Ghetto Gardening 2015
What a beautiful, warm spring it's been.
05/15/15:
So far this year, I've managed to keep the rosebushes, geraniums, oleander, jasmine, lilies, fuchsia, and small trees from perishing. The rosemary and blackberries are thriving. In some of the empty pots, I planted decorative small flowers such as zinnias and violas.
Clicking on the small images below will bring up a full-size version.
This rosebush is my favorite.
Small flowering plants
at the side of the yard.
Lots of pots, along the side of the house.
Other pots and planter boxes have been designated for herbs, tomatoes and peppers. A lot of the tomato seeds have sprouted, and a few of the cayenne peppers. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have decent-sized seedlings to move into larger pots. I also bought two cayenne pepper plants that were 6 inches tall a month ago; these are now just a bit bigger. The thyme and basil seeds that were sown 2 weeks ago are just starting to show up as very tiny sprouts.
My next step is to discover how to keep snails and insects from eating holes in the leaves of the flowering plants, and completely devouring the basil as they did last year. I want to use natural rather than chemical solutions when possible.
Additional ongoing research includes figuring out which soil and light conditions my plants prefer. Some things are planted in purchased potting soils, some in the local dirt (high sand and clay content) and some in a mixture of the two. There isn't much space available for small plants to get full sun in our yard, but I'm hoping the tomatoes and peppers will still yield more fruit than previous years if I take note of the sunnier spots and make sure the pots spend enough time in those areas.
Sunny area for plants, and a cat butt.
Planting space for tomatoes, peppers, and/or basil.
These old books are a great resource. Identifier tags are made from re-purposed Solo keg cups.
Watering all of this adequately is a mild concern. The California drought persists, so I want to balance water conservation with proper cultivation of a small amount of plants. Recycling has always been part of my ghetto gardening strategy; and these days I'm re-using household wastewater. When running the water to get it warm for washing my face, I place a pitcher under the tap. I've been pouring this and the water from rinsing dishes on my plants. I'm also striving to provide only the needed amount to each plant, and to achieve more targeted watering. I don't want to water the pavement, only the potted plants on top of it, so I'm trying to be precise when using the hose and pouring from the watering can.
