Garden Report - the Surprise Potato

I tried a Thing this spring, whereby I attempted to grow another rose bush. I had a cutting from my lovely yellow rose bush, and I planted it in a potato and hoped for the best.
The cutting did not survive. I was a little bummed, but to be honest I didn't expect it to take. I didn't see a compelling reason to pull the dead stick, so I just left it there.

Fast-forward a few months, and I noticed that the spot where I'd planted the rose cutting had green coming up.

Folks, this is a potato plant.
Rather by accident, I've got potatoes growing in a xeriscaped Las Vegas yard.

I doubt it will yield much, but hey! It's still fun! (And it does keep growing, so who knows what we'll get?)

Garden Report

My spring/summer attempts at vegetable gardening failed. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong, but the bean plants died, then the cucumbers did. Most of the carrots never germinated at all, and the ones that did never plumped out.
In fact, this is the entire harvest:

The basil plant held on, but the leaves are really narrow and the stems are woody, not at all like the basil plants I see in other gardens.
But that's ok. I'm going to try again. Thus, I present to you, my fall garden!

I used CMU blocks to create a raised bed, and I'm also using the openings in the blocks to plant. I'm using seeds instead of transplants this time, too.

So far, we're off to a good start. I've got several cucumber plants that have started (remember, I live in Las Vegas, it doesn't get cool until nearly Halloween), and I've got both radishes and carrots planted - and the radishes have already sprouted.

The plan is to plant snap peas, turnips, parsnips, and carrots as we move into autumn. If I can serve home-grown vegetables at Thanksgiving, I will be very excited!

Weekend Wind-up

I really, really wanted to say I finished a sock this weekend.
I didn't.
I didn't even finish it this morning, although I'm binding off:

And then I need to make the second sock (luckily, second-sock-syndrome is not something from which I suffer).

I did manage to get another handle on that market bag:

And the garden is coming along. I think. Here's what the vegetable box looks like right now:

The cucumber plants got big. So did the basil. I really hope the cucumbers produce - I've seen evidence of cutter bees on the rose bushes, so I know we have pollinators around here. I'm just really eager for the fruit to grow!

Garden Report

I forgot to do a weekend wind-up; I didn't actually do much crafting, though, since it was Easter. I did get a few pictures of the boys at the church Easter egg hunt.

On Easter Sunday, though, I could not get them to look at the camera. Or even stand close enough to let me get a picture of them. This was the best I could do:

Of course, I did manage to indulge my Pinterest-loving self, and made these deviled eggs:

By the way, they tasted great. I thought the apple cider vinegar used in the dye bath would alter the flavor, but it didn't.

Anyway. On to the real reason for today's post: The garden.

My vegetables are not having the greatest time of things. Not all of them, anyway. The carrots that managed to sprout, look like they're coming along.

I just kind of wish there were more of them. Still, 4 carrots in a container is 4 more carrots than I've ever grown before. These have another 5 or 6 weeks left to grow. I'll plant more in the fall, and hopefully have more success.

My cucumber plants are getting big.

Cucumber

So is the basil - I'm planning to make pesto soon, because look at it!

Basil

The beans are struggling a little bit. I don't know what's wrong, but the plants are still growing, so I guess we'll see how it goes. (It's a good thing I live in a time & place where my family's survival is not dependent on my ability to grow vegetables.)

Know what is doing great, though? The roses.

Seriously.

I even brought some of these inside.

(Also, the purchase of floral foam was one of my better ideas.)

Weekend Wind-Up

I didn't get much time with a hook or needles this weekend. Instead, I planted some vegetables. 

Rather than build raised garden beds (Tim would never agree to that, anyway), I'm trying my hand at container gardening. I found this planter box at Lowe's, then visited Star Nursery for the potting mix and seedlings. I have bush beans, cucumbers, and basil and oregano in this box.

If I get one cucumber, I'll call it success. 

These are carrots. Or at least, they will be. I hope. 

Strawberries. I have very low expectations for these, but the notes at Star Nursery said this variety is well suited to containers, so I'm hopeful.

And then, I decided I wanted something ornamental for the patio. 

Eventually, I'll build a stand for this one. 

Who knows how this will turn out. Gardening in Las Vegas isn't the same as gardening elsewhere, but then again I haven't really gardened elsewhere. We'll see!