Swimming in Bush Blue Lake Green Beans. Extra Red Onions Swimming in a Beer Glass.

Not as nice as yesterday, but not too bad outside today, so the strawberries took another field trip to the balcony that will be their summer home. They seem to really like it, but it's supposed to storm tomorrow, so I'll probably bring them in again.

I'm swimming in Bush Blue Lake Green Bean plants. The seeds germinated well and the plants seem to grow in anything. I've got them all over the place. Some are even still living in the seedling kit tray and they're happy as long as I keep watering them. I'm looking for friends to take the extras off my hands.

The extra beans hanging out with
the extra red onions.

As you can see above, I also have extra red onions in a glass that need homes.
Today, I broke down and added 3 Red Sails red leaf lettuce plants in with a couple of beans (of course).

I bought an extra 36" window box for my extra
beans, but was seduced by the red lettuce. I hope they
get along together.

Then, I replanted the lavender seedlings into a 5" pot. I also moved the basil out of the seedling cells and into a pot. I have 3 extra seedlings that I've put in individual peat pots for friends. Little do these unsuspecting basil lovers know that they're also taking home some beans and red onions.

When all that was done, I re-planted the pepper seedlings in two 3 quart platform planters my dad donated to the cause from his patio flower garden of years past. I started the seedlings earlier this month from a Sweet Carnival Mix I picked up at Home Depot.


Peppers are in.

Peppers like warm weather and should not go outdoors until the nighttime temperature will not dip below 55 degrees and the daytime temperatures get above 70 degrees. I probably planted the seeds too early for Chicago weather. This weekend they seemed to large for their seedling tray cells, so I felt I had to replant them in the containers. Since the weather is not ready for the,, they'll stay inside until it gets warmer. Hopefully, my afternoon western sun will keep them warm enough to survive the next month or so.

The platform planter looks
heavy, but it's not.

I concluded the days work when I trellised the 4 pea seedlings. They already seem like they want something to climb up.

The peas got their jungle gym.

Things I learned:

1. If I harvest correctly my beans could produce throughout the summer. Howerver, I read that it might be a good idea for me to stagger my bean seed plantings. Now, I have so many bean plants, I don't know where to put them. Later when the beans are ready for harvest (If I'm lucky enough to actually get beans in the first place!), I may have more than I want. Since I have extra seeds, I might do a second planting right before the harvest of the current plants, so I have a supply of new seedlings to plant after the first batch are done. I won't do a second planting of the plants continue to produce.

2. It's a good idea to find a picture of what these seedlings are going to (should) look like at maturity. It helps to judge how you're doing and how to plant them in the first place.

3. Red Sails red lettuce loves cold weather, so I can plant another crop in summer and harvest in fall. Lucky for me, Red Sails also loves containers!