How Jeff's Gardens Grow

 Jeff's been busy outside.  The greenhouse has the gutter pipes set up on both sides now and most of the holes are full.  He bought some tomato plants at Massaro's and we have TOMATOES!

Now if they just get bigger and ripen.  Jeff says the chance of blight is low with the gutter system so maybe we'll actually pick tomatoes this year.  I'm going to keep my eye on this one.

The peppers are doing well, too, and have started to blossom.  The giant marigolds are attracting bees and pollination has happened.
A couple of small leaks developed in the hoses.

but he's got them all fixed.  Now he just has 
to keep the water barrel full. 
   The blackberries have
started to from fruit.  Jeff thinks the frame of the greenhouse...cattle panels...are keeping the birds out.  They find it intimidating.  Let's hope so.  Now how do we keep the chipmunks out? 
   And Fanny has discovered the unused holes on the gutter pipes and has started visiting the greenhouse for a drink of water.  UCK!

   There are now 8 Rubbermaid-type boxes in the raised boxes in-front of the house that are

planted with potatoes, peppers and a tomato or two.  Here are some potatoes that are ready for hilling.  They got pretty bushy in a week. huh? (see the blog entry for 6/8 for their 1st photo.) The boxes all have drainage holes in their bottoms that lead into the dirt in the raised beds.  The raised beds are weeded and spaded before the Rubbermaid boxes are planted in them.  Jeff used all of the yard of top soil he bought and mixed with peat moss and perlite filling them. This way he can adjust the pH in each box according to what he's planted   in it.  It's also easier to weed because the weeding surface is now waist high!   Jeff's going to 'plant' 
the last 2 Rubbermaid-type boxes and maybe, then some pails. The raised boxes were made from pallets and are not pressure-treated so they have started to rot.  Jeff's planning on rebuilding them...
starting with the corner 3-tiered boxes...this summer.
    Jeff decided this year that instead of replacing the dirt in the bean tower's boxes he'd just change what
he planted in them. So,
this year, he put peppers and tomatoes in 2 of the boxes (and used landscape fabric in an attempt to control weeds).  Jeff' still got 2 boxes left to clean and plant.  We'll just have to wait and see what he decides to put in them.  Hey, where are the beans???
    We went to Utica yesterday.  I needed to get buttons at Walmart (Walmart in Herkimer had almost nothing I could use in their 'winter' display that they put out this week) and Jeff's sister had an odd job for him(assemble and put up her TV antenna).  We came home with my buttons, netty cups that Jeff got at the hydroponics store in Yorkville, some DVD's that Sherry got for Jeff and the pails and netty cups that were in Sherry's garden last year(she doesn't want to do it again).  We also got the Rubbermaid-type box...complete with faucet...was Sherry's water source.  I think that means Jeff will be putting a gutter-style garden beside the raised boxes out front.