Magenta Weeds, Compost & Peas

Great news ...

It was finally a full week of spring (almost summer-like) weather so the garden is responding.

My compost pile is fixed! I added all those leaves(and worms) last week and it is heating up really nicely, the smell and sliminess is gone as well. Yesterday, I stirred it a bit ... and will turn it fully next weekend. Really excited to use the compost with my garden this year.

Last week when we were clearing the garden I was constantly pulling these magenta-plants. Ugh. They are everywhere in the yard and I have no idea what they are. Invasive weeds? Some exotic ornamental that was planted and refuses to stay in one spot? They are literally everywhere in the yard and I want them gone.

Big Magenta Weeds

Here they are when they are several WEEKS old. Huge, right?  What are these things? How do I get rid of them? Any ideas for online databases of annoying invasive plants??

Younger Magenta Weeds

MOST of my seedlings are responding really well to the warm weather. Everything except the eggplant is showing signs of sprouting now.  :)  I transplanted the peas into the garden yesterday, and sewed carrots directly next to them.

Newly Transplanted Pea Plant

I also sewed thyme directly into the garden, along the right hand border of the top terrace.  I envision it growing in a viney, sprawling, tangled fashion all along the brick border of the terrace.

All the baby mesclun lettuces were also ready to go out. :) I'll thin them out as needed this week once they take root and I can tell the strong from the weak.

Mesclun Lettuces

The beets and chard should be ready to transplant to the garden next weekend.  Maybe the parsley, cilantro, basil, and chives as well. I only see signs of a few cucumber, beans, and cantaloupe beginning to poke through the soil, so it looks like 2  more weeks for those plants. But I am most excited about those tomatoes!! Finally, finally, I see six glorious little seedlings pushing through the soil.  I can't wait to eat some delicious heirloom Italian tomatoes this year.  I'll keep saving the seeds and hopefully in the next few years as I get better at this gardening thing, I can can them and make fresh yummy sauce all year long! :)

A view of the garden

Considering how things have changed, I'm cautiously optimistic that by next weekend my eggplant, thyme, and carrots will be showing signs of life. :)

~MP~

Earth Day!

Well, its Earth Day/Holy Saturday! :) I've been off all week and had been hoping to get outside way more than I did since I came down with an annoying head cold that pretty much kicked my ass. But I have started some yard work, thanks mostly to John's muscles.  We have 3 terraced little squares, each maybe 6 feet by six feet-ish. He helped me to rake them out, turn the soil, eradicate these annoying magenta weeds.  My seedlings were started inside a few weeks ago and I am excited to see that some of them are actually sprouting.  It has been a miserably rainy spring so far. Hence the delay in the rest of them sprouting. (One can only hope...)  I'm seeing my mesclun mix, beets, beans, chard, cilantro, chives.... but no sign of the peas, cucumbers, cantaloupe, eggplant, basil, parsley, or tomatoes.  I am especially sad/worried about the tomatoes.  They are seeds of an Italian heirloom variety from a friend of John's. Why, o why, aren't they sprouting?? Is it too cold?? I usually end up buying some plants from Home Depot or Walmart but I was looking forward to starting a bunch from seed this year.  The compost is breaking down but I needed to add more brown/nitrogen to it yesterday. During the winter, our long, awful, snowy winter... I was not able to get to any browns so I just kept adding the kitchen waste, so its a little slimy and smelly and unusable right now.  So I added leaves and twigs in layers and hopefully in the next few weeks this starts to correct itself.  In the meantime, I did find a very cool article online about companion planting.  When I was in Baja two summers ago, I learned about the traditional three sisters of beans, corn, and tomatoes. (or squash..) So apparently there are lots of vegs that work well together and some that really don;t do well together.  Keeping this is mind, I have sketched out a plan for all the plants that I have growing this year, assuming that they all do sprout.  I'll take a pic of the space and my plans for what needs to grow next to what in the next few days ...