I can’t believe it’s June already. As usual, Michigan weather has taken us on a roller coaster ride. The outdoor thermometer will hit almost 90 degrees today, but just about a week and a half ago the weather was cool, and the lows were in the 30s.
A few days before my surgery (about 3 weeks ago), we bought all of the plants we would need for the gardens (including for the new cinder block 8×16 garden my husband constructed), and I hurriedly planted flowers and vegetables.
I planted a couple of rows of radishes, carrots and lettuce and made sure to scatter the marigolds around.
And now, a few weeks later, the tomatoes are growing nicely and the flowers are starting to fill in.
To make it easier to water the planters, we wove soaker hoses around the plants. Each hose attaches to one spigot which I can turn on from the deck.
I once again overbought, so I had to haul out the large pots. Most have one tomato plant, but one I filled with a variety of cosmos and zinnias.
My husband diverted pipe in the basement to bypass the water softener, thereby giving the plants a better watering experience!
Because the weather here is getting hotter, I have to monitor the soil closely. I suspect I may have watered a bit too much last year, causing fungus and split tomatoes, so I might purchase a moisture meter. I used one with our palms when we lived in Florida, and it helped me determine when it was time to water. Since the soil there is so sandy, I had to water quite often outside of the rainy season (October to May).
The tomatoes were in this raised bed last year. I planted 5 here and the rest are squash and cucumbers.
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Kathleen Jae 
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