Neatening things up

I have been threatening to do something about the flowerbeds and the grape row since last spring.  I finally got the bed in front of the house taken care of, but there were more things to do.

That is what i have been doing for the last week.

This bed was full of all sorts of things that were getting choked out by goldenrod. I actually made a real effort to weed all of it out last year, but it was a losing battle.  Once that stuff takes hold, its all over the place.  I'm going to miss a lot of plants that were in there, but i have to make the sacrifice.  I couldn't take care of it and it would be slowly destroyed anyway.  So i dug in and did it.

This is where i had to take a rest on this one.  I really needed to get to the grape row started too.  I wish, once again, that i had done before pics, but if i really need them i can look at pics of previous tears.

So, this is after digging out every bulb and iris that remained. I still need to Roundup the surviving goldenrod and lay down the landscape fabric, then mulch.

Right side, from my side window looking toward the nice neighbors' house

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And the rest of it.

I gave our nice neighbors first dibbs on whatever they wanted from it, they took quite a few things which made a good dent in the work i needed to do.  I dug out another two boxes of plant material, which went to my mom.  After so many weeds choking things for the last 2-3 years, there wasn't as much left as i thought there would be.


Now the major project which has taken many days, was the grape row.  I had to remove all the landscape fabric i laid down last year because the wind blew it so hard it tore away from everything i had holding it.

I had to move one Edelweiss grape from the right end to the left end because it was in the right spot to get almost no sun.  So now the grape row is bookended by the Edelweiss vines.   That shadier spot will get 2 new Elderberry plants that should arrive by UPS on Wednesday.

The project ended up being more ambitious than i had expected.  It needed a string line pegged in, then the edge cut in... the landscape edging was very challenging to install and i got it as perfect as i had patience for.  I'll fine tune it as summer goes on.  Then the fabric went down.  A calm day began to get breezy right about then, lol.

About 14 bags of mulch later....

Still not quite finished.  I have more fabric, but we need another 12 bags of mulch at least to finish this end and the other bed.

The extra part that juts out is for the dwarf Stanley Prune plum.  I hope there is enough room for it and i'm glad i got a dwarf.  That tree is coming in the shipment with the elderberries and also 3 Lingonberry plants.

My dad came over on Sunday and tilled the garden. Hubby acquiesced to the extra 6 feet i wanted. So now my garden is about 40'x30'- i'll get a more accurate size when the time comes to string line for the rows.

One more tilling is needed and then i can shovel out the walking rows and get the row cover supports put in.  First planting time is in about 3 weeks or less.  I can do radishes first and shortly after that,  broccoli, cabbage, onions and other such things can go in.

The asparagus is coming up and so is the horseradish

I also managed to get in the first spraying on the apple tree on Sunday.

I also completely removed the silky dogwood (gave to my parents), then pruned the hydrangea and the purple smoke tree.  The smoke tree is also being trained to grow toward the opposite side of the bed.

I am so glad i have made headway in the fruit and berry gardens.  It was tormenting me in my sleep.  It will be a huge relief when it is done and the weed-blocking landscape fabric and deep mulch should reduce weeds to almost nothing.  Any weed that pokes its head up along the edges will be easy to cap off with Roundup.

Looking forward to a Summer of moderate maintenance.

Hands almost too achy to type...

Hubby and i  got the garden area cleaned up a bit last week. No tilling yet, but we raked up the dry plants and the stalks from the cabbage family.  Made a small pile of it and burned it.
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.And then i tackled the neglected front flower bed.  I should have taken a before picture but i was so intent on getting started i didn't think of it.

But this is how it turned out.  Four blueberries.  The same ones i got from Stark Bros last year  Two are Patriot and two are Blueray.  Both are fairly short at maturity, so they won't get in front of the windows- at least that is the plan.

This is the plant material i removed from it. Mostly tulip and daff bulbs, and iris roots. I'll miss my crown imperial frittilaria ,  but they are all going to my mom.
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The rest was a striped grass that almost took over and weedy grass that escaped the lawn.

I dug it all out-  including the 2 roses,  i replanted  the maroon climbing rose right next to the hydrangea tree-  they should make a lovely pair when they are both in bloom.
Then i laid down landscape fabric to keep anything from reappearing and covered it all with mulch.

I made another small order to Stark Bros. and bought 3 lingonberry plants. They will go between the blueberries. I also got two different elderberry plants now that they are allowed- York and Nova.  They will go where the blueberries were.

I also plan to move one of the grapes more to the East of the fence so they get more sun. Elderberries can take more shade so they should be well off there.

