God Bless you all, I am recovering well from back surgery last month. At my daughter’s house in north Alabama for the past 12 days. Got held here a few extra days due to tropical storm this week. Dug up some lovely strong scented lemon balm-gone-wild here to take home with me.
My over-wintered pepper plants back home in Texas have provided a bumper crop thanks to frequent rains. I’m going back home Tuesday. Guess my first garden project of the year (aside from directing hubby in carrying over-wintered pots outside) is to plant this luscious lemon balm. My back (and hips, knees and legs) feel much better. Thank you all for prayers when I asked.
Oddly enough I have also got tomatoes to put out. I put seeds down in a corner of my sunroom before I went topsy-turvy over a hay bale. I hardly believe those little seedlings made it thru all this time in seed starting mix with a little water when I was able and a couple good doses of compost tea lately.
I try to learn to garden and have great set-ups because hubby will build great stuff but I have a black thumb.
so he re-did the raised gardens and made one long block. I planted 6 tomato plants and nothing was happening but lots of leaves, no tomatoes.
A guy, 3rd generation gardener, came over and said I needed to get all those leaves off. He said there are leaves that do not bear fruit and some that do. If you have bunches of the ones that do not bear fruit they will use all the sugar needed to make tomatoes.
Well, we cut lots off and especially at the bottom so that air could circulate and 2 weeks later I have BUNCHES of tomatoes. The fuzzy ones are the Fruit branches and the non-fuzzy are the ones to cut. He said to be sure to keep the top ones for shade and sun gathering.
He keeps his bushes low but produces pounds and pounds.
Live and learn.
FWIW, and not my bid-ness - BUT - Lemon Balm is in the MINT family, so unless you want it to take over your yard and LIFE, plant it in a pot to enjoy it - or at least in a pot that is buried with a few inches ABOVE ground, so it lessens the change of ESCAPE! :)
P.S. Feel better, soon! :)