It’s definitely almost-summer now with temperatures in the 80s pretty consistently. This past week, we actually had a couple of days in the low 90s. So much for spring weather. The garden is doing fairly well, but needing some weeding again, a bit of fertilizer, and a couple of foliar sprays. With the long holiday weekend coming up, you know what I’ll be doing. Meanwhile, enjoy some of the new things happening in my garden. This week’s garden photos!
This was surely a week of extremes here in the Charleston, SC, area….again. I was quite concerned yesterday that I would wake to a late frost, but thankfully, the temperature dropped only to 35 degrees. Whew! I have a lot of new growth on my raspberries, elderberries, herbs, and even my grape vines. Plus, I’m beginning to harvest my asparagus. A frost would not have been good for the tender leaves. Fortunately, all is well in my Sanctuary Garden. Come take a look. This week’s garden photos!
This past week started out in the 90s, but a cold front came through on Thursday. We got 2.7 inches of desperately needed rain! And the weather this weekend was perfect for this Yankee girl – lows in the upper 50s and highs in the mid-70s. Reminded me of late spring days in Rhode Island. Ahhh…. You can bet I spent the bulk of my weekend outside. And my garden was very thankful, too. This week’s garden pictures!
I’m happy to say that all my plants survived the rain last week. The hydrangeas actually loved it. (See picture above.) I cleaned up all the dead branches that fell in the yard and saved them for kindling in the fire pit. Quite a few of my pepper plants had to be staked. I trimmed my paste tomatoes, though I need to prune them some more. I also had to tie most of my tomatoes again because they’ve grown so much. This will be the last time though because they are now taller than the stakes – and me! I have some new fruit growing and fruit progressing towards harvest. See my garden!
I think we need an ark for my sanctuary garden! Rain, rain, cloudy days, mist, more rain…. Today is the first day the sun has come out in a week. I’m not worried about ground water as my raised beds drain well. However, all the rain and humidity is the perfect environment for fungus and disease on many plants. I pulled a couple of lima beans that looked troublesome (didn’t want it to spread to the other plants), and I’m investigating some black spots on one of my pepper plants. (Mold??) Yet, my garden IS growing. Come take a look!
The temperatures have been in the mid to upper 70s all week here at Sanctuary Garden, and we had over an inch of rain. The warm temperatures and the soaking rain have caused my garden to sprout in almost every bed within a few days! And, as you can see in the picture above, my strawberries are ripening. I’m already eating some for breakfast. They melted in my mouth with sugary sweetness. Incredible! Come see what else is happening in my garden!
It’s been a whirlwind four-day weekend for me, and I’m not finished yet! I harvested, cleaned, and put up purple top and golden globe turnips, turnip greens, beet greens, kale, spinach, watermelon and daikon radishes, two beds of carrots, and over 90 heads of lettuce! Then, with the help of my Garden Wilson (oh, yard boy!), I added mushroom compost into my beds; and we put up the trellises. The above picture shows 12 of my beds, ready for planting. (Garlic in the foreground and onions in the background aren’t ready for harvest yet.) I spent the rest of the weekend planting – but I still have more to do. Come see what’s new!
Finally, spring is here! The temperature was in the low to mid-70s this weekend, the pine trees are dropping pollen, new leaves are appearing on trees and bushes, and my winter garden is enjoying its last week before I harvest everything (ready or not) to prepare for the spring planting next weekend! Come, take a look at the changes in my Sanctuary Garden!
Sanctuary Gardener 