In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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May 12, 2008

Bee Square Foot Garden update

The drip/spray system has been working for a week, and already needs a bit of fine tuning. The tomato leaves are blocking one of the emitters, so I’ll need to move it over a bit.

The bean seeds are just beginning to unfurl from the soil. I’ll need to protect them from slugs until they get their true leaves and get growing.

It’s time for the lettuce to go. In other parts of the garden the endive and radicchio are both bolting, so I know it’s only a matter of a short time before the butter lettuce follows suit. We’ll be eating a lot of salad the next few days. In its place I’m planting a pepper called Holy Mole.

Weekdays are so hectic with work and feeding animals that I’m glad the drip system and timer take care of watering the garden. On weekends, though, I still like to hand water the plants so I can take a close look at each one.

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