a lesson learned and herbiporn

Could it be? Two posts in two days? Incredible!

Today's post is short on words and long on photoz. I finished my second final paper this afternoon and rewarded myself with some gardening.

As you know, I'm running this garden on the cheap. As such, I cut corners wherever I can. So today, when I went to the local hardware store, I chose the cheap potting soil (we will call it Brand X) instead of Miracle Grow, which I usually get. I hauled 3 bags (60 lbs.0 of it home in my folding shopping cart and brought the bags, one by one, upstairs. Long story short, don't skimp on the potting soil.

Brand X (left) and Miracle Grow (right), after thorough waterings

Brand X essentially turned to sandy mud that wouldn't drain even when saturated. The deck is a muddy mess and I have resorted to leaving the soaked pot in the sun so it will (hopefully) dry out. Seriously, fork over the extra bucks for the good stuff. Because now I have 60 lbs. (400 when wet) of the bad stuff...

But! On to happier, more photogenic topics than mud:

By popular demand, may I introduce my trash pot:

This is where I throw organic matter trash while I'm on the deck (and sometimes I store my trowel in it). You know, old potting soil, thinned seedlings, husks from grilled corn on the cob, etc. A while back, one of my discarded lettuce thinnings took root. I didn't yank it because I figured if it was hearty enough to survive thinning and live in a trash pot, more power to it. It's thriving, there on the left.

In other news, my savage lettuce/chard container is about to explode

The flat lettuce planter has also been doing well since Sprocket has stopped trying to eat the baby lettuces

And now, my pride and joy, the zucchinis!

The shot on the left was taken at 11:38AM today, the shot on the right at 5:19PM. You may have to look at the larger versions (iPhone shots, apologies), but holy cow! All that in 5.5 hours?

It's gonna be a gooooood summer, y'all.