I also got a dwarf Stanley prune plum tree.  That will go next to the hydrangea tree.

So i think that is it for now.

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Its finally feeling like Spring.

It really is.  Yesterday was gorgeous, around 60 degrees, mostly sunny- but humid.  A few showers that didn't last long...  except for the mosquitoes, it was perfect.  We had a nice little Resurrection Sunday dinner at my parents' house.

Last night it stayed warm, temps only in the 40's, no frost.  My daughter opened the window in the room where my seedlings are staying, they need to get used to outdoor temps.

The seedlings are doing well.  One of the Sweet Chelsea seedlings looks nothing like the others.  I plan to set it off to the side in the garden and see what it does.  I'll get a picture later.

Hubby likes the idea of putting berry plants in place of the flowerbeds. It will save work for both of us. I'll miss the flowers, but i'll enjoy the easier upkeep. He's already bought me a few bags of mulch so i'll be ready to go as soon as i can.

It rained buckets on Saturday, so dad didn't get over to till the garden,  that will have to wait until next week.

I can't believe i may be able to plant in the garden in as little as 3 weeks!  It does not quite feel like it right now....

I hope i can keep a better handle on the weeds this year. I have been reading about weeding techniques using tools i already have- different shaped hoes.  I have scuffle, stirrup and the classic type. I should be able to take care of weeds well enough with no bending. Last year the problem was time,  i was unable to get out there to work.  I most likely will have the same trouble this year- but hoe weeding might allow me to be more efficient.

I think that's it for today!

April showers...

Not much to journal about today other than rainfall.   We got about 2 inches of it over the weekend. Temperatures stayed above freezing, but not by much.  There is no longer any snow or ice in the yard and the angle of the sun is moving in a way that the grapes are getting more direct sun.  The currants are on the brink of leafing out.  The blueberry plants are sporting ever-growing leaf buds,  the elder hasn't woken up yet, but does not appear dead- just slow.
The daffs are in full bloom, the crown imperials are budding and will bloom soon.  I have emailed my mom offering her all the flowers from both front beds so i can replace them with berry bushes.  I may move the blueberries to that area or get some other things-  the autumn olive that i  grew from seed is still indoors (about 10" tall) and will likely be planted in the side garden.  I need to start some goji, sea buckthorn, seakale and other berry plants... i have been saying i'm going to do this for months, eventually it will happen!

Hubby started to rake the garden debris into a pile in the middle of the garden to burn it. Though the rain had soaked everything and fire danger was very low, the wind picked up and we decided it wasn't a good day for it.  So we put the fire out halfway through.  If we could just get a day without this annoying wind, we'd be able to do it.

Its been chilly and mostly cloudy today, but the warmup is well on its way.  I have been checking the small asparagus bed daily now,  but nothing yet. Its likely too early.  The Welsh onions are perking up nicely and the chives at the corner of the side bed are coming up. 

I decided i should try blanching the rhubarb this year.  It seems to be the thing to do- so i'll give it a go. I bet it will be nice!  I used my 30 gallon, black rubber tub.  It won't blow over easily and is completely light-proof.


So that's it today!

Did i ever write anything about Phoenixworm Composting?

Its yet another form of Vermicomposting.  The insects are voracious eaters, multiply quickly but are harmless.  Its the larvae of a wasp-like fly, (no sting) called a Soldier Fly, that do the work.  They break down compost very quickly and excess larvae can be fed to chickens as a very nutritious treat (high in protein and calcium), making them multi-purpose. Another good thing about them is that they also consume meat and dairy- something that Red Wigglers cannot do. 

They are not expensive to try-  i have wanted to try them myself ever since i read about them last fall.  This is the most recommended online place that i have found. Phoenixworms.com

A google search for them will show many articles about the specifics. Happy hunting!

A few days worth....

Sunday---

I took a few pictures yesterday, some things are waking up and i'm getting a first look at finding out which things survived the winter.

The comfrey crowns are definitely waking up.  They seem to have done quite well wintering-over in my last resort solution- a full bag of potting soil with holes poked in.

The roseroot seedlings that i didn't get to do anything with last year are still alive and beginning to wake up.  Its a type of sedum, the roundish lumps are hard to see...

The rhubarb is coming up, this means the ground is thawing.

The grapes and blueberries are still under a snowpile.  I tried to speed up some melting by opening up a black plastic trash bag and laying it down. I hoped it would catch the sun enough to help,  it sort of did in the small spot it was placed
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 We are expecting temps in the high 50's and possible rain,  so maybe the rest will be washed away.  That line is the only snow still on the ground in our yard.

