One issue with the continuously emerging mushrooms is that they push up on the direct seeded bales, interrupting the surface and most certainly impacting a few planted seeds. It is a small price to pay, and I will take a week to see how the replants germinate - the fill in with more seeds. I did see some replanted beans germinating today.
The rate of growth of the plants is pretty remarkable - notably the basil, chard, kale, collards, and of course, tomatoes. Of the 38 dwarf tomatoes in dwarfs, 15 have OPEN FLOWERS!, 15 others have buds. They are now growing at an inch or more every two days. Days to maturity will be really interesting this year - I have a feeling that most of the varieties are going to come in at around the same time, but we shall see. Clearly, the biggie is keeping the plants sufficiently hydrated following fruit set so that blossom end rot is avoided. At this point, with days at 90 degrees or more and no rain in many days, I am watering lightly in the morning, then again late afternoon when the plants look like they need it.
Something else that is really standing out is the rate of growth of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the black plastic grow bags. I promise to take some pictures over the weekend and post them into a blog. Right now the grow bags are all clustered together, waiting for space to free up in the driveway (which will certainly happen after the Thursday and Friday events).
Tomorrow's garden task is to work on the edge gardens in the back yard....more about pruning, thinning and removing than planting. I will be doing battle with mugwort, knotweed, creeping Charlie and stilt grass for the most part. And, hopefully, NOT copperhead snakes!