05/13/2022 garden checkup

Sweet basil seedlings.
Butterfly milkweed is up in the backyard too but hasn’t flowered yet (same as front yard).
Yellow flax still blooming! It’s annual, so I hope the seeds like it enough here.
Whitlow-wort gone to seed. Another native annual from TX home.
False gaura that I planted from potted last night is doing well.
Texas verbena has bloomed! It’s a perennial.
The rattlebox had adorable seed pods as promised.
The Rocky mountain bee plant from the botany club plant sale is blooming! There were ants at the blooms.
The Phacelia is really fun.
The prairie bluet is flowering a bit. I’m worried since it’s early that this means it’s not happy. However, it’s a perennial, so hopefully it will do its thing now and be less worried next year.
The twice-moved yucca is making new little leaves!
This yucca is in the shade which I figure is probably okay at this age.  Many plants seem to like to have nurse plants.
The baby winecups are starting to get true leaves.
Second year for this mystery plant with no blooms.
It does have a square stem. Abby suggested Monarda, which I did seed here at one point, so fingers crossed!!
Slippery silk beans and several other varieties are up!!
The two leaf senna didn’t have a lot of roots when I planted it from a pot last night. So, I put two containers of water so it would gradually keep it damp for now so it can get established. It’s my only sprout from the seed and I love this plant! It’s a host for Cloudless Sulphur butterflies.

Bean counting highlights

Paula and I sorted and weighed yesterday’s harvest.  Look at these beauties!  They were our favorites of each variety. Inca pea beans are maroon and white in the middle. Clockwise from the top are Alabama blackeye butter lima bean (the big flat white ones), slippery silk (pink ones), California blackeye cowpeas (whitish, not glossy), greasy grits (speckled tan), vaquero (moo cow pattern), and bolas maycoba (creamy color).

Friday dinner of mostly garden tacos

Thursday evening, the Chef began preparing spices for meat in slow cooker. Two jalapeños, one chimayó (top).
Mmm tacos. Everything except meat, tortillas, cheese, and spices are from garden. Beans are the last of last year’s California black-eyed peas. Potatoes are this year’s kennebec white.
After dinner, Paula and I did some garden harvesting. New for the season are Alabama black-eyed butter beans.
Also new for the season are slippery silks pole beans.
While we picked, the ice cream maker machine worked hard.
Vanilla with blackberries from home. Thanks Mom for sending some home with us!

Bean sprouts (and their friends)

Slippery silks pole bean are up in both beds 1 and 4
Marketmore 76 cucumber in bed 4.  None of others up yet.
Vaquero bean (a pole bean) in bed 1.
Bolas maycoba bean next to lettuce leaf in bed 6.
Greasy grits bean (a green pole bean) in bed 1
Mbombo beans (a bush type) in bed 5.
Blue lake green bush (another bush type) in bed 5.
Dutch corn salad greens beginning to make immature seeds.
“hilled” potatoes with more dirt added, so they will grow more roots and thus more potatoes.
Inca pea beans are the only ones not up yet.
Oregon sugar pod peas all fruiting now with more flowers.
The lettuce is thinking about bolting so I’m picking any that are growing taller.