It’s time to start posting updates on my gardens before things get too out-of-hand. Over at the community garden plot I dug in some fresh soil amenders and finished planting quite a while back. Thanks to some rain all the seedlings are coming in nicely. This year I planted:

• Purple Cherokee tomato
• Black Krim tomato
• Lemon Boy tomato
• Striped German tomato
• Purple Prince tomato
• Swiss Chard
• Egyptian Onion

I also planted some chamomile, oregano, valerian, dill and calendula along the perifery. I like to plant flowers to attract beneficial insects. Some of the perennials I planted last year such as red valerian and calamint are doing well. The calamint is currently bursting with flowers. The smell is incredible and strong!

I can happily state for a fact that the hay mulch was the best thing I did last year. There is a lot of debate about whether hay is a good mulch because slugs are attracted to the environment it creates. However, they also say that slug predators are attracted by the mulch so that evens the score. Whatever the case, I don’t seem to have a slug problem although slugs are present in the area. I have found a few underneath the mulch but haven’t seen enough damage to be concerned. Overall, the soil is much, much better than last year and the worm population has exploded.

So far the only problem this year has been with the ‘Two Inch Strawberry’ corn. It didn’t germinate! I was so looking forward to harvesting tiny, red cobs of corn.