Week 3

Gardens are kind of like children. If you don't look at photos of them every so often, you don't realize how fast they're growing.

If you had asked me this morning how much progress the plants are making vs. last week, I wouldn't have said much, but the photos speak for themselves. The tomato plants are making giant leaps and bounds, despite the continuing harsh weather.

I'm pleased with the way everything is growing except the onions. Those onions are still looking a touch waterlogged to me. Their stalks are still nice and green, but what I can see of the bulbs looks unhappy somehow. The Walla Wallas have perked up, however, after pinching off some of the unhealthy stalks. I think they'll be replanted this weekend, along with the rest of the yellow onion bulbs. I've scouted out another spot in my yard that seems to get enough sun, so we'll see if they thrive over there.

My impulsive nature suggests that we might also try a little garlic while we're at it, but common sense may prevail.

One thing I had wanted to add to the mix but wasn't able to locate in the nursery were tomatillo plants. I can grow them from seed, but I'm not sure if it's too late for that now. My research indicates I'll need two as they are not self-pollinating (who knew some plants could pollinate themselves?), and they're definitely growable in my region, so I'll have to inquire a bit more about those.

I will, however, be planting a sweet potato that escaped a fate as my dinner by sprouting several lovely leaves. It's so pretty, I'm going to try and grow those little shoots as houseplants (I don't have deep enough soil to grow them as food). This is reportedly easy to do; we'll see about that. In the meantime, it's enjoying the view from my kitchen window.

On a side note, I haven't had to do much of what "traditional" gardeners need to do as of yet (you know, weeding, tilling, fertilizing, etc.), but it looks like there are a few other things growing in the yard this season that I need to discourage. I've been looking for tips online on how to do that without using crazy chemicals (as my two-year-old would surely be exposed), and have found a couple of suggestions. So far, I like pouring boiling water over the cracks in the patio to kill the roots, and using vinegar. What tips has anyone else come across?

Here's to another week of happy growing!