Garden Friday

 

 

Welcome back to Garden Friday!

Wow, we're on a roll,

posting two weeks in a row!

It's good to have some progress to report.

The Carolina blue skies are lookin' mighty fine these days.

 

The shed is assembled and it looks as if

it has been there all along.

It'll be so handy to have tools for the garden

and items that the chooks might need under one roof.

It also provides more room in the garage for other things.
 

 

The interior will be worked on this weekend, 

with transferring and organizing the garden and chicken materials.

It's no secret that the organizing is my favorite part!

For now, a set of shelves will be used to corral like things.

 

We're also sprucing up the chicken run.

Removing the spent blue tarps has been on my list for a while.

A new white one has been added to the arch over the older coop.

It really adds protection from the rain and sun.

 

This green one was found at a local store.

It was wonderful to see how closely it matched

the Omlet coops.

If this one works well, 

I may go pick up another to make custom 

rain jackets for the metal run.

I'll simply use the leftover blue tarps as a template

and sew the new ones out of this material.

crocus

 

Signs of spring are popping up all over.

 

The first dandelion of the season has been spied!

No doubt the chooks will love this!

 

 

The daffs are coming up in the front flower bed.

They are so cheery on a cold, wintry day.

 

On Wednesday, the canna lilies

were found making their entrance.

 

This is the trunk of our magnolia tree out front.

We often spot a woodpecker out there,

doin' what he does best.

It looks like (s)he's gotten a mess of meals out of it.
 

 

The winter sowing has been fruitful.

Out of the four containers I sowed a couple of weeks ago,

three have fairly good germination.

Looks like we'll be having a good start on the 

kale and lettuce crops.

Buttercup

It feels so good to finally cross some things off of the list.

It just goes to show,

with a little help, things get done!

snack time!

Garden Friday

 

 

the first daff of the season!

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we (sometimes) share what's happening

in our Zone 7 Piedmont garden.

 

 

Not eggs-actly garden related,

but I'm so happy to share that our girls 

are amping up their egg production.

Our chooks have consistently been laying

over a dozen eggs a week for the last few weeks.

We've even been getting blue eggs again!

It has been wonderful to have eggs to share once more.

 

 

This rue had been planted in the butterfly bed

near the mailbox last spring.

I'm thrilled to see that it made it through winter

without any trouble at all.

This is one of the host plants for the black swallowtails.

 

The blueberries are starting to form buds.

They will be pruned soon to remove

any dead material and give new life to the crops.

I'm planning to watch this how-to video on the subject.

 

I'm not expecting much in the way of production,

as our soil measured much too high on the ph scale

once again, even though I amended it last year.

The option for growing them in pots is making more sense,

as the soil acidity is much easier to control.

Our garlic border out front is unfazed by the cold.

It'll be nice to have some extra garlic to share!

 

bug snatchers

 Planning your spring garden?

I've been looking for a free online planner

and found this great article

about a few of the selections.

I've used the Gardener's Supply planner

in the past, but it is not available at this time.

I'm not sure if that's true for the others,

but it's a good place to start looking!

 

I've been experimenting with the winter sowing method.

The idea was inspired by a video on Hooked and Rooted,

which you can find here.

Three types of lettuce and one kale mix

were started in clear food trays

and placed on top of the soil in one of the raised beds.

Potting soil was used to plant the seeds,

and holes were made on the bottom

and top of the bins.

This allows for proper drainage and for the 

collection of any rain (or dare I say, snow?)

that may provide moisture.

It's a very hands-off approach.

 Once watered, the lids are kept on to act as a mini greenhouse.

By keeping the bins outside,

no hardening off should be necessary when transplanting

these seedlings to their designated beds in the garden.

 

 

 

Our shed construction is under way!

Due to cold and rainy weather,

we have been keeping this project on hold.

We got a break in the weather this week,

and began assembling the shed.

We started with leveling the ground

(our property is quite sloped).

Trex boards were added as a base.

The shed we chose was purchased at a big box store.

The price went up over $300 from the summer,

when I started seriously looking at them,

until the time purchased in January.

I was able to get a discount by opening a Lowe's account,

so it all evened out in the end.

This shed appealed to me because it is made right here

in the good ole' USA.

This was the progress made on Wednesday of this week.

We hope to finish it today (Thursday),

just in time for the weekend rains!

I so look forward to adding my shelving and 

organizing all of my tools and equipment.

How are your spring garden plans coming along?