Saturdays have become my chance to putter around in the garden without having to monitor our toddler. It's nice to have a few minutes of peace and quiet. Yesterday however the heavens decided to open wide and we were blessed with quite bit of rain (about 1/2" over the course of a few hours) which is nice for the plants but not so good for staying dry. However DH was a dear and decided to give me the afternoon "off" anyway, even if I couldn't putter in the garden.
So of course I kept to the "theme" and ran off to Garden Fever (the local nursery) as soon as I'd finished paying the bills. I was tempted by so many things! (Another rain barrel, a beautiful dark magenta blossomed magnolia tree, lots of ceramic pots, fun tin flowers, new very hip rain boots, summer blooming bulbs, a bird bath and a beautiful fountain.) Yet! I refrained.
I went initially to get some Sulphur (organic fungicide) for the purple blotch that's attacking the garlic. For once the nursery was actually cheaper then what I was looking at on-line. Score! I also recently read that you should not plant marigolds next to beans - which I was completely planning on doing. Uh Oh! So I followed up on what does do well and apparently beans benefit from summer savory which improve their taste. I thought I'd pick up a packet of seeds but they didn't have any. It's not a very popular herb. I'll have to find some recipes I can make with it. Anyway they were placing another seed order tomorrow so they added my pack to the list. Oh darn - looks like I'll have to go back and pick it up! ;^)
Of course the danger of being at the nursery without having to watch a toddler is that you can actually shop. I was still very good even with a wall of seed pack racks tempting me. The prettiest lettuce (four seasons) flashed its pretty blushing leaves at me and how could I resist that?! In the basket it went. It was then I also decided that 4 sq/ft of radishes was too much for DH and that I should get a foot or two for beets. I was lured in by the chioggia beets which look really cool when you cut them open - white and pink rings! So less radishes for DH and more beets for me. Heh. However I'm not so mean, I did get DH some Walla Walla Onion starts. He pouted like a little girl when I told him I hadn't planted any. I want to keep him happy so he finishes up some of my honey do list... ::cough:: potato bins ::cough:: As I was wandering around lusting over all the other beautiful (Hellebore) plants and garden ornamentation I wound up eavesdropping on a funny conversation three of the staff were having about whether or not mixing chocolate and mint was a tasty decision or not. They were laughing and being quite boisterous so it was hard to not over hear. One was adamant that mixing chocolate and mint was a crime against chocolate and should be outlawed. The others all thought her preference was shameful and she had no business making such outlandish laws governing the fate of those who make delicious concoctions of mint and chocolate. I laughed to myself and wandered on. Two rows of plants over I came across nothing other then : Lamiaceae Mentha x piperita f. citrata Chocolate aka Chocolate Mint. Which smells exactly like chocolate and peppermint! Yeah. It came home with me. Mmmmmm.
Now that there's a break in the rain and clouds looks like I might get a chance to put carrots and beet seeds in the garden. Off I go.
Oh and did I mention that my peas finally sprouted? Yay!
.75" rain for the week
Weather: 52.5 °F and Scattered Clouds
Humidity: 38%
Dew Point: 28 °F
Wind: 10.0 mph from the NW
Wind Gust: 18.0 mph
5 comments:
Everything I have says marigolds are a GOOD companion to beans, both pole and bush! Basil, Borage, Broccoli, Carrot, Chinese Cabbage, Corn, Collard, Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Marigold, Mint, Pea, Radish, Rosemary, Savory, Strawberry, Sunflower, Tansy are all listed as companions. Oddly enough, beets are said to be incompatible, but my beets were planted along side my beans last year and both were excellent. Of course, anything in the onion family is incompatible with beans.
Uh...that was me who posted that comment. Now I know, when I sign in to YouTube, Google keeps me signed in under that name....I didn't even notice :-D
Huh. I thought that too (that marigolds were okay next to beans). I wonder why this one source was so adamant about not putting them together. Weird. Well I think I'll try the summer savory now, since I ordered it, and see how it goes. I'd feel bad asking them to stock it and then not picking it up. 0.o
I was wondering who Carol was! Good to know if you pop up here again I'll know who you are whatever you call yourself. ;^)
Okaaay...so today I'll take move that marigold away from the beans!
Its not even the right time to plant beans here, but I read in someone's blog that you can sprout dried beans from the supermarket, so big kid that I am, I lined a container with cotton wool and now have som gorgeous little "Northern Bean" plants.
Rain boots are on my list too!
I don't actually *need* rain-boots but the one's the nursery carries are so much more incredibly *hip* then the one's I own it's almost worth it to get new one's. ;^)
That's so cool that your store bought beans sprouted!
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