Did a lot in the back today, here’s a photo set.

The Thai basil is coming in nicely.

The boggy mint bucket (that’s the overflow hose from the rain barrel.)

Tomatoes and petunias, jenky ties.

An tree will be cut down in Brooklyn. (Ailanthus)

Another Ailanthus that I cut down today.

Hard to believe it’s the same backyard. http://precisionaccidents.com/wordpress/?p=12

Grapes! (not ripe, but Grapes!)

Paul’s Glory Hosta (thanks, Wilma!)

Rain Barrel, as installed on top of an amp left behind guitar store.

A peek out at petunias from under the grapes.

Exiting, eh?

More rain today so photos tomorrow.

Here’s a progress report:

• Mosquito dunks in the rain barrel are controlling the volume of biters pretty well. The only exception is the small cloud of mosquitos right next to the composter. Today’s rainy day project is figure out what they’re going after there, and how to make them go away.

• The compost is hot, smells clean, and is decomposing stuff very quickly. The corn cobs from our barbeque three weeks ago are almost entirely gone.

• I have been meaning to tie up or cage the tomatoes for weeks. I never got around to it, and the tomatoes started sprawling all over the place, thereby squishing the nasturtiums and the purple petunias. So I found some bright pink fabric strips at the sweatshop around the corner, and tied them up today. I lost a couple branches to my laziness, but I won’t knock into them anymore and the flowers will look better.

• After the Massive Seedling Death in May, I direct seeded the cukes, the zucchini, basil, dill, peas, borage and marigolds. One rogue tomato came back to life, and I hope it’s a Sungold, but I think it’s the Chadwick Cherry. The dill is coming in nicely, and the borage seems to be coming up everywhere. The cucumber plants are looking stocky. Zucchini seems to be nowhere, unless I’ve mis-identified one of the zucchinis as cucumber. The peas went looking for something to grab onto, and they are latching onto the big iron gate piece I have leaning against the wall. Everywhere I had a spare inch of soil, I planted basil. As a result, basil is sprouting between cucumbers, petunias, chives, and tomatoes. I truly don’t think it’s possible to have too much basil, and am excited that both Thai and Genovese seem to be flourishing.

• Paul’s Glory Hosta put up its first flower spike! (Thanks, Wilma!) Last year, it was a little timid, but the leaves are very big, and I believe I can get rid of the squirrel/cat cage to let the pot run over. I think moving it into the grape arbor and giving it a lot of compost was the key.

• Weeding goes on apace, and it’s tough to keep up with. Brooklyn is lush with weeds, and I am learning which ones to hate, and which ones I kind of like. Galinsoga is very pretty in form, but always seems to have buggies on it, so I make it a priority. It’s also very easy to identify when it first germinates. Lambsquarters were a problem last year, but now that I know that they are edible and better tasting than spinach, they aren’t growing at all. I have an official zero tolerance policy on Ailanthus since it gets so big and stinks. This, the tree of Brooklyn, makes up a huge percentage of my browns for the compost. I can chop down the whole tree, and within a week, it’ll be three feet tall. I know I will lose the battle. I haven’t been able to identify one of the taller weeds that grows around the patio drain. The leaves smell a lot like chrysanthemum leaves but I’ve never seen it flower. I also have quite a bit of plantain, which I just learned is good on fresh bug bites to control itching. We will see.

• The rain barrel is irrigating everything nicely, as long as it is full. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem to have the pressure to do the whole yard. I think the dripper in the thyme is clogged, but otherwise, the whole system is working beautifully.

• The mint is swimming happily in it’s boggy home with the rain barrel overflow hose. I made a delicious salad from the Times of green grapes, MINT FROM MY GARDEN, feta cheese, salt and pepper. It was supposed to have olive oil too, but Steve is a bachelor and had none. It was remarkably delicious and was the first produce to come out of the garden.

I am happy with my garden this year, and the rainbarrel is easing my mind about watering. If it doesn’t rain for a couple days, I turn on the drip system and the plants are fine on the hottest days.