Hubby helped me scrape away quite a bit of it and the edges which were packed by refreezing was breakable. We crushed it into chunks and tossed it into the dryer parts of the lawn.  We got a good bit of it cleared away.  Now that the landscape fabric is exposed, melting should speed up quite a bit.

Monday--

thunder overnight and more later that morning
we actually were able to have the bedroom window open all last night
steady rain most of the day. Temps in the high 40's
The grapes are thawing out nicely.

We do have a crocus in bloom and the daffodils are  making decent headway. That's a good sign.
I managed to rake out the debris from the front and side flower beds Sunday. I think once the tulips, daffs and other things are done blooming i will dig them up and share them with my mom.  The iris and roses will go too.  Then i'll put down landscape fabric then mulch it.  I may put something in later in the summer after any weeds have been choked out.  I really can't put much in there right off because it is so full of weeds, which is one of the main reasons why it needs to be cleaned out entirely anyway.

Tuesday---

Last night it stayed in the 60's over much of the state until well after midnight. Its in the mid 50's right now at about 10am.

Temps expected to reach mid to high 60's with plenty of sun and a dry breeze.
The grapes, blueberries, currants and elderberry are 90% free of the ice.  There is some ice behind them, but it no longer goes right up to the base of the plants.  Some of them are getting swollen leaf buds even though the ground around them is rock hard.  Today's expected weather should make a huge difference now that the black landscape fabric is mostly exposed.

According to the forecasters,  we shouldn't expect this weather to last to stick around for tonight.  We may get a rain/snow mix overnight.  We are only supposed to get around 40 degrees tomorrow and plenty of rain- better than snow!  Hopefully, Thursday will bring back temps in the 50's or better.  For the remainder if the extended forecast, we will stay cooler- 40's- and more rain toward the end of it.

So...the ground will have a slow thaw and things will remain quite wet. I'm glad the garden is on a mild slope, this will help it to stay drier than most other areas.  I'm hoping my dad will be willing to come and till it on the next dry weekend.  I'm hoping to have him till it at least twice before the final pass-through the day before planting.
I wish we had one of these. Then i wouldn't have to make my dad need to load his onto a trailer 4 times a year just for me.

Where last year was so unusually warm, this year is almost normal- perhaps a bit cooler.  It feels weird though- i spent so much time recording how spring was going last year i tend to remember it better than if i had not. So to me, it seems like things are way behind.  At this time of year i'm always close to chewing my nails off in anticipation no matter what the weather is, which means its not an accurate gauge.   I love winter, but after 4 months of being snowbound, its hard to not get excited about gardening for those of us who really enjoy it.

Both the tomato, eggplant and pepper seedlings are doing quite well. The Banana Legs tomatoes have sprouted and now look quite normal- so my apologies to Pinetree- it looks like the seed was fine. I bet this variety may simply be slower to germinate than the rest of what i have.
Many of the seedlings are getting into their first set of seed leaves. The peppers and eggplant are looking nice and stocky. The tomatoes are not spindly, but they are already getting tall, the lights are only about 3" above them and they have almost reached it.  The lights should be very intense, but it looks as if i will end up with some lanky tomato plants this year anyway.  So i'm making a note here to start things a bit later next year- perhaps a week from now would have been just as well.  Its ok. Now that i have a method and means to remind myself of these things, i can learn by it.

Pictures:

Yellow Crocus

Pink Bleeding Hearts are waking up

Roseroot sedum are green up and enlarging quickly

Rhubarb is really unfolding

Currants getting leaf buds

Blueberries are waking up

Garden looks a mess right now, hopefully not for long.

I have to get into my berry plant seeds and get them started or i'll never get large enough plants to use in the yard.  I have been putting it off because someone small and cute does not like to take naps and i am so tuckered out by the time she does, i end up napping too- and i have never been able to do that before. It just isn't right. I literally cannot stay awake at times.  Hopefully this goes away for the summer or the garden is going to be in trouble!

Still waiting for Spring

I'll spare the pictures of the snow on the ground. I just don't have the heart to take another photo of it.  We got about 10 inches of snow for April Fool's Day, much of it has gone but the ground is still 90% covered. It was cold Saturday and Sunday was chilly but sunny.  Today it is warmer, but cloudy and we are told it should rain the next two nights and be warmer- possible 60's toward midweek.
Last year had such an early spring that this year i'm not sure what to make of the weather. I hope we end up having a warm summer or this will not be a good garden year.

