In the Garden this Weekend

It is freak'n hot!! Even this morning when I went out to work in the garden, it already felt like it was 70 degrees.  Anyway, this morning I was doing my insect inspection.  My arugula, collards, kale and napa cabbage are the main vegetables constantly being attacked.  Well, I flipped one of the collard leaves over and this is what I found....

Lacewing eggs!!! I'm very excited!  When I was planning my raised beds, I knew I didn't want to use too many insecticides or other chemicals to protect my plants so I decided to use companion plants in hopes of attracting beneficial insects. I guess it's working.  I've seen a ladybug hanging out in my bee balm, hover flies are constantly hovering around my marigolds and my parsley that is flowering right now. 

I did buy neem oil the other day though because the bad insect activity has increased.  Thankfully, the neem oil isn't supposed to harm beneficials.  I sprayed this morning.  I hope it wasn't too hot that I burned the leaves.  I didn't spray everything because I'm still pretty hesitant about insecticides. Bt was also suggested, but from reading, people were saying to use it sparingly because it can build up in the soil and possibly in the crop.  I have been using diatomaceous earth to ward off some insects but with the constant rain, I've had to apply almost every day! I'm hoping companion planting is the key.  I don't mind sharing my veggies with other insects as long as they don't completely consume the crop.  I've got to eat, too!

Anyway, here's a little glimpse on what's growing right now.  For a complete novice gardener, I'm constantly surprised that anything is growing....

CORN!!  I'm growing a popcorn variety.  I'm not a big sweet corn eater.  Mostly because the sweet type doesn't seem to agree with me.  So why am I growing corn?  Mainly to support my pole beans really.  Plus, I just feel it's important to learn how to grow a variety of plants. 

I wanted to grow some Asian veggies this year.  I may dedicate a bed just for Asian veggies next year. This is napa cabbage!  The little one in the lower right corner was transplanted about a week ago.  I was a bit worried about growing these since I bought the seeds at a local Vietnamese grocery store and it came in a packet that was all in Chinese.  :-P  I'm hoping to use them to make kimchi!

For a while, I thought I wouldn't have a crop of spinach since it was getting so hot so early.  I actually chose a variety that was supposed to be more heat tolerant but they didn't seem to be growing.  Well, after the week of constant rain, these guys popped up!  I thinned them out a couple of days ago.

 
I built a temporary raised bed with cinder blocks to plant flowers.  The boyfriend wanted sunflowers this year.  So I planted two varieties of sunflowers in the back of the bed and two varieties of cosmos in the front.

Sunflowers     

                                        

 Cosmos

Yesterday, I planted an heirloom variety of watermelon and Mission Bell poppies (my fave).  I think I'm seeing my echinacea seeds just sprouting.  My perilla plant, another Korean staple, has just started to sprout as well.  I should be able to transplant my tomatoes in a week or so and hopefully, my peppers, too.  I hope by the end of this month, I'll have a decent garden!