Ending May on a Green Note

As May comes to a close, I'd like to give some updates:

1. This past weekend we weeded (and weeded) and mulched some more. The weeds are prolific, to say the least. The upside is that once the vegetable plants get bigger they should block sun from getting to the weeds and they should get under control. Then again, the mulch was supposed to do that too.

2. What's eating at you? No, really. Something's eating at my eggplant plants. I didn't see any visible pests so I sprayed my organic "pesticide" (basically soapy water) from last year on all of the plants, not just the ravaged eggplants, just in case. Something was eating the eggplant leaves early last year too, but it subsided - whether it was the result of the organic "pesticide" or something else, I'll never know. I'd hate to lose all 6 plants.

3. The tomatoes are dying to be staked! Some are just fine. Others are getting tall (perhaps the grape tomatoes?). I plan on staking this next week (or weekend). I'm going to try something another blogger described as "The Florida Weave." Details to follow! I also pruned them - which is to pluck off some smaller branches so the plant can focus on the larger ones and the flowering and fruit production. I may have said this before, but it might be worth repeating - 15 tomato plants is a lot of tomato plants!! Gulp.

4. Zucchini looks good. At least 3/4 looked good. One is a little smaller. Maybe it's struggling or maybe I planted it later. Who can remember these kinds of things?

5. Heirloom Sweet Peppers are starting to flower! This seems early to me, but I guess it takes a while to produce fruit and then ripen each fruit. The banana peppers are...still small. But hopefully this week's warm temperatures will give them a little oomph. Also, I have set up a small experiment. I transplanted one zucchini because it was too close to another zucchini. I moved it too close to a banana pepper plant. My thinking was twofold-1) I love zucchini! Be damned banana peppers! And 2) I have 4 other banana pepper plants. But basically I figured, "Let me put these two little plants next to each other and see which one wins out!"

6. Green beans are...growing. Maybe I should plant more? I think I have about 8 plants. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? It sure doesn't look like much in the garden.

7. I should probably fertilize again soon. Maybe in a few weeks. I don't want to overdo it on them. Clearly (from the weed and plant growth), it's properly fertilized right now.