Saturday, May 19, 2012

cukes, eggplants, and watermelon transplants

Today I transplanted cucumbers, eggplants and watermelons. I put them in the cold frame with covers removed - the warmest place I have. In the morning I prepared the soil - weeded, raked a pile of new compost flat, dug it in a little, and then raked the soil flat. It was so hot that I waited til evening to transplant the seedlings. It was dark when I finished planting and watering.

The cold frame is next to the robin nest - overfull with 4 big birdlets. I keep thinking they will fledge tomorrow. They don't fit in the nest anymore. Today they perched on the nest edges and flapped and preened. To sleep they stack on top of each other. They only know the world of their nest, their siblings and their parents bringing them worms.

I also prepared the beds for planting some bean seeds soon.

5 comments:

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

Super busy time for you!!

Matron said...

Do watermelons grow well for you? I have always assumed that they are a tropical type plant?

Donald said...

Hi Kathy: Got some yellow watermelon from supermarket and saved the seed. Not sure what type. Going to roll the dice and plant it. If its a Hybred will i get two differant types and will they be edible. From Donald

pam_chesbay said...

Wow, you have been super busy! You are planting THREE gardens! We are beginning to harvest Romano beans - the plants are so heavy, they are hanging over the frames of the raised bed. Provider beans are almost big enough to harvest. Sugar snaps have been good but high temps and wind have taken a toll.

You mentioned using salt marsh hay. We have lots of seaweed that we can rake off the beach. I didn't know if I could use it for mulch or in compost, did some research, all sources say it's excellent.

This has been a great spring for gardening!

kathy said...

Watermelons are easily grown by the professional farmers around here and we always get them at the Farmers Market and in CSA shares. But for me its a bit of a challenge. I have tried for the last couple years and finally "succeeded" last year with a couple softball sized, very tasty watermelons. They were super in my martini! Ever optimistic, I am trying again, but just a few plants this year. I have put them by a trellis in my open cold frame, which is the warmest and sunniest place I have. I am thinking this will be the best year yet for watermelons!