Sometimes, I’m a little too Dutch frugal for my own good. Or for the good of my garden, for that matter.
Back in May, when the lovely gentleman from the Gardens of Babylon dropped off $10-$15 worth of starts (from hometown nursery back in Southwest Michigan, Wenke’s) along with the shipment of soil, my little transplanted East Nashvillian (and admittedly cheapskate) heart skipped a beat. I felt like I’d won a kismet lottery: free veggies! From Kalamazoo to Nashville! Clearly it was meant to be.
No, the corn wasn’t the variety I’d hoped to plant, nor were the 
cucumbers and peppers. Dill? Who needs dill? Oh, what the heck, I’ll find room. Lemongrass? Hmm, that could be useful. At any rate, the three bush cucumbers would only take up one measly square each and, so really, what could go wrong?
Well, those “bush cucumbers” weren’t really bush and two of them weren’t really cucumbers at all. Like I said, who needs dill? The bottleneck gourd is long gone, but I just couldn’t bring myself to pull perfectly healthy Athena muskmelons (Gah! Dutch strikes again.) And now, it’s far too late. The garden belongs to them.
PLANTS ON DECK 2015: Hey Self, revised and updated
Mr. Stripey tomato (1 plant/2 sf)
- As of 6/23 the plants look pretty good (some yellowing along the bottom) and we have some blooms, but no fruits
- Since mid-May he’s been fertilized, organically, twice a month
- The two Mr. S’s planted along the south lawn are growing similarly.
Roma Tomato and Red Cherry (front of house, planted 4/25)
- They are just starting to go gangbusters; however, I’m a little worried that as the days grow shorter (morning sun only — in shade by 1:00 at summer solstice), their fruits will be cut short
- Plant more yellow cherry and pear tomatoes
bush zucchini (3 plants/4 sf)
- I love these guys! And so does the Hurricane. Looks like we have a new veggie vying for green bean’s top spot
- Their location, in the south west corner, works well and although they’re cheating into the neighboring square a little, 3 plants/4 sf appear to be working thus far
- Plant more
basil (4 plants/1 sf)
- I mean, it’s cool to have basil leaves the size of your hand, but giant basil it is so not our favorite. It’s pretty and yes, gigantic, but it doesn’t pack the punch we like our basil to deliver
- These got squashed in the first row, SW quadrant, between the tomato and the bush cucumber that isn’t, so lack of sun is slowing them down
- Several were planted at the front of the house and have been transplanted to the herb garden where there is more sun.
- Plant more, plant differently.
marigolds (8 plants/2 sf):
- These French dwarfs didn’t stand a chance. Next year big, tall African marigolds need to keep the tomatoes company
- Plant more flowers, not just marigolds. Need butterflies and bees
bush cucumber (3 plants/3 sf 1 mystery, full-size)
- It is impossible to plant too
many cucumbers — the Hurricane will eat them the day they ripen. - Yes, Endurer, you said this in April and again in May. When I thought I had planted three Spacemasters
- I did not
- Fortunately, rather than pitch any, I planted three along the south side of the house. (Go D-team!)
- Plant more — bush varieties for the raised bed and trailing varieties for the south wall.
chard [seed] (16-24ish/2 sf)
- Figure out what’s eating the chard — it’s not us and diatomaceous earth ain’t doing much
- Designate one bed to be planted largely with spring vegetables and stick lotsa’ chard and spinach in it
- This year I staggered the seeds — 8 plants maturing at one time is not sufficient, 16 should do the trick
- Plant more
romaine lettuce (4 plants/1 sf)
- These were terrific!
- We enjoyed the outer leaves on sandwiches for weeks and the grand finale — featuring Porter Road Butcher’s steak — Caesar was sublime
- They are done and gone by early/mid June
- Planted in the third row, these were sheltered in the front by the crazed cucumber and in the back by towering Silver Queen. An excellent location, actually. By the time they had finished, the zucchini, creeping cucurbit, and sprawling Purple Royalty were happy to take over the real estate.
- Plant more (both in the spring bed and in the summer bed as described above)
butter leaf lettuce (4 plants/1 sf)
- Meh
- Plant more heat-tolerant varieties
purple royalty bush beans [seeds] (18/3 sf)
- That staggered planting thing? Well, it’s a good idea in theory, but in this house, we need at least 18 plants/3 SF sowed at the same time to yield enough for a meal
- I thought that bush beans were pretty compact, it turns out they’re not. Not really. These princes have sprawled over the end of the bed, broken in the wind and choked out the peppers
- Plant more, do not plant in the front row; try the second/third rows
Kentucky Wonder pole beans [seeds] ) (12/2 sf)
- Too soon to tell, but they have shot right off the ends of their 4′ poles and are smothering the 6’+ Silver Queen
- Plant in the back row!
red bell pepper (3 plants/3sf)
Silver Queen corn (12 plants/4 sf)
- It’s too soon to say
- Consider planting along the chain-link fence?
muskmelon 2 4 plants/4 sf):
- Oops
- NE corner seems to be a great location
- One musk melon should do the trick
Plants On Deck 