Summer Solstice

 This blog has been on unplanned hiatus as life got busy. But the gardening never really stops - it slows, it sits on the back burner sometimes - but it keeps going. I finally finished planting out my front garden bed last week, as I got my home-grown bean seedlings in.

Bean seedlings waiting to be planted out

 After the Spring rains ran right into early Summer, I got discouraged about growing from seed. At least, when it came to direct sewing. The snails and slugs took out every carrot seedling that came up over the course of several attempts. They also took out all of my directly sewn runner beans (yes they eventually got to that last hold-out). I re-started with both of these in seed pots and trays, and I decided to do my climbing beans this way too. Legume seedlings really do rival cucurbits for dramatic beginnings. The seeds are so big; the plants emerge from the ground looking fully formed and ready to take on the world. This time I was able to pick the best day to plant them out. A day when the ground was dry and there was no rain in the 7-day forecast. This did mean planting them out about a week past their optimal planting time, in terms of maturity. In my experience beans are pretty forgiving about this. But I did have to marvel at how much progress they had made on their root structure already:

 When the snails eventually found my outdoor seedling raising area, I started bringing the beans indoors at night. This is when I noticed something really cool. They fold their leaves down at night. They open their leaves out to the sides in the morning. And after I planted them out last week, I started to notice that they also hold their leaves straight up to the sky at mid day when its sunny. No doubt ensuring the optimal level of sun exposure at all times. Enough to make energy to grow. Not so much that they start to wilt. Anyone who thinks of plants as helpless stationary things has never observed a bean plant. Their active agency in the world will be made all the more apparent later on when they start climbing for the best position up their trellis.

Here they are all folded up at the end of the day:

And here they are in the mid day sun:

As it got too hot for my little cold frame a while ago, I set up a new warm-weather seedling raising area. Made from an old work bench I found in the shed. I put in some shade cloth I can roll down over everything on sunny days. The little pots I start seedlings in dry out fast on a hot, sunny day. Even with the shade cloth I sometimes have to water them multiple times a day. The more shade loving seedlings can go in the tray down under the benchtop. The height keeps the slug and snail problem down to a minmum - though the snails in particular still find their way up there sometimes.

  Solstice is not 'til tomorrow here in the Sounthern Hemisphere but we tend to celebate it on the closest weekend at our house, so happy Summer Solstice to you all. So far it has been dry, overcast, and windy. I do love this time of year when my carefully nurtured seedlings are starting to really take off with their growth and the promise of Summer veggies from the garden feels just around the corner. I'm dreaming of home grown courgette, cucumber, and tomatoes today. The beans got a slightly late start and we will have to wait for them to settle in. But I know it will be well worth the wait.