Finally, some sun!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Garden on May 24"][/caption]
And what goes with sun? Sunflowers!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="2 week old sunflowers"][/caption]
I started these sunflowers inside because I didn't want the rain to hurt them. But it turns out that sunflowers are pretty strong and I probably could have just planted them in the ground ("ground" being my raised bed.) Oh well. Just look at their nice roots!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Ignore my dirty fingers, please."][/caption]
Along with the sunflowers I also started some summer squash inside. Again, it probably could have been sown directly in the ground but I like to baby my little seedlings. Like the sunflowers, these little ones seem pretty hardy and the leaves are a nice shade of dark green.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Again, ignore the fingers."][/caption]
I don't have too much space left for plants outside (or at least space that is sunny) so here's where the sunflowers and some squash will go:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="That strangely glowing thing to the right is lavender left over from last year."][/caption]
The rest of the squash is going to the right of that picture, to compete with the mint (just kidding, I'll help the squash out until it gets big enough to fight for itself.)
Here are some droopy, newly-planted sunflowers with a few squash:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="What's that amidst the ivy? Don't worry about it."][/caption]
And here's the rest of the squash
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Stay back, mint!"][/caption]
It's a little late to be planting squash (probably should have done it about a month ago) but I think the growing season here is long enough that it shouldn't matter too much. Here's the squash again, this time with my new little rosemary I bought at Urban Jungle on Passyunk Ave.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Squashies"][/caption]
The rosemary was so cute and looked nice and healthy and I couldn't resist, even though I have rosemary seeds. But I would have had to have waited to plant the seeds in the fall and I wanted rosemary now, dammit. What can I say, I am prone to impatience.
Oh, hey. While I was prepping the raised bed for the squash and sunflowers (basically grabbing handfuls of dirt and worms and mixing some compost it) I found something interesting:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="That's a weird-shaped rock."][/caption]
Hmm. Not a rock!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Skull"][/caption]
Some little animal skull! My picture is sadly not too great but those front teeth mean business. I probably should have mounted it on a stick as a warning to all other animals Lord of the Flies-style but it kinda freaked me out so I threw it out. I know, I know. Or I could have just kept it in there and let it fertilize the soil and decompose on its own - do skulls even do that? - but I didn't really want to come across it again. I might have screamed when I found it. Maybe.
That was the excitement for this week! Still lots of flowers on the tomatoes:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="Fuzzy"][/caption]
And, well, lots of tomato plants:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="374" caption="A veritable tomato forest!"][/caption]
My grandmother warned me that some of the flowers might fall off the tomatoes without any fruit but I think that's okay because there are many, many flowers now.
I'm going away this weekend so I'm kind of hoping it rains here a bit. If not, though, I've got a backup waterer. Thank you!
Sarah DeGiorgis has lived in Philly for five years and is finally starting to feel like a true Philadelphian, though she still detests cheesesteaks. She enjoys reading, watching bad tv, eating and cooking good food and digging in the dirt. Catch up with her continuing efforts to grow food in South Philly by clicking here.
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Sarah's Garden Week 5: A little surprise
09/01/2022 – SPFC Back to School Recipe Series by Chef Monica Glass
08/01/2022 – Board Statement on Supreme Court Ruling
06/07/2013 – Sarah's Garden: Rain
06/05/2013 – Let's party our way to 600 members!
06/04/2013 – Pallet Gardening Workshop: June 1, 2013
05/31/2013 – Sarah's Garden: Growth
05/31/2013 – Show off your garden on the South Philly Garden Tour!
05/30/2013 – Take a look "behind the scenes" at the Co-op
05/29/2013 – Happy Hour at Underdogs -- Plus, a Contest
05/29/2013 – The results are in: Board Elections