Who knew watching lettuce grow could be so fun?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Purple has long been my favorite color, and this week, the lettuce I planted in containers on my patio gave me another reminder just why I like the color so much. The Rouge d’Hiver in the center of the containers started turning purple this week, and it, along with the looseleaf varieties Oakleaf and Black Seeded Simpson, are coming along nicely.

Tomatoes a bust, but hello lettuce!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My first veggie experiment in Texas was a failure, but I’ve quickly moved on to my next challenge. The tomatoes I planted in mid-September never did seem to thrive, and then a week or so of nights in the 20s and 30s didn’t help. Nor did the fact that I neglected to cover them up. At my Wisconsin home, flowers and containers near the house always fared better when the mercury dipped below freezing, negating the need to cover them the first few frosts. Not so here in Texas. Although I’m not completely sure they would have risen to the potential I saw in them anyway — they hadn’t been growing much since first planted.

Japanese beetle pretty — pretty destructive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A co-worker asked me last week whether I had any Japanese beetles in my garden yet. We work at a local news outlet and he was writing a story on how the destructive pest was out in full force in the Green Bay area. I told him I didn’t think so, although in truth, it had been so hot that I hadn’t spent any time near the garden. It was supposed to cool off by the end of the week, so I made a mental note to check then.

Summer means garden in full swing – finally

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The warmer weather has finally kick-started my garden. I’ve been cutting lettuce for two weeks now, and have started giving it away to friends so it doesn’t go to waste. Despite the fact that it came up very spotty, I’ve got plenty to eat. I’m still not sure why it was so spotty this year. What’s even stranger is that I replanted the areas where it didn’t come up the first time, and the second planting didn’t come up either.

Green is the color of Valentine’s Day for me

Lettuce and tomatoes are up. Life is good!

La-la-la-love that lettuce

I’m hoping that the little white things are lettuce seeds sprouting. Just four days after it was planted!

Tomatoes sprouted — one step closer to good winter salad

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One week into my venture to grow indoor tomatoes, seeds have sprouted in all nine of my pots. The first seeds actually poked up two days ago. I had been watching the pots all week, although truthfully, I didn’t think germination would take place until closer to the end of the seven- to 10-day time frame stated on most of the seed packets. So, when I got home from work Friday, I was pleasantly surprised. About a half-dozen of the Super Sweet 100s were anywhere from a quarter-inch to about an inch tall, most with cute little green leaves that look decidedly spring-like. You should have seen the smile that erupted on my face!

July 31: Saying goodbye to July

At the beginning of July, I made a promise to myself that I’d pay more attention to the garden. June had been a less-than-stellar month in terms of my caretaker responsibilities, and I knew that I needed to kick it into high gear if I was to get any “booyah” out of the garden.

Given the extreme heat we had all month and the lack of rain during the last half of June and first half of July, my garden needed all the help it could get. Early on in July, I enjoyed the heat and the way it helped the garden grow with the help of my sprinkler. By the second week of July, the heat got to be pretty overbearing on everyone and everything. Watering the garden helped, but it was clear it couldn’t replace the real thing.

July 29: Waiting on the explosion of red

I’ve always had orange lady bugs before today.

Picking them before they’re really red so varmints can’t nibble on them.

Only a few raspberries left; they were good while they lasted.

Jeepers is the energizer bunny of pumpkins!

Looking east: I think it’s time for the dried pea vines to go, don’t you?

Looking west: Fingers crossed for more red soon!

Since my tomatoes have been kind of slow to ripen, my sister brought me some of hers Saturday. Oh my gosh, are they good! I expected just a couple, but instead she gave me about two dozen. We had BLTs for lunch, I had a slice on my burger for supper and plan on having a plateful before I go to bed tonight.

July 22: The philosopy of weeding – or not

Lettuce tastes much better sans grass.

My first dill pickles!

Just.

Because.

They’re.

Pretty.

Looking east.

Looking west.

Spent about an hour and a half in the garden this morning, mostly weeding the lettuce, onions, carrots and flowers that ring the garden. I decided to start early (about 7 a.m.) because of the high humidity, but it didn’t matter all that much. It didn’t take long before I was drenched in sweat and so hot that my glasses kept steaming up on me.

I had a two-fold reason for weeding, the first being that I wanted to cut the lettuce and didn’t want to have to pick out the grass when I washed it later.