Confronted with unexpected free time, I considered crawling back into bed and cuddling my cat, but instead I got out my broom and tidied my porch. Well, actually, first there was emptying last year’s pots back into the container of dirt; mixing the completed compost into that container, too; moving all the containers and plant stands to one end of the porch; sweeping half the porch; piling the containers of dirt (compost one on bottom) in the corner of the porch and arranging the plant stands; getting together all of the trash hanging out on the porch (broken glass from when the roofers were by (not my window), broken flower pot, cover to the plant shelves that got broken by the roofers, etc.); and finally, sweeping the other half of the porch.
Whew!
And then I got to eat breakfast sitting out in the sunshine on my re-happied porch. That’s totally a word.
Now I have to plan what I’ll grow this summer –
Not tomatoes. The squirrels won that war.
Same goes for lettuce, sadly. Well, at least not in a convenient container… maybe on one of the more tricky plant stands.
Though at the very end of Fall, we had a visit from a hawk or a falcon-type bird (I just saw it out of the corner of my eye as it flew by) that put a dent in the squirrel population, so maybe that’ll help.
I think my biggest plant this year will be a hot pepper plant – so there, squirrel bastards!
So I have 3 stands:
the first one will hold 6 3″ pots
the second – 6 4″ pots (but the bottom three are very low and get a bit blocked on sunlight)
the third – 4 larger pots (haven’t tried to see how big will fit and be stable – I might just do 4″ here, too)
Herbs:
2 parsley (4″)
2 thyme (3″)
rosemary (still live one from last year in 3″, 2 new in 4″)
1 dill (3″)
1 fennel (4″)
1 basil (3″)
1 thai basil (3″)
1 sage (3″)
Not Herbs:
1 hot pepper plant (first choice = serrano, but this one seems a good bet for a smaller container) – largest pot
So what am I missing? What would grow well in a 4″ pot but not look irresistible to a squirrel?
(I’m planning this so late because I don’t really have room inside my tiny apartment to start things from seeds – though I will try starting a few seeds late now that it’s almost warm enough to have them outside)