In between storms this weekend, I did manage to spend some time gardening. And I'm pleased to say -- AGAIN -- that my Planting Season 2008 is finally over. Yes, I know I've said it before, but this time... I MEAN IT!

After a particularly big blow-out of weather yesterday afternoon, I got out there, moved a couple of hostas and planted the rest of the "clearance" items I bought at Lowe's last week. It's done. It's over. I feel a little like Frodo after he threw the ring into the fires of Mount Doom ...

Now, on to more pressing matters ... the vegetable garden. So far, this season is holding a lot of promise, but that's about it. I mean, I have lots and lots of green tomatoes on the vine, but I've only harvested 3 red ones. My cherry tomatoes are finally turning and I'm up to about a dozen picked so far.

You might remember back in June (June 4, to be exact) I planted two tomato and four pepper plants in Earthboxes, shown here.

According to www.earthbox.com: "The patented EarthBox was developed by commercial farmers and proven in the lab and on the farm. Our maintenance-free, award-winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden-with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort."
The EarthBox is a resin planter box. Inside is a plastic screen and a small bag of accessories. Remove the fill tube from the accessory bag and press it thru the support. After packing the two rear corner cutouts in the screen with moist potting mix, you must pour water thru the fill tube until it runs out the overflow hole. This is the way you'll water your plants after planting.

The EarthBox promises that if you follow their instructions, you'll have the best yield ever! Well, here's how my plants look now.

They certainly are growing, but so far, the yield hasn't been the best ever. But like I said above, both tomato plants are bursting with green veggies. I'm sure that they'll all turn red at the same time -- like they seem to do every year. If you grow tomatoes at home, you know what I mean. It's like we wait and wait and wait for those fresh tomatoes, only to be overcome with them all at once!

Yes, despite my best efforts, I still end up throwing away spoiled tomatoes. And don't even get me started on the cherry tomatoes. I know one year we stopped counting at 200 because it was getting ridiculous!

Anyway, soon we'll be making fresh bruschetta, and nothing beats a fresh Lebanon, tomato and mayo sandwich on sourdough toast. In the meantime, we can take solace in the abundance of cucumbers! We did so well with this vegetable last year that we planted six vines this year.

I chose a new spot for the cucumber vines -- the new "cutting" garden that I constructed this past spring. I thought the vines would look nice creeping up the side of the shed behind the various wildflowers and "cutting" flowers that I was hoping would come up from the seeds I scattered. Anyway, check it out -- before and after -- not too shabby, huh? More on the cutting garden on another day ...

Back to the veggies -- anyone having any luck with green peppers yet? Here's our peppers when they were planted in the EarthBox on June 4. A nice neat little row of green seedlings.

They sure have grown well (the peppers are the box on the right in the above photo with the tomato plants), but, like the tomatoes, while they have a lot of little peppers on them (one plant has a dozen), nothing is getting real big. I took one off over the weekend just to see if it was ready, and it was OK, but I would like to see them get bigger. Especially the orange-gold ones that I haven't tried before.

So, the jury's still out on the effectiveness of the EarthBoxes. The plants are doing very well, but I'm still waiting for the "best yield ever!"

Coming up tomorrow, the wonderful zucchini. We're having a great season with these. But what happens when you're sick of making bread -- I'll share some recipes that my family's enjoying this year.

Just a quick announcement that came across my desk last week ...


The North Coventry Environmental Advisory Council, in Conjunction with Chester County and Penn State, will be providing a compost barrel, free of charge to North Coventry Township residents. The only requirement is that you attend a composting training session on Saturday, June 28th at 9:00 AM.

The training will be given by a certified Master Composter at the North Coventry Township building. There are 50 compost barrels (about 40 gallon capacity) available and will be given out after the training session on a first come first serve basis, limit one per household. Contact Bill Cannon at 610-326-3918 to reserve a barrel and a seat at the training.

Composting is an environmentally friendly way to decompose plant material. Fruits, vegetables, leaves, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, grass clippings are common items that are easily composted. Composting these items keeps them from ending up in landfills, saving transportation costs and landfill space. It is estimated that about one third of landfill space is taken up by organic yard and kitchen waste.You end up with free nutrient rich compost, which can be used to improve soil in gardens, lawns and flower pots. Using compost can eliminate the need to add fertilizer to the soil. After all, the fewer chemicals we use, the better off the environment is.



Wish I was a Norco resident, I could use some tips on composting myself -- look in my blog's archives for my composting history ...



And, I stand corrected! My mom pointed out to me this weekend that I did not purchase the Earth Boxes at the QVC Outlet store. They were ordered at the end of last summer (Labor Day weekend, I think) from the Home Shopping Network. So if you were looking for them at QVC, sorry, check out http://www.hsn.com/ for info.

OK, you've made your plant selections, carefully chose the right spot, gently planted, mulched, fertilized and watered and ........ NOTHING'S HAPPENING!!
Yes, this can be very frustrating, but unfortunately, there's nothing more we can do except to wait until the evening temperatures warm up. Plants do most of their growing overnight, just as our bodies replenish while we sleep. And even though Sunday will be June 1, we're again having a cold spring (I know, we'll all be complaining soon enough when the average temp is 90 degrees). As long as everything stays green, continue to water and, eventually when the temp goes up, things will grow!
And while you're waiting, take advantage of the many sales being offered now that the May rush for planting is over. There's plenty of surplus at nurseries, greenhouses and garden centers so go ahead and check it out. This is the time to get that certain plant you weren't sure would do well in your garden, now that it's discounted.
Today begins Glick's Greenhouses (in Oley) sale. 3-, 4- and 6-packs of flowers and veggies will be half price. Hanging baskets, one-quart perennials and wave petunia's will all be discounted as well until June 30.
And if you go, take the time to cross the street and check out Manatawny Creek Daylillies. They have the finest and most diverse selection of daylillies you've ever seen. And the prices are right too, depending on whether or not it is a registered plant. I bought six different varieties there over the last two years and they've thrived. And the colors are fantastic. Some are even proven show winners!

This weekend I hope to get around to some much needed pond maintenance. I'm starting to have an algae problem, and we still need to install the new waterfall. I also plan to get my Earth Boxes planted as well --- what are Earth Boxes you ask? Well, you'll have to wait until next week to find out ...