Major Haul

The garden went crazy while I was away. It was incredibly nice to come back to such abundance. As an added bonus it looks like I caught all the hornworm caterpillars. I was fully expecting to come back to at least one devoured plant, but no. No more plant damage!

Trickling In

The summer crops are beginning to trickle in. First it was the eggplant, now it's the cherry tomatoes. What will be next? Personally, I'm hoping for a watermelon.

Enjoying the Calm

I sound like a broken record, but I don't care because the garden is still doing great! So far I see no signs of any pests or disease. Usually I'm battling aphids or spider mites this time of year, it's a nice change of pace. I'd like to say this is all due to my steadily improving gardening skills, but frankly I think most of the credit goes to the mild weather we've been having. Heat waves put a lot of stress on plants, which opens the door to pests and disease. No heat waves means less stress. I'm going to enjoy the calm while it lasts because I expect this to change as soon as the first heat wave hits.

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.

Tomatoes and More on the Way

The harvest is picking up. All varieties of tomatoes, 1 pepper and 1 corn ear were harvested this week. Melons, potatoes and soybeans will be ready in the coming weeks.

Ominous Signs

Well, the good times had to end at some point. Last week's heatwave did no favors for the garden. Very high daytime and nighttime temperatures meant practically no pollinating or fruiting for the week, so reduced yield down the line. Prolonged hot weather also leaves plants weakened, making them more vulnerable to disease, which is unfortunately the case for one section of the rooftop garden.

Catching Up

Ok I'm back. Vacation was awesome and I'm sad it's over, but I'm very happy to return to gardening. I fully expected pests and/or disease to run wild while I was gone, but to my immense surprise nothing of the sort happened. The garden is still doing great! 2 plants look a little yellow, but just 2 out of 20+ is great news. All of the plants have grown immensely and almost all of them have fruited.

More Tomatoes and Some Peppers on the Way

The garden is, unbelievably, still doing great. I'm actually in a mild state of shock over how well everything is going. I cannot remember the last time something has not gone wrong by this time of year. I'm certainly not complaining though, I'm just pleasantly surprised.

Slowly But Surely

The garden is still doing great. There's no bad news to report so I've just been focusing on keeping the plants watered and fed and trimming the suckers off the tomato plants.

Looking Good

The garden is doing pretty well so far. No signs of disease, nutrient deficiencies or signs of insect pests. Which is surprising since this is the time of the year I usually expect some aphids to show up, not that I'm complaining! The melon and pepper plants are far behind last year's progress around this same time, but they're steadily growing larger so I'm not concerned.

First Harvest 2013

All Plants on the Roof

The 2 melon varieties were transplanted on Monday so that means every rooftop container has been planted. I'm glad, now I no longer have to worry about the seedlings drying out in their little cups before I make it home from work.

More Plants on the Roof

All of the peppers and and the rest of the tomatoes went in last weekend. All that's left to plant are the melons. 3, Planet F1 pepper plants went into the Southern Patio Jumbo Growing Tower on the right.

Almost There

Alright, the rooftop garden is ready to go. Every container has been mulched and fertilized, limed too if they are used to grow tomatoes (helps prevent blossom end rot). All they need now are the plants and support cages. The tomato plants will be planted this week, the peppers some time next week and melons the week after.

New Plants on the Roof

On Deck corn is on the roof! The seeds were sowed at the beginning of May, once the overnight temps moved into the 50's. The netting keeps out any curious birds. I've been checking every day, but so far no signs of sprouting. This is my first time growing corn so I'm sure I'll be watching this container like a hawk the entire growing season.