>> I tried leaf lettuce, from seed, in pots again this year. At first, I thought I had low germination from old seed, so I resowed with fresh seed. Even that is not doing well.

Maybe shading the pots or the soil would help germination. A pot would warm up much faster than soil in the ground. It would also have bigger daily temperature swings.

From what I read, lettuce likes cool soil for germination, and germinates quite poorly in soil over 75 F.

Arlene - your booth is YUMMY! I want at least one of everything and two or three of most what you have

RickCorey said:>> I tried leaf lettuce, from seed, in pots again this year. At first, I thought I had low germination from old seed, so I resowed with fresh seed. Even that is not doing well.

Maybe shading the pots or the soil would help germination. A pot would warm up much faster than soil in the ground. It would also have bigger daily temperature swings.

From what I read, lettuce likes cool soil for germination, and germinates quite poorly in soil over 75 F.

Thanks, Ric. Since I usually grow the lettuce in partial shade when I was able to put it in the ground, I had the pots on the north side of my house in the shade to germinate. It is possible that I just started it to late. I'll try again for fall. I want to make this work, because it's to difficult for me to pick it when I grow it in the ground. Having it raised up a foot in the pots makes all the difference. A lot less slugs in it too....

daylily said:Thanks, Ric. Since I usually grow the lettuce in partial shade when I was able to put it in the ground, I had the pots on the north side of my house in the shade to germinate. It is possible that I just started it to late. I'll try again for fall. I want to make this work, because it's to difficult for me to pick it when I grow it in the ground. Having it raised up a foot in the pots makes all the difference. A lot less slugs in it too....

Juli, just follow my garden progress. I am growing so many things in pots that it is getting to take over my driveway. I will let everyone know how things are doing.

I have lettuce seedlings in ground and lettuce I started myself from seed in a pot. So far the potted lettuce isn't doing much. But I have Bok Choi in a shallow bowl type pot and that is doing fabulously.



Seeds I sowed. The mustard, turnips and Tatsoi have come up already. Waiting on the others. My swiss chard in a bowl is up also.



So far I have to say the zucchini loves it in pots. Growing like crazy. This is the yellow zuc.


Classic Eggplants that I have had planted out the longest of all my eggplants.

I have used mycorrhiza on my tomatoes, Never could figgure out if it made any difference or not. Compost is the best thing for the veggie garden and tomatoes love to grow in compost. But I still use liquid fertilizer. It gives them micro nutrients if nothing else.

Do zucchini have some sort of magic powers that I am not aware of? The fruits grow like crazy! Here is a picture taken 5/31 and the same fruit today. That is only two days! It is 7 inches already and would be longer if it was straight!

All right! So I dragged my pots to the driveway and re-arranged all my veggie pots so now it is nice and organised. Things that belong together are together, not just thown in the next availbale spot as they were planted out. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO pleased with my driveway veggie garden!

looking down the driveway


looking up the driveway


Closer on the garage area. I have pots and stuff there and I often work there so it is messy. On the table are my bowls of dill, parsley and cilandro I am waiting on sprounting. Two pots of Sugar Lace II peas directly in front of table. Then off to the right are two CLASSIC eggplant in big wide pots.


Now lets start from the bottom and work up thru the veggies.


Zucchini starts the garden rows. Leeks snuck in there.


This is the melon row. It has the mystery melons I planted yesterday, the Green Machine melons and the Armenian Cucumbers (which are technically not cucumbers at all).


Mostly Eggplants. Celery and yard long beans also in there.


Bok Choi. The chard bowl will go there as soon as I move it.


Cabbage and cowpeas rows. Cabbage, cauliflower and bush beans in flats. Cowpeas in those black pots at the front. That little bowl of zucchinis will be tossed. Those are the extra plants I kept in order to have male flowers earlier when I only had female flowers.



I often used to think that the driveway was the perfect spot for veggies as it is always in the sun. I just never thought of all these pots before. But I never grew eggplant and zucchini before and needed space!

Newyorkrita said:Do zucchini have some sort of magic powers that I am not aware of? The fruits grow like crazy!

Mmmm, yes. Yes they do. Just wait till they start setting half a dozen at a time.

A Boston lettuce green salad. Also some greens soup. And stir fried Zucchini for dinner.



green soup!


salad

YUMMY! Everything in driveway looks so neat and pretty! Zucchini will grow like gangbusters!

I took the day off. I'm so tired. Babysitting tomorrow so not much gardening tomorrow unless I can talk Miranda into helping Grandma weed or plant something.

Rita - that is the most beautiful garden - WOW and your salad looks YUMMY

Corn and beans are up! Picked our first peach yesterday.

Thanks! I am so pleased with it all re-arranged. I keep going out there and looking at it all.

But remember the driveway pots are not all of my veggie gardens. I have 62 tomato plants, 14 pepper plants, Cucumbers and melons all in ground. Oh yes, and some boston lettuce and radishes and yard long beans in ground.

The tomato plants are doing awesomely.


These here are ready for another layer of Florida Weave.


This is my 7 foot raised square bed. Has tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, radishes and yards long beans. Last spring it was a Tall Bearded Iris garden. In August I moved all the TB iris as I had decided it was going to be a veggie garden this year.



My yellow zucchini plants are loaded with male blossoms again this morning. Nothing but male blossoms on them yesterday also. Bummer. Meantime I tried polinating with the q-tip again on my common green zucchini. I have yet to see a bee near them.

Yellow zucs



Meanwhile there are afew things sprouting up on the batch of seeds I sowed. The mustard is up and so are tatsoi and turnips. Even some golden beets starting to show. So far nothing at all on the celery.



These were mostly sowed even earlier. Some Straight Cukes to replace the ones that died cause something got in them. Some Wakefield and Michihli cabbage. The Wakefield is not up but the Michihli is sprouting. At the very end are the okra and spagetti squash trays but those are too new to come up yet.

All of your veggies look so happy and well cared for

Thanks! They are fussed over.

I'm too tired to happy-dance right now, but ...my peas have blooms! I'm glad now that I planted them on a big hill, otherwise they'd likely be having soggy soil issues. I tried to give some cucumbers just a bit of manure tea, and it just puddled.

Oh, but the heavy rain brought on the potatoes! I'd just about decided to go ahead and plant beans in there...thought the spuds weren't going to show up this year.

I will do the happy dance for you. So glad that you are getting blossoms on your peas. I have never grown potatoes so I have no idea how long it usually takes them to grow. Too bad there is not a little dancing icon.

Happy Dance from me too Chelle