Befriending a Butterfly

I was walking around the back yard when I noticed this butterfly just sitting on the lawn. It must have been blown out of a tree and by the looks of it just recently sprouted it wings. So I got my camera and took a few closeups and it certainly wasn't camera shy. Seemed a little freaked out I was so close to it but stayed professional despite gusting Victoria winds.

The rest of the garden is doing well with just about everything showing some new growth, especially my container potatoes. Today I am attempting to sew some marigold and spinach seeds in some trays, and yesterday I planted the ends of 2 green onions that Maria gave me. She says her parents plant them all the time so we shall see. And as I am typing this Tony just handed me a package of Scarlet Runner beans to throw in the garden. That should just about fill it up for now.

(left) Garbage can potatoes!       (right) Back shot of the butterfly.

More Potatoes and Little Progress

In the few days since my last post little has changed. I have utilized the sprinkler as you can see, and I have also planted another red potato plant in a white bucket seen on the far left of the picture above. Other than that there is little to report. The buttercrunch is still alive and everything else looks fine but I have not noticed much dramatic growth at this point. The soil may need some fertilizer to help jump start and nourish these plants.

The 2 potato plants in the black rubbermaid garbage can are starting to grow some foliage which is a good sign. I was a little concerned that the soil might overheat given the dark colour of the planter but so far it seems just fine. The potatoes in the trench are still there but cats are digging them up and using the trench as a litter box. Hopefully they can take root and grow there without too much hassle from the kitties.

Container Planting

In an effort to be creative and reuse some of the items I have on hand I salvaged this Pamper's Baby Wipes container to plant some Basil. I just poked a few holes in the bottom and used a take away sushi lid as the drainage tray. I have also converted a rubbermaid garbage can into a planting container for potatoes. This is what I have recently planted:

• Fernleaf Dill - 1 plant
• Italian Parsley - 1 plant
• Basil - 1 plant
• Buttercrunch Lettuce - 2 heads
• Red Potatoes - 3 plants
• Kennebec Potatoes - 3 plants

The Buttercrunch was on its last legs down at the garden centre so I am doing my best to salvage them. The Basil is in a container as you can see but the Dill and Parsley are both in the garden. I dug a small trench about 8 inches deep to plant 4 potato plants (2 of each variety) and put the remaining 2 inside the rubbermaid container. I also reclaimed my rosemary container from Greg's porch and it is in rough shape from both the winter and getting rogered during the move to Victoria. New growth is sprouting on it so there is some hope of a resurrection.

Bok Choy Bugs

The Bok Choy is being attacked by critters. I first noticed the damage a few days back, finally got a visual on the suspect and now for the photographic evidence. Upon first looking at them I thought to myself, "It is a small beetle but it kinda looks like a flea." I did some quick research and sure enough the Flea Beetle are a common enemy of Chinese greens. Aside from spraying the plants, which I don't want to do, apparently if I can just wait until some larger leaves grow around the Bok Choy plants the problem should solve itself. So now I play the waiting game.

 
(left) Munched up leaves. (right) Poorly focused Flea Beetle in action!

Planting Peppers and Reorganizing

Its been more than a few days since my last entry and much has changed. For starters I cleared some more land to plant and I also moved around some of the existing vegetables I had planted last week. The sun is likely gone for the next few days as well but should be back mid week. This is what I planted over the weekend:

• Bell Peppers - 2 plants
• Cayenne Peppers - 1 plant
• Jalapeño Peppers - 1 plant
• Sweet Chilli's - 2 plants

All of these need a lot of sun and heat so I can only hope that the weather cooperates this summer. Peppers are said to grow fairly bushy so I took advantage of this by moving the Red Leaf and Romaine lettuce in and around the bases of these pepper plants in hopes that they will provide a little bit of shade. I also spaced out my Arugula plants a bit more and moved the Bok Choy around to accommodate all the empty spots I created moving the lettuce.

The other addition to the garden are some potatoes but I am not very happy with my current container setup. I will have to get some proper potting soil for the container and possibly poke some larger drainage holes in the bottom of the garbage can I am using. Aside from this container I am going to clear a proper trench and plant some traditionally.

 
(left) Reorganized and lengthened patch. (right) Chilli's and Lettuce.

First Herbs

The clouds are still here but it is supposed to be 3 days of sun and heat starting tomorrow. Not much to report other than planting the following:

• Chives
• Cilantro

I put them on the other end of the patch for easy access to each plant. I will have to put some parsley and some other herbs in there this weekend along with whatever else I find at the garden centre.

 
(left) Looks exactly the same. (right) Herbs and lengthwise view of the patch.

Preparing and Planting the Garden

Yesterday, I began clearing a small plot for a summer vegetable garden. The backyard used to have an entire perimeter garden which has since been neglected for at least 1 season. This has lead the perimeter to be riddled with nasty weeds and tufts of grass. With a trusty hand shovel I cleared a small plot about 4ft x 8ft which should be enough to get me started. For reference I tilled about a 4-6 inch layer of loose soil for the plants to take root in.

Today, Tony brought back a small cornucopia of vegetables to begin planting. I ran out of time before planting them all due to the Detroit v Dallas game 3 but here is what is planted so far.

• Red Leaf Lettuce - 4 heads
• Romain Lettuce - 4 heads
• Arugula - 6 bunches
• Bok Choy - 4 heads
• Swiss Chard - 4 heads

The Lettuce and Swiss Chard need sun!

Edit: Given I was rushing myself before the game I gave little thought to the spacing of the plants. I gave everything about 8" between going up each row with the exception of the arugula which has about 5". It might be a little cramped but this is all an experiment.