¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Jalapeno

I can’t wait to make salsa and guacamole using my own peppers and tomatoes. I guess store bought will have to do this time.

Seedlings

I started hardening off all the seedlings this week so they can be transplanted in the garden this weekend. It is surprising how fast they wilt outside and get burned even in partial sun.

Garden trellises

The garden trellises are in and ready for plants. I will be growing tomatoes, cukes, watermelon, cantaloupe and squash on the trellises. I am also going to try zucchini. I will also plant a 9′ square with a zucchini in case my climbing experiment fails.

I made them using 1/2″ EMT conduit as described in the book. I clamped them to the sides of the boxes for extra strength. They are very sturdy despite looking flimsy. I used 3′ fence posts for the trellis holding the melons for added strength. I opted to bend the conduit for a cleaner look. The process was fairly easy once I figured out how to use the bender. I also painted the trellises with metal spray paint. It turns out that spray paint doesnt stick to galvanized metal very well. It is recommended to use a latex primer first but I didn’t feel like sanding and starting over so I used two coats of paint. I hope it holds up.