let's grow - container gardening in St. John's

for summer 2020, at Guide to the Good we took on a bit of container gardening, on the roof of a little shed in St. John's.

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30/03/20 - the planting started.  snow was piled high and she wondered, will they these ever grow?  we planted sunflowers, peas, and kale.

05/04/20 - they grew!  we lost a few but the sunflowers, peas and kale were off to a good start.

05/20 - after a lot of consideration we found a sunny location that would be easy to water. we had to figure out containers and drainage (the container gardening resource from Food First NL is a great resource), the stability of the little shed with the addition weight and, again, drainage.  

31/05/20 - in a borrowed pick-up we brought in good Newfoundland soil from Murray's Garden Centre

the buckets weighed a lot, so we topped them up in position on the roof of the little shed

06/06/20 - we bought plants to supplement those we seeded.  potatoes, tomatoes, herbs and lemon cucumber came from The FARM.  we were given more tomato plants from friends who grew from seed.  we planted carrots from seed.

18/06/20 - after the first full moon, and after again a the threat of frost we planted!  from left potatoes, tomatoes and cilantro, carrots, tomatoes and thyme, tomatoes and peas.

10/07/20 - they are on the grow.  the potatoes are doing ok, some of the tomato plants have tiny tomatoes, the carrots are coming up, and the peas are growing in a twist.

23/07/20 - recently planted - in the driveway rather than on the roof!  we got lemon cucumbers from The FARM at the end of June when we did 'We Got This' with Trina Porter, and they finally made it to the big tub.  it's a sunny spot with changing shadow depending on the position of the car.  we rotate the tub to keep things nice and even. 

23/07/2020 - these beautiful creatures are the little ones who showed promise a couple of weeks ago.  they are bright and beautiful!

23/07/2020 - we did a bit of garden editing. in the We Got This video mentioned above, Trina demonstrated pinching the tomato plants.  we had a good look at the leaves, a good look at the flowers, and pinched away the branches without flowers.  this pretty picture was the result.  the flowers look good and bright!

24/07/2020 - the sunflowers are coming up! no heads yet, but they're standing on their own stalks.

05/08/2020 - these little friends are settling in.  

05/08/2020 - they're sweet colour coming into the tomatoes!  we put sticks in to help the peas grow up, and they are reaching!

05/08/2020 - perhaps inspired by the powerful wegelia, the side sunflowers are coming up.  they've got a good corner, sheilded from wind and they're right in the ground so maybe they'll be the hardiest.

05/08/2020 - these bucket grown sunflowers are spindly, but the side of the steps seems to be working.

05/08/2020 - our COVID-19 world has come down a level, and Nanny is happy to pick backyard raspberries.  

05/08/2020 - but sometimes the mask has to move!

10/08/2020 - the beauty on the side of the steps looks ready to pop!

10/08/2020 - the tiny tim tomatoes look fabulous in the coming of dusk 

10/08/2020 - the long view shows that some things have been allowed to go too far.  sorry coriander! 

10/08/2020 - the stress of the bolted coriander is eased with the addition of a luscious pot of lettuce, courtesy of a gardening maven in Southlands. 

23/08/2020 - we were away for more than a week, and the squash got flowery.  we may need to help the fertilization along!  where are you, Trina?

23/08/2020 - look at who popped in! the spindlies in the bucket by the side of the steps are the first to shine!  congrats and thanks for coming out.

23/08/2020 - the sno peas seem to have got the hang of the climb! keep going, keep growing!