My tomato seeds are beginning to pop up and so far it looks like good germination.

poor dead Cherokee Purple

Except for the Banana Legs tomatoes.  This looks like signs of old seeds,  the first time i have experienced bad seed from Pinetree

Headless seedling on the left, often a sure sign of old seed. Low germination in general. I'll likely re-sow these.

The Cherokee Purple died of damping-off by the looks of it. Maybe the seedling was weaker than it looked. I haven't had damping-off in a long time. I wasn't able to afford sterile seed-starting soil this year, so for a 10 year old seed, it must have been a bad combination.


The Hoya flowers are opening

Unfortunately they are too high to sniff because they are near the top of a window that is at the sink- and i don't climb chairs or cupboards anymore.  I do catch a faint whiff of hyacinth-like scent with a bit of baby powder....i think its coming from the flowers.


Today we had rain, so the new snowcover is going away. I think tonight is going to be our first frost-free night in a long time- temps expected to stay in the upper 30's. Daytime temps forecast to be mid 40's to low 50's.  If the sun comes out it could turn out warmer.

Weather and seed starting

Forecast for Friday.... 6-12 inches of snow.  Happy April Fools? We did get snow a few days after April first last year.  But this just isn't right.

Oh, almost killed the Cherokee Purple seedling. I moved the stuff around and set up the light shelf and somewhere in that time it wilted. I don't know if i smacked it by mistake or what, but it did look a tiny bit dry so i watered it and in the last 3 hours it has perked up better. Still not sure its ok, but it does look better.

I caved about starting the tomatoes. I went ahead and did it. I still think its too early, but i've been brainwashed by what i have been reading.
I have them indoors and under a double set of lights (two double shop lights = four bulbs) and its in one of the cooler rooms in the house. They don't need the light yet, but the peppers and eggplants are sharing the same shelf and lamps. That is pretty much all i will be starting indoors this year.

I planted:
Sweet Chelsea - large cherry type
Pruden's Purple- Brandywine type
German Orange Strawberry - oxheart type
Banana Legs - yellow paste
San Marzano- red paste

I thought i still had Roma seeds, but didn't find them so i didn't go crazy looking.  Five types are plenty for my garden. I have paste types and salad types so that will work and if one variety goes kaput i have redundancies.

Ok, so hopefully this storm for Friday ends up being a rain storm and not snow. 



gotta go, toddler is trying to eat Playdoh

Some seasonal notes

The angle of the sun is shifting just enough that the grapes at the left side of the fence are just starting to get the rays directly on them.  Its part of my learning curve that the grapes don't get full sun all winter because the shade of the neighbor's house and partly because of the fence itself. When i planted them, the area got most of the sun all day long.  About half of the grapes and two of the blueberries are in the light shortly before noon.  The rest are in shade- though not too deep and so is the Ben Alder.  I'm charging the camera battery so i'll try to get a reference picture as close to noon as i can get.

About 11:50

Right now we have about 37 degrees, so its not warm by a long shot.  I guess we should be in the 40's & 50's for normal years.  Maybe we'll make it today. Its not windy today like it has been for the last 3, so it feels a bit warmer.  According to forecasts this past weekend, we were hopefully going to have 40 degree temps with maybe a rain shower - but they are now saying the rain may end up being snow though they haven't changed the likely temperatures much.

I'm arguing with myself about starting tomatoes this early. I want to do it, but every time i start tomatoes indoors i end up with leggy creatures that gain little time on the season because i have to lay them down and bury them to the top 5 inches. The strength of the seedling light seems to make little difference. I think its the house temperature that is the main factor. The lights give off heat too.
If i do start tomatoes indoors, i'll have to put away the tank and drag out the white plastic shelves.  The tank does not have enough room for 2 plastic trays and with the white shelves the lights can be raised and lowered.  I'll need help with moving the tanks and it will have to be done during a nap time- but those haven't been happening much lately.

I have houseplants that need tending too. I killed my Meyer Lemon. Its really too bad cause it was doing so well.  It was getting big so i repotted it. I had to put it in another room to keep it safe from my toddler who likes to pluck leaves ( you should see my poor grapefruit tree). Well i forgot to water it too long and it is very definitely dead.  I might try one again sometime.
Now or soon, i need to pot up my little fig. Its going to need more than a 5 inch pot soon.  Even my sweet bay could use an upgrade. One of my clove seedlings has been repotted, the other from Horizon Herbs could use it too- though it came in a much larger pot than the eBay one. Its doing fantastic, the eBay one is much smaller.
I'm still waiting on the Hoya flowers to open, the buds are getting noticeably larger each day.

