Come Again

I took this nice weather morning to plant these bulbs that I received, wow, over a month ago. All from Scheepers. In the back, Crocus tommasinanius and Crocus T. 'Lilac Beauty'. Twenty five for $4.75, I think that's a great price for the small pleasures of late winter. Scheepers' website mentions that squirrels don't eat these. Of course, I've had more trouble with my own shovel destroying the crocus, but I think I found evidence of the anti-squirrel qualities of these. I planted them in soil around the stepping stones in the side yard. The next day I went out and saw that the soil was spread all over the stones and what did I see, but one crocus bulb sitting on top, un-gnawed. I think sir squirrel moved on to other more tempting treats.

The front two are species lilies, 'Citronella' and 'Davidii', 5 bulbs each for $9.75 and honestly, I wish I could have given two of each away -no room! The white bulbs on the left are onion, Allium atropurpureum. I really don't like those giant globe allium, so I go for the varieties that have more open habits or the humble umbel forms.

I was planting the bulbs, moving iris and other perennials for the side yard flower garden, come vegetable garden, come again flower garden. Since that corner is kind of messy with the cat feeding and bottle depositing and otherwise garbage-y quality, not to mention the telephone poles that come and go, I put some max sunflowers in the corner to go with the mess. Today, when I am doing this other work, a neighbor says hello and then says 'finally cutting back those flowers, eh.' To which I respond, 'do you not like them?' And so on from there...

I will never cut down a flower in bloom. Just won't, unless, of course, it's for the vase. I certainly wasn't doing what my friendly neighbor was suggesting, and certainly not in November when every day with blooms is an anchorage to warm and temperate times. But I get it, neighbors want plants to stay within their frames- behind the fence, WHAP!! cracks the whip. So I bend, cranking back the poor stems of Helianthus maximilianii with a twine contraption, forcing them into the shade of the Yew tree they so desperately reach from to catch the last bits of low sun, their penchant tropism. Oh ye heliotrope, bend not to your need and will, but to the wants of your animal neighbors! Such as it is, such as it is.

A Season's Knowledge

I think it is late enough in the growing season to make some sound judgements regarding my vegetable planting boxes. First -they worked. They held together, held the soil, supported the plants, even did not dry out too fast.

• For green beans, the box worked out excellent. Ten to twelve inches wide and the same in depth, I was able to get an amazing amount of bush beans in a small planter. The longer the box, the more plants. I planted mine with two parallel rows down the length of the planter. A great success.

• My 12 x 12 x 12 parsley box has worked quite well too. Similar sizes work great for basil.

I have a varying sizes for the tomatoes and this is where my critical judgement comes in.

• Twelve by twelve by fourteen inches deep is not enough soil space for a rapidly growing large tomato plant like the San Marzano, Brandywine, or German Stripe I planted. These plants have meaty stems and grew 5 feet tall in one month's time. The plant's roots went through the planter bottom and tapped the ground. If you are growing on a rooftop, or concrete pad, or wherever, the roots may not be able to do this and the large plants will suffer during hot, droughty periods. They may also succumb to disease due to stress or become stunted.So my judgement is that large tomatoes, like those indeterminate heirloom types, require larger, deeper boxes. What depth? I can only guess at this point to say at least 20 inches, maybe 24 inches deep. The depth seems to be more crucial than the width.

• Smaller tomatoes, like cherries, grapes, and anything labeled "Patio" should do fine with 14-16 inches of depth. But stay on top of the watering. These boxes dry out sooner than the earth and the bushy plants shed water around them, not into the planting box.

My planting was very dense, 7 tomatoes in less than 40 square feet. The more room you can give them, the better for air circulation and light penetration.

I had some questions about whether or not to line the box with plastic. I do not do this anymore because I do not want to grow in plastic. I prefer to have the soil hold the moisture, then let it drain out. The plastic may prolong the life of the wood planter on the interior. But I don't think it is a significant increase in life of the planter to warrant it. However, the plastic may increase resistance to blossom-end rot and cracking of tomatoes by maintaining a steadier moisture level. So this is a matter of personal choice, although you do want to be sure there is some drainage in your planter. Over wet soil is as bad for plants as drought.

For a reason that has remained a mystery all season, my cilantro has been sickly. I think this is because the soil has remained wet no matter what the weather conditions. I do not understand this, there is drainage in the planter (is it clogged?). Not until I empty the planter will I find out.