Busy as a bee

There is a different feel to the air these days. In the morning the air is cooler and smells fresher. Fall is fast approaching, my favorite season. That's hard to remember by noon since it blazes up into the 90's everyday. No wonder this was an awful summer for growing stuff. But like Bermuda grass, hope springs eternal. This week I have sown cucumber seeds, cilantro, calendula, fennel, and oregano. I have planted a chamomile plant and an ornamental pepper. I also got a columbine plant thinking it was something else. I've been wanting to create a terrarium and I mistook the columbine for a slower growing tropical thing. Oh well.

I've also disassembled the plant kinder garden and put everything in individual pots. One of the bean starts I've transplanted into the garden (along with some baby basils from the kinder garden) the others are toughening up on our front walk. I have a ton of pea starts. Since the weather is so blasted hot I don't want to kill them by sending them out to bake in the hot sun. They are in individual pots and I'll give the weather a week or so before I move them. I also need to build the bed where they are to go. Some of the baby basils were transplanted to individual pots too. I'm hoping to give some of them away as gifts. And I started another round of peas and beans since the heat might not cooperate and may very well kill off my tender babies in the next few weeks. Oh well. So much for fall.

While I was working on all the transplanting in the kitchen, my cat, Lola, tried to jump on the counter 3 times! She was adamant to be involved and she knows she's not allowed on the counter. She's never so bold as to jump up while I'm right there, I don't remember the last time she was that pushy. I misted her in the face with water which pissed her off but she kept coming back for more and complaining the whole time. I've thought about growing some cat grass in a planter on the floor just for her but I'm afraid that will be an invitation to munch on houseplants. Some of the plants I have are cat-toxic but they're inaccessible to her. I don't want her to get the idea that all houseplants are salad. She was napping in a sunbeam the other day, so in the spirit of Cute Overload here is a Caturday picture of Lola.

I was hoping to plant potatoes this fall but everywhere I have looked online I have failed to find potato seeds. I have a tire especially for potatoes and I was hoping to do the trick where you keep stacking tires up and the yield develops vertically. I might just scrap that idea and plant carrots in the tire instead. I've flirted with the idea of posting on Craig's list for potato seeds but I'm not super fond of Craig's list. I bought some sand in preparation of carrots and potatoes. Forty pounds isn't that much, it sounds like a lot but the bag isn't very big. I might need to get some more, at least it's cheap. I already know I need more dirt to fill my beds.

I have a container with cucumber, thyme, and cilantro and it's coming along very well indeed. The cuke seedlings are putting on new leaves and getting tall. It's right by a railing so the longer they get I can loop them over the rail and they'll get even more sun.

I probably need to get my collard greens in the dirt while it's still warm. And I need to get some broccoli and winter vegetables started in the kinder garden. Fall is coming and sooner or later the temperature will dip, if we're fortunate. There's still a lot to do in the plot such as making a keyhole garden. I've been slowly working on that. Little by little. More on that later.