The Secret Life of Walter Knitty

The garden is finally finished.  The last 2 tomatoes, green beans, and hot pepper went in today.  Unfortunately, the hot pepper I had already started fell out of the window.  I didnt notice it until I came home from work and it was beyond dead.

No, I dont have screens in my windows.  The only window that has a screen is the one in the bathroom.  The other 3 windows are about 2 feet, or so, wide and maybe 3ish feet tall if not a little taller.  Besides, it’s Oregon which means, we dont have mosquitoes, biting flies, or gnat problems (sorry if this makes anyone jealous) and if any bugs do fly in it’s Claire’s job to catch and eat them.  Her track record isnt so great, maybe about 60%.  She looses interest after a while.  Do you know how nice it is to be able to be outside in the summer and not have to worry about getting eaten alive by mosquitoes?  In Iowa, they dont care if you are wearing some kind of repellent.  They still think you are a tasty, moving snack.

The Tigerella isnt so lonely anymore.  It sits next to a Green Zebra now and they can do their tomato thing.  I am worried about one tomato though, the Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge.  I forgot to water it right away this morning, since it was sunny and sitting in the window, it didnt take long for it to get really droopy.  I soaked it and let it sit in the sink where it was cool.  Hopefully, the shock of being re-potted wont be too much for it.  Now, it’s just a matter of waiting.  It’s supposed to be very nice for the next few days.  Sunny and in the 70’s.  Maybe, it’ll be enough for the seeds I planted last week to stick their heads out.  Everything else looks good.  The spinach has new growth, the carrots are getting their carrot leaves, marigolds are getting their marigold leaves,  herbs are taking off, lettuce is growing away.  Lettuce is ridiculously easy to grow.  Now, it’s just a matter of waiting, watering, feeding when the need arrives, picking off dead leaves, some pruning, etc.  That, and a lot of hope that everything will grow, be happy, healthy, and plentiful.

While everything is grown from seed, I did have a moment of weakness today when picking up tomato cages.  Petunias are beautiful, so many bright colours, and most of all, I love their sweet smell.