Post Thanksgiving Pea Update

Two pots of my pea plants are yellow and dried out. Clearly I'm not getting any peas out of them. My question is, why did they die? I truly have no idea.

Nov. 18 Pea Update

Peas still looking good. By the time Thanksgiving is over I will probably know what's going to happen to them. Today I pinched off some flowers in the hopes that it would help the plants grow.

Nov. 11 Pea Update

My peas were starting to tie themselves to each other and pull each other down, so it was time to take some sewing thread and tie each plant to a separate post that they can grow up. Last time I used nylon string, but I don't think that string that thick or strong was necessary. It was also ugly. Hopefully the thread idea will work.



These plants are not looking so hot. I don't know why--is it the soil? Their location in the garden? I also noticed that these plants were already producing flowers and even a couple of peas. Since I know these plants are supposed to grow to 2 feet and they are only about 6 inches right now, I pinched off the peas and the flowers in the hopes of encouraging the plants to get taller and stronger before they put their energy into producing peas. It is my hope that this wil prevent further dying of the bottom leaves. It's so hard to pinch off those beautiful pea blossoms, though.

Nov. 11 Basil Update

My basil is growing prolificly! I've cut off a few leaves and frozen them to use in hot dishes. I don't want to ransack my plants, so I'm not making pesto. I plan to make basil gelato or perhaps lemon basil gelato. I'll let you know how it turns out and provide a recipe if it tastes good.

Insect munching on basil leaves

Despite the insect that is damaging a few of the leaves, my basil has been growing strong and the problem has not become widespread even though I am doing nothing to control it. This same insect is also causing some damage to pea plant leaves that are nearby. The pea plants are younger and not as strong yet, so I hope this doesn't kill them.

Arugula Research

I wanted to find out why my arugula isn't really growing, and here's what I found out. Arugula germinates best in soils around 40-55 degrees. It won't be that cold here until January--if then. Not only has it not been this cold yet, it's actually been an exceptionally warm fall (we had a high of 80 a couple of days ago, and that was on the coast, where it's cooler). I haven't even taken a sweater out with me this week! So if we get some cooler weather in a couple of months, I'll try planting some more arugula and see if it fares better.

A Basil Miracle

10/20/06

The first time I tried growing basil on my balcony, almost nothing happened. Then just for the hell of it, I threw some more seeds on the dirt. These plants have grown fervently and have huge, deeep green leaves--nothing like my other basil plants. It's amazing what sufficient sunlight will do. And though a few leaves have shown some silvery streaks (signs of a pest), overall the plants haven't had any problems and have been staying alive and healthy. I guess I don't have a black thumb after all!

Cool Season Crops

On October 9, I planted peas and arugula, the only two cool weather crops I could find on Burpee's website that only need partial sun. I made sure to get peas that are resistant to powdery mildew, since that's what killed all of my pea plants before. I also planted more plants to give myself a better chance of success.

It is now November 9, and all of my peas have sprouted, are a couple inches tall, and have started developing tendrils. Some peas are growing faster than others, which I assume is related to how much sunlight they are getting on the various parts of my balcony. Surprisingly, the peas that I planted near my incredibly prolific basil, which I thought must be a nice sunny spot, are the ones that are growing more slowly.

My arugula is supposed to be almost ready to harvest by now, but not all of the seeds even sprouted, so I guess the conditions in my container garden were not ripe for arugula. My peas should be ready to harvest in another month, according to the package. According to their rate of growth, I think it will take a little longer.

Even though it's fall, it's been very sunny and has only rained once.