Garden Friday

 

 

 

It's Garden Friday

and the livin' is easy.

At least if you're a chook.

The flock has been moved around the property

with temporary fencing keeping them safe.

We are working on ideas for a more permanent fence solution.

 

 

 

 The asparagus bed was prepped for planting.

We use the hugelkultur method to fill the bottom half of the bed

with twigs, branches and shredded leaves.

 

 

 The nutrients from these materials feeds the soil

and also helps with aeration.

It also encourages tiny critters to hang out,

which adds even more goodness to the soil.

 

 

 

We were finally able to pick up some compost

from our local source.

It was so hot, that it was necessary to wait a few days

before planting, lest we burn the crops.

 

 

Yesterday I took the time to plant the ten crowns we had,

spacing them 18 inches apart on each side of the bed.

This bed measures 2 X 8, and  the plants were staggered to fit.

It will be 2 to 3 years before the asparagus can be harvested.

 

 

This handy-dandy gizmo was purchased for some of our strawberries.

We have some planted in a large washtub,

and those plants are thriving,

but I wanted to try something new.

This vertical planter is made by Mr. Stacky,

a company located in Lake City, FL.

Don't feel that it limits you to strawberry planting,

I can imagine herbs, flowers or salad greens doing nicely.

 

I first saw this type of growing container

on one of the YouTube channels I follow.

Mr. Stacky is a bit more affordable than the ones I had seen,

and, being made in the USA, I felt good supporting this company.

The feature I really like is that when the top pot is watered,

the water continues to drip down to the lower pots,

so it's easy to make sure everything is evenly watered.

I'll let you know how they work out.

 

Speaking of the washtub with the strawberries in it,

I moved it and look what was found underneath.

You know what they say,

if you see one, there are certainly more.

 

After checking out a new nursery in town,

(what fabulous news that is!),

a flat of marigolds was purchased and planted

 in one of the front flower beds I'm working on.

There is plenty of space to fill in,

so I can see myself patronizing that lil' nursery throughout the season.

 

I'm especially fond of the French marigolds,

with the bicolor, ruffly petals.
 

 

The hostas in the back of the house are coming back.

What a thrill to see them pop up through the heavy leaf mulch.

These were added last year to some of the shadier spots out back.

The back area is another spot that I'm working on.

 Most of the soil testing got done this week,

although there are still a few beds to be done.

When these boxes are dropped off next week,

I can pick up a few more to complete the tests.

It usually takes only a week or two to get results back.

This service is free from our County Extension Service.

 

With the busyness of the birds lately,

I thought it would be nice to help them out with nesting materials.

A bag of potatoes that had the mesh lining on it

(onions come this way too),

was repurposed to provide string, leaves, and pine needles

to the birds for nest making.

It was hung on a shepherd's hook right underneath several bird houses.

One stop shopping!

 

After years of holding onto these birdhouse gourds,

I was finally motivated to create bird houses out of them.

The tools were assembled and the task was quickly completed.

 

 

They were left natural, although I did cover them in a

coating of bee's wax/mineral oil to help protect them

and make them last a bit longer.

It was a fun project, and I hope to make it an annual ritual.

They are a welcome gift for most nature lovers.

With an abundance of seeds shaken out of the gourds,

it looks like we'll be growing plenty to share!

How's your spring garden shaping up?