Urban Gardening - Early May

Current state of the Urban Garden - Things are growing along, we potted up containers with herbs, planted more veggies, and tended to the veggies we already have in the ground this past weekend

Firstly, the disaster - because there is joy to be had in other people's failures. Squirrels disasterized (not a proper word, but a good one none the less) the pot of baby lettuce while looking for nuts, or, perhaps, their brains. This crop was scrapped and the pot was used for herbs.
Container plants from top left continuing clockwise: Oregano, thyme, and marjoram; dill and parsley; sage; sweet basil and verbena (this verbena is a non-edible ornamental flower). Mint, Siam basil, and lemon grass called in sick for the photo shoot.

New additions: jalapeños, sweet peppers, tomatoes.

Tomato planting tip - Plant tomatoes deep and you'll have a sturdy, more drought-resistant plant. Snip the lower branches from the main stem, bury the stem below the ground, leaving some leaves above ground, and adventitious roots will sprout from the stem. These extra roots make the tomato plant stronger.

Tending to the garden - Weeds! I think weeds can be added to death and taxes as a certainty. Funny (I laughed), but potentially tragic story: Pokeweed was growing amongst the lettuce. The boy ventures out to the patio for a fresh salad, grabs the pokeweed and eats it. Pokeweed can be eaten if boiled many times, but is toxic if eaten raw. Be sure you know what's a weed and what's not before you pop it in your mouth!

Thinning beet seedlings.

We also thinned the beet and carrot seedlings that we sowed in mid-April. These roots crops are going to need room to mature, so thin seedlings to give the roots room to grow. Just pinch the base of the tender stems with you finger nails, leaving a seedling every few inches.

Urban Gardening - Early March
Urban Gardening - Early April
Urban Gardening - Mid-April