Hi (waving furiously) !
I believe yours are in there somewhere.
1 Like
Do you need to be in a very warm climate for lemongrass? I can’t say I use it too often, but I LOVE the smell of lemongrass, and a being the weirdo I am, I would probably just cut them open and leave them around my house because they smell good… it’s better than wasting the stuff.
I’m in a temperate zone, and it’s just starting to get more consistently warm now, but we still have a few chilly nights (my rosemary plant is making me nervous out there). I would expect within a few weeks, we’ll be much better for growing.
General question for all of you in the US – where do you get your seeds? If you’re not lucky enough to have a neighbor or friend who has the right variety of fruit, veggie or herb that you want, is there a place you think has better seeds? I find a lot of places online, but don’t always see a ton of feedback on them. I can’t say I have a lot of gardening friends to get or trade seeds with, as many live in a city with no plots or have no time to garden.
Victory Seeds for Dwarf Project tomatoes, Renee’s for most everything else. Grow Organic for garlic, potatoes, and shallots. Years ago, when I was growing in the ground I did Tomato Growers, and I have done Johnny’s and Park Seed as well. Oh, and Seeds of Italy, when they did fava beans.
Yes, Lemongrass does best in a warm-hot climate. If the smell is what you’re after, you may get a similar odor from certain fragrant-leaved geraniums. Lemon Balm is not far off, but around here, that’s an invasive plant; it seeds like mad. Speaking of seeds:
I order from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seeds of Italy (generous packets) and I’m a member of the Seed Savers Exchange. Baker Creek Heirloom seeds have a lot of types, but I have had several issues with the seed not being true to type; it was sometimes a hodgepodge of unsatisfactory types, a sign the parent plants were either impure or they were not isolated properly. I’ve had no issues with Johnny’s or Seeds of Italy. Mostly, however, I keep over 350 varieties going here, with seeds stored in one of two dedicated fridges. Many varieties can’t be found commercially.
2 Likes
The fava beans are finally blooming now.
Thyme are flourishing too…
The seedlings of tomatoes, outdoor in day, indoor at night.
4 Likes
Your plants are beautiful!!
My uncle in Los Gatos (an hour from San Francisco) is a fantastic gardener. He has many varieties of stone fruit trees, kumquats, grapes, lemons, etc …
He reserves a patch of fava for us every year. 
Yesterday was harvest day!!
He eats them raw out of the pod. We like them raw as well.
We had them recently grilled and they were almost creamy inside and delicious. Will toss some pods in oil and sea salt and try on the grill pan tonight.
7 Likes
Thanks, but your uncle’s beans are even better! We only eat them raw too.
1 Like
Those are beautiful!
2 Likes
Something is eating my peas! We’re having a strange spring, and they are hanging out with the tomatoes, that I think are struggling with flea beetles.
That sucks! For us, the gluttons are usually caterpillars.
I cleared out the weeds and prepare the bed for the tomatoes later this week, I found 6 snails in perfect size! Maybe instead of tomatoes, I should start thinking of raising snails! 
I turned the soil, not a trace of the 30+ fava bean seed I sowed at the end of winter. They must had a great time!
1 Like
Yay, another Earthbox enthusiast!
To answer your question, check the bottoms of leaves for any small caterpillars as well as the droppings they leave. If there are none, it may be some (or many) baby grasshoppers chewing the leaves up.
“Yay, another Earthbox enthusiast!”
What makes you say that? 
Aha! Another potential culprit! I have looked for caterpillars and frass, and found some on my taters, but not the peas. Based on my current conditions, so far I’ve accused snalis, slugs, earwigs,and flea beetles! I’ve tried sluggo, and diatomaceous earth. I have NOT tried going out at night with a flashlight, because I’m scared!
We have had a record setting wet and cool May so far, and I haven’t seen many grasshoppers since it started, but I’ll keep that in mind.
1 Like
Looks like your problems are on top leaves as well? Can’t be slugs or snails, they will be happy with lower leaves, won’t go up. You will also see slime on leaves and stem… This happened with them partying with my strawberries.
My bet is on flying insects.
1 Like
I was thinking that as well; A long trip for a snail, and no slime.
Do you have some kind of cover that UV can pass, e.g. fly barriers, that you can use to protect your peas?
Maybe. But to be honest, I try not to grow things that need all that. The first batch of Sugar Snaps didn’t need too much work, and they were good, but I’m getting greedy, and pushing my luck with a second planting. My daughter is visiting soon, and I was trying to have Sweet Peas and Sugar Snaps going, but it’s not working out.
I think it’s getting a bit warm for peas for you? The reason the pests get active…
It SHOULD be warm. Usually it’s downright hot. Average for May 18th is 83, the record is 101, and I’ve seen plenty of 90’s in May, but yesterday’s high was 59. Even crazier is that it’s been raining for most of the last week, which I believe has virtually never happened before. Average rainfall in May here is 0.8 inches. I think we got more than an inch in the last 24 hours.
It’s been snowing in the Sierra’s, about three hours away.
I heard drought is over here for the first time in 15 years.
I’m not sure what hope for.
Here too, a few days ago, a night rain equaled to a normal May’s rain. It’s also cold here, day around 17°C /63°F and night around 10°C / 50° F. March this year was warmer than May. Weird.
1 Like
