As I mentioned on May 16th, it has been a learning month for me in the Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia. The weather started very hot in May, with numerous thunderstorms, but as the month progressed, particularly into the 3rd and 4th weeks, it changed. It got cooler. No complaints on that, though. It made life a little easier. I only had to water twice in the last 2 weeks of the month. But cold it got – down to 57* yesterday. The past few days, it has been barely above the mid-60s. But that isn’t bad – if anything, it encouraged me to get work done. It felt great sitting outside in the shade. The bugs seemed less energetic in general and left us mostly alone.
I gave up on the onions and the soft neck California garlic in the 3rd week and pulled them. I don’t know if it was the weather or the hard plastic containers, but both had absolute cellular collapse, and the stems rotted. I dug up the garlic, and it wasn’t growing much. I shall try again next year, but this time it will be in raised beds, with more room and better temperature control.
My theory is that the large, hard plastic grow containers were not the best choice in this case. They performed well in Washington State, but the temperatures are significantly lower. I think the soil was too hot here, and the heavy May rain led to the soil being too wet, which prevented it from drying out quickly enough.
I also realized that as the Oak trees finally leafed out, one side of the patio out back wasn’t getting enough sunlight. So that led to containers being moved around in the 4th week.
The raspberry plant I potted up is producing berries.
These two tomato plants have done well in this wooden holder.
Mid month the were around 2 feet tall.
And already had tomatoes setting.
I try every year to find an African Blue Basil. It is a woody type of Basil. They produce long stamens of flowers that attract pollinators, versus being an eating Basil.
In the 4th week I started moving more plants to the other end of the patio, to seek out more sun.
One thing I paid to have shipped was two of my folding tables I used in the gardens. They are invaluable for holding plants – and keeping them up high off the ground. My herb plants I started from seed, to build my new herb harden, are doing their kob and getting biggger.
The shade is very noticeable on the patio, on this side, now in the afternoon. Therefore, it was worth the effort to relocate more of the containers to the right.
Stevia is in bloom.
And with the month ending, I have four types of Basil growing, all of which are doing well.
As I mentioned above, the rigid plastic containers haven’t been the best choice for growing here, but the fabric felt grow bags have performed well. They breathe far better, and let out excess water when we have sudden downpours. The only things in hard plastic that grow great here are blueberry bushes, but next year I will move those into really big felt bags once the permanent garden is built. They will grow along the fence, is my idea. Digging into the ground here isn’t easy due to the amount of rock seams under us.
~Sarah