Garden update: July 2

Lots going on in the garden...

I'll start with the good news. Basil is going gangbusters. I tend to grow a few different varieties, and tuck the plants into several locations around the yard. I wanted to do some Thai basil this year and I think I have some seed in my stash, but haven't got around to planting it yet. In the meantime, here's what I've got going.

Regular sweet basil- two of the many plants (in need of pinching back):


A bush variety called "Summerlong" from Burpee. They've taken a loooong time to come up from seed.


This is "Pesto Perpetuo" from Burpee, and something of a disappointment. First, I ordered a set of 3 live plants. When they arrived, 2 of the 3 were dead. Burpee gave me a full refund. I planted the lone survivor and it's growing okay, but it doesn't look like it's supposed to. It's supposed to have pretty pale green leaves with cream edging. Half the plant looks like that, but the other half is just straight up green. Weird.


Here's some chocolate mint that was languishing in a small pot- I moved it to one of my self-watering trough planters and it's taken off. I may regret this move later as I know mint can be a real bully and tough to remove once it's taken root, but for now I'm enjoying both the appearance and fragrance. (That's some bush basil in front of it):


I am not sure what the tomatillo is doing- it seems to be growing out rather than up, but at least it's growing. I'm guessing I need to stake it.


The beans are crazy, just crazy. I like the way the bean tower has worked out so far:


Here's a bract of Honeybunch cherry tomatoes- can't wait to try a ripe one!


Now for the not-so-good. Here's my Rio Samba rose, usually so pretty with blooms that remind me of my wedding flowers. This year it was just decimated by aphids. Poor thing.

I made what might have been a fatal error with my zucchini plants. I planted too many- 3 seeds per "group" and only thinned to two seedlings. Well, the plants were just huge and I was afraid they'd block the tomatoes from getting any sun, so I tried cutting out a plant from each group. The survivors are not looking too hot. We'll see.


I think that's it for now... will I or won't I get a zucchini harvest? Tune in next time...