There’s a real difference between winter rain and spring rain. All the rain we’ve been having has been winter rain- but today’s shower was a spring shower.
The view from my window was nice and green, and while I got a little wet while checking on things outside, it’s a gentle rain.
A few days ago I got my second blackberry plant. I have been reliably informed that since blackberries of all species and varieties grow practically feral all over San Francisco, you actually can get away with one vine, as the pollinators will no doubt have some blackberry pollen on them when they visit.
I like symmetry however. Also- this means I could have two Marionberry vines as I wouldn’t need to get a second of a different variety!
One problem. This was the only Marionberry left at the garden center.
Blackberries are an investment in the future anyways. I put some coffee grounds under the mulch to give the soil an extra acidic kick, and the mulch should help reduce how much I have to water and weed.
Of course this extra moistness is not so great for the squash monster. Wet leaves are not great for zucchini- but there’s not a damn thing I can do about it so we’ll just have to see how bad it gets.
Even the baby zucchini don’t look so hot, though they’re definitely growing. All I want is to be up to my eyeballs in squash! Is that too much to ask for?
I am up to my eyeballs in sage.
Delightful! Berggarten sage is such a grower in spring, it has that lovely silver green color and such nice wide leaves.
In other good herb news the lemon balm has rebounded. I might regret having put it into a bed- it is mint after all, but ha ha too late to fix that now!
The cilantro I sowed is starting to come up. This is the lightweight pot I made heavier with rocks and so far I can confirm- hasn’t gotten blown over again!
The sauce pot is starting to bloom like crazy. Again- there are only a handful of bees out this early, especially because of how winter dragged on, but sauce pots gonna sauce pot.
This is the first sungold flower. I have nothing bad to say about this, sungold can do no wrong. If it wants to flower early, clearly it knows best.
The new potato bags are starting to sprout nicely, and the old potato bags are almost all filled up with soil.
Super happy about the potatoes.
I’m also super happy about the cauliflower.
I’ve never grown these before and I’m glad they seem to be taking. The Bok Choy are taking of course- but that’s not a surprise.
They seem to really like their new bed, which is nice. Supposedly the fabric beds make for more aerated roots and less water-logging so hopefully that helps them grow well.
The peas are starting to climb well. I have a feeling these are going to end up trailing up the fence. I might have to get some eyelets and wire so there’s a good support on the fence.
Might have to do that with the blackberries too- once they crawl up the bamboo supports to the fence.
While I did have to sacrifice the sassy salad pot for the black krim tomato luckily I haven’t had to sacrifice the arugula pot yet. Which is great as I am going to have to sacrifice the upper arugula bed for beans and beets soon, and I love arugula.
I’ll leave you with the view of my blackberry patch. Which just makes me happy to look at. Even if will be a year or two before I get a berry.
The Neanderthal Gardens 
Gee, I never considered the need for a pollinator for a blackberry. They are just so common. It is almost amusing now that you mention it. That is how cherry trees used to be. ‘Bing’ cherries did not need a pollinator in the Santa Clara Valley. A pollinator was only necessary for isolated trees in less urban areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains. However, many of us who were kids in the 1970s do not remember the pollinator trees. It is so weird. We remember primarily ‘Bing’ cherries, with only a few other cultivars in home gardens. There were a few ‘Ranier’ cherries that were supposed to be pollinators, but I seriously do not remember very many of them, and I certainly do not remember them being dispersed enough to pollinate trees in our neighborhood, which was away from most of the cherry orchards. None of us remember any of the tart cherries, which function as pollinators in other regions. That is why we all remember bland cherry pies made with sweet cherries. We grew up believing that is how cherry pies were supposed to be.
Hey, nice aerial shot; I’ve been wondering what form your garden was taking. I haven’t been by for a while been moving house and setting up new office and we have a garden again – first time in over two years.
I’m so glad you have a garden again!