Brenda Nolen

As most of you know, we have not had our typical California weather this year.  It is June 7 and today is supposed to be a high of 77 degrees F.  Plus, possible showers tonight.  I’m tired of waiting.  Tired of waiting for the weather to cooperate and tired of waiting for a house of our own so I can STOP growing in these dang pots!

So, I am making a truck garden.  While I’m still growing in containers, the plants will get all the sun they need, and we may be able to get a little more food aside from sugar snap peas and tomatoes this year (though the tomatoes are questionable).  Here’s what I already have planted (and growing):

Sugar Snap Peas and Mixed salad greens, which didn’t really perform like I had hoped.  Next time, I’ll just stick with spinach in its own container.

Carrots (yes, they are there somewhere)

Cherokee Purple tomatoes (only had room for this one, Toni, but THANK YOU FOR THE SEEDS!)

Early Girl Tomato (which isn’t all that early … dang thing just now got it’s second set of leaves)

Zucchini

And I’m going to tempt the weather gods by planting … tuscan melon!  Please let us have a mild/warm autumn!  This isn’t including the pots I’m not moving: brussel sprouts, collard greens, celery, three different mints (peppermint, spearmint, and chocolate mint) plus a couple kitchen herbs (basil and oregano … I need more of these).

Like I said, all these are in containers.  The only problem (aside from weather, which I’m going to complain about constantly) is the lack of sun in my back yard.  This is my back yard:

Notice the HUGE pecan tree?  Well, it just keeps getting bigger (at least one thing is growing well this year) and now my pots get sun until about noon.  That’s it.  So, I complain every time I go out there to take care of them, just about ready to put the pots on the roof of the garage when it hits me.  Our truck!  We non-oped it a couple years ago because 8 miles to the gallon!  I love the truck.  I love the fact that if we need to move a whole bunch of stuff, we have the truck.  BUT, it’s just sitting there, in the driveway, getting more sun than any spot in my back yard!  So I took out the tool box, sprayed the wasp nests all over the place (they really like the side rails), knocked the nests down, and raked out the truck:

I hosed it out and put my containers in the bed … oh, I also drilled an extra drainage hole in the dent in the bed where the water keeps pooling.  Then I found a set of misters that have been sitting in my garage for about 5 years (I keep finding uses for all my junk and I’ll NEVER throw anything away again), took off the misting heads, and voila!  Drip system!

Now, I have a garden that may actually produce this year!  Do you see that?  That’s sun!  As you can see, there’s plenty of room to add more!  BTW, those are water containers cut in half and the blue container is one of those toy containers you can buy just about anywhere.  Since the kids are no longer kids, I recycled!

Oh, see that upside down recycling bin?  That is a REAL multipurpose tool!  As it is right there, it’s my step ladder (which I need because the tailgate is chest level).  Turn it over and it holds the weeds, leaves, and garbage.  It holds my clippings.  I can hold harvested food (sturdy and has handles).  AND whenever it’s time to move, it will hold miscellaneous garage items!  I love these things!

So, anyway, here are the links I found while trying to figure out what I could plant now:

What to do in your Northern California garden in June

Monthly Vegetable Gardening Tips – Sacramento Master Gardeners

Now, I’m tired.  I did this, trimmed, weed-eated, and mowed my weeds (I mean lawn) so I’m done!  Time to wash up and eat lunch!