The shop is big enough for everyone's items, we've just got to keep it organized.

The first Indian Blanket flowers are opening amongst the red poppies in the wildflower garden. And the columnar apple trees are full of little fruit!

I'll come back with pictures!

Lovely flowers.

Larry, I have 1000's of sunflowers popping up. But, I hope I'm not pulling zinnias thinking they're sunflowers.

Hopefully I'll be able to get things planted tomorrow too. Mostly the heirloom and cherry tomatoes. The calendula and nasturtium too. I will pick up some soil for the Vego bed too. I have two Hardins miniature tomatoes so far that will go into that bed. Eventually the lunchbox peppers and basil.

These are the ones I hope will reseed.

I'm here. It's been a long day and I can barely move.

I always splurge on a flat of colorful annuals--usually vincas-- each year. Went to Marcums but they didn't have any. Grabbed a couple of other annuals, though, and some liquid fertilizer. Then picked up the raised bed soil from HD ...and asparagus fern. Wow. asparagus fern isn't cheap this year. I'm going to order seed and see about starting it in the future.

Came home, ate a sandwich, went to do the recycling and grocery shopping. Finally made it home by 3. Filling that Vego bed-lifting and opening the soil bags was very exhausting to me today for some reason. Also, shoveling out the compost from one of the bins.

I was able to plant the cherry tomatoes in the KG and the 2 Hardin's dwarf tomatoes in the newly filled Vego bed. Got them mulched and cans put around them....the wind is horrible.

I really didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done, but my fatigue today is off the charts. Yesterday was a mentally draining day. I work with a very chaotic and passive aggressive person and at times it's just a lot.

This is the time of year, I go back to the doctor to check my "lupus" status again. I haven't been diagnosed, but have the ANA (antibodies something or another).

It's probably just a combination of both jobs being demanding at this time of year, plus trying to get the garden up and going.

But, I love being outside, so I force myself to stay out and work until dark.

It's the best.

I wish I could sleep for 12 hours straight tonight, but have to work tomorrow and even if I didn't, the animals around here wouldn't allow it. lol

Something is chewing on some of my cabbage plants but I don't see any worms at all. It's under insect netting. I wonder if it's a roly poly.

Hope everyone had a good and productive day.

Thanks, Okie.

We did end up getting the rest of the potatoes in the ground.

And, I harvested my first picking of asparagus. Love gus!!

Hope to pot up my tomato plants today.

That's a big garden, Okie. Nice potato plants.

I was able to harvest my second picking of asparagus today. Hopefully the predicted rain will increase the next harvest.

And I was able to fertilize my potatoes with chicken manure.