Some Efforts to Warm The Soil a Little. 5.14.2020

Soil temp is running about 58 to 60 this am.  I found some "Wall-o-water"-type cover   systems that I bought last year at Bi-mart but never used.  A long time ago, I used these to give tomatoes a head start. 

Since I have two "Bodaceous" and two "Better Boy" plants, I set up a water cover for one each of those.  There was one to spare, so I set that up on the "Early Girl Bush" tomato.

Today it's been raining all day.  After about 8 hours, the soil temp is only 62 in these units, but give them some sun and I imagine they will warm up better

After a week or two, we can see if the covered tomato plants are bigger than the uncovered ones of the same type.

For the raised bed with peppers, I added "Quonset hut" made from fencing, and topped that with clear polyethylene painter's dropcloth.  The Quonset looks like this, which is on some tomatoes.  An additional package of the polyethylene painter's dropcloth should come today via Amazon, in which case those tomatoes will also get a warming cover.

Here is the set-up on the peppers, in a raised bed.  Also, in front of that raised bed is a planted row of Lima bean seeds that I soaked last night.  I'm sure they also need some warmth.

Vegetable Garden Update. 5.13.2020

I planted some bean seeds, Landreth Bush Bean, shown.  These are some of my newest seeds, actually packaged for this year.  I'll soak the Limas overnight and plant tomorrow.

I think some of the other bush beans I planted two days ago have started to germinate.  I saw a couple of beans sticking above the soil.  It could be that rain washed the soil away, but I'm hopeful.  That was the Dragon's Tongue bush bean.

I think the soil temp is OK for about everything now  Today was overcast and drizzly, with soil temp 68 F in the afternoon.

Soil Temperature today, 5.13.2020

I cleared most of the rest of one of the messiest raised beds.  My inclination has always been to garden organically, but now I don't feel like I have that luxury.  Still, I'm not using pesticides, just Osmocote and a little Miracle Grow here and there.  For these, I treated the soil with Osmocote at the instruction amount.  This is not the Jalapeno bed, with two slicing cucumber plants at the back.  I raised all of these from seeds, planting last month.  For peppers, it might have been smarter to start in Feb or March, but I wasn't up to it then.  They are small, but I think they will do OK as the weather heats up.

Jalapeno Pepper Plants in a Raised Bed.  5.13.2020

I wondered if it was too cool a couple of weeks ago for planting pumpkins and squashes in the vegetable garden.  I did cover them at night for two weeks.  Since I stopped covering them a few days ago, they are really taking off.  I'm most interested in the Pink Banana Squashes, for nostalgic reasons.  It's growing nicely.  Those French Pumpkins are good too.  There may not be enough room for all of these, depends on whether the vines grow faster than the potatoes grow to clear out that area for spread.  It might work out OK.

Galeux d'Esynes Pumpkin.  5.13.2020

Pink Banana Squash.  5.13.2020

Orphaned Bearded Irises, First Bloom. 5.13.2020

These grew from rhizomes found while walking Rufus.  The white one was in the power company easement where a lot of people walk their dogs, and some dump yard waste, which is probably illegal.  The others were from a curbside "Free Irises" box, just rhizomes.  The sign said "purple and yellow" but that doesn't quite seem accurate.  One is not quite open, looks similar to Shah Jehan.  The last is the variety "Sunny Disposition", which I thought had died and I three the rhizomes into the woodlot, discovering growing rhizomes a year or two later and planting to see what would grow.  At the time, the only yellow that I had was "Sunny Disposition", and this looks exactly like it, so that clinches the ID.

Unknown White Iris from Walking Rufus.  5.12.2020

Unknown Irises From Walking Rufus.  5.13.2020

Iris Sunny Disposition.  5.13.2020

Seeds Planted, 5.11.2020

I planted these seeds during the past two days.  All are at least a year old, and some beans are at least 5 years old.

I pre-soaked the Roma II but not the others.

Soil temp was in the 70s.  Ambient temperature was in the 80s.

Last night it rained and is in the 50s.  I think most should be OK.  Certainly, the radishes don't mind some chill.  Beans can require a warmer situation.

I added label packing or "use by" dates for future reference.

More Bearded Iris Blossoms. 5.11.2020

Bearded irises are my favorite flower.  Here are some more photos, taken today 5.11.2020

This was a "free rhizome" from the curbside while walking Rufus.

I pollinated "Immortality" with "Spiced Custard" and this is what grew.  I call it "Golden Caterpillar Climbing the Snowy Mountain to the Temple".  :-)

"Repeat Performance"

"Zin City"

Not an iris!  I planted this Itoh Peony from Home Depot a few months ago.  It's nice to have a sample flower now.  "Scarlet Heaven", I think.  5.11.2020

Another photo of  curbside rhizome, I think is "Blue Shimmer"  5.11.2020