I might go out and try removing some of the snow on the grapes, like i said before- if a nap happens. Once i get the chance to do that, it should warm up quickly since there is a black weed block surrounding them.


After taking a closer look i realized there is too much snow for me to move easily. So that's out.

There is a nap happening now so i'm going to see if i can move those tanks. I move things by sliding them or "walking" them corner pivot to corner- so if i'm lucky i may get it done without too much trouble.

Seedlings up

Looks like the Hoya is very close to blooming.








Yay!  It also looks like my very last and very old Cherokee Purple seed was viable and even vigorous. The seed leaves are well formed. When they are shrivelly , i am told, it means that the seed was essentially no good.  If i don't accidentally murder this seedling i hope to save the seeds so i can have some for next year.  They are suppsed to be a very sweet tomato, even better than Brandywines perhaps.  I can't wait to find out.

 

Snapper, a sweet bell pepper is up.

 Slim Jim eggplant is just starting out.  I got no fruit from this last year- i think wintersowing is not beneficial to eggplant. I think exposure to so much cold does not allow them to get in gear soon enough. This flat of seeds was germinated with bottom heat from a 60 watt incandescent bulb.  I hope to get sturdy plants by planting time.

 

 Below is another eggplant i am trying. Like Slim Jim, this one is a long , slender type, only green rather than purple.  The entire Slim Jim plant is a velvety purple- the two of these plants with or without fruit should be an interesting contrast in colors.  This variety is compact, can be container-grown and is described as being suited to my cooler climate.

 One of the Stocks are up...but that's it so far.

I'm still waiting anxiously for the durned snow to melt.

 It really is giving way, though slowly.  Along the roadsides, the snow is all but gone. Many yards are free of snow. The last few days of cold has not allowed the grass to green up yet.  Its been in the 30's and very windy. After Monday the weather forecasters are saying we should have 40's through the remainder of the week. I wish i had enough black plastic to cover the whole garden and absorb that sunlight!

Seeds arriving

There.

My last and second seed order came in this morning. So i have my Provider green beans,  their radish mix, Pruden's Purple tomato, Early Butternut winter squash, Ailsa Craig onion and Nutri Bud broccoli.  The only problem is that two of what i wanted were unavailable-  the Golden Zebra summer squash and the Southport Red Globe onion.  They had to be substituted with 49er F1 summer squash and Red Burgundy  onion.

I'm not sure how well this substitution  is going to work since Southport is a long-day Northern onion and according to what i can find about Red Burgundy is that it is a short-day onion which is better for Southern areas.  I still have some  Southport  seed from last year so i guess i'll have both to compare.

Golden Zebra sounded so good. Described as having a more appetizing flavor than regular summer squash, i was looking forward to it.   But i looked up 49er F1 and it sounds good too, so i think i'll be fine.

So, i'm feeling pretty good about not having gone hog wild with seeds this year (compared to other years) and i have been studying seed saving- finding out what plants i can save seeds from year after year without degrading them with a small gene pool.  I don't have even a half an acre- so some things won't work.  But i'll be good for tomatoes and maybe even the provider beans.  But i get to do more reading throughout the next few months before i need to know for sure.

Still snow on the ground out there and i expect it to be there for some time.  I did take a few pictures of how the garden is melting off.  The way its going makes a strong argument for my slightly raised bed system.  The tops of most of the beds are appearing much more quickly while the walking rows are still full of snow.  Since i am switching the direction of my rows this year i won't be able to take a lot of advantage of the beds  as they sit, but some patches of warm soil will be tilled in with the colder stuff and it just might get things a slight bit warmer faster than if all the surface was at the same level.

I found a lone parsnip waking up before most everything else.  I may save and replant this one to try and get some seed from it.

The Brussels sprouts look like they still might be alive in there.

I got the table upright and on the driveway/patio. Hubby won't like it but i'm going to start seeds on it in a later-than-it-should-be wintersowing session.  I saved a lot of milk jugs for this.  Later when things sprout, they will go in the mini greenhouse.


Rose Orach seedlings.  I mistakenly thought they were the Midnight Red Amaranth, but a check of the lable corrected me.

Snow pics.

I wish i had something to do time lapse photos with- that would be cool. Set the camera on a tripod and leave it there and see what happens...  but since i don't i have to play with it this way.

3-4-11

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3-20-11

Darn it all..... (3-22-11)