Steady Progress

The garden is doing very well. I'm keeping my eye on the corn, but otherwise I'm very happy with the state of the garden.

I've moved completely away from bamboo stakes and twine for plant support and switched to metal cages and bungee cords. Any structure I make from bamboo is always less stable than a metal cage and lashing every joint on an 20 piece bamboo structure is not fun. I'll keep the stakes on hand for quick repairs and workarounds, but no more bamboo trellises for me.

Sunsugar F1 cherry tomato

Little Baby Flower F1 watermelons

Lil Keeper F1 melons have started their colonization of the reed fence.

Beaverlodge tomato. This plant has really taken off. 2 clusters of blooms have already fruited. It makes me wonder what will be harvested first, this variety or the cherry tomato.

This is a determinate type so pruning is usually not recommended, but I still like to trim the base area to ensure good airflow all around the plant. Good airflow helps prevent disease from taking hold. I do this for all the tomato plants.

Orient Express F1 eggplant

Yukon Gold potatoes. Lots of flowers on these plants, much more than last year. I hope this means lots of potatoes have set.

I've been reading more about when to harvest potatoes and learned that for fresh eating potatoes can be harvested anytime after the plant flowers. If you want to save potatoes for storage then you have to wait for the plants to die back and fall over before harvesting to give the tubers time to cure. Another thing I learned, which I wish I knew last year, is that once the plant starts to yellow and die back stop watering the plant. Last year I watered the plants until they fell over, which was probably the cause of my failed potato harvest.

Sugar Buns F1 corn. I'm considering putting back on the window screen mesh because the wind has been shredding the tips of the leaves. The mesh acts as a mild wind break so I'm hoping it will give the plants a slight reprieve from the gusting. Also, the leaves look a little yellow. I'm not sure if its due to them struggling with the wind or because recent downpours have washed nitrogen out of the soil. If the situation doesn't improve in the next few weeks I'll move the container to somewhere else on the roof.

Orange Blaze F1 peppers

Pepper plants love to sway in the wind so good support is always a must.

Bush Goliath tomato.

Giant Aconcagua peppers. These plants are lagging behind the Orange Blaze plants, but they'll catch up once the summer heat arrives.

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye tomato


20 Pack of 10" Mini Bungee Cords: $6.77

Total: $6.77

2014 Running Cost Total: $292.62


June 12-18:

Strawberry (Ozark Beauty): 2.0 ounces

2014 Running Weight Total: 5.375 ounces

Visit bucolicbushwick.com to read more about rooftop vegetable gardening.