Garden Friday

Welcome to a sodden Garden Friday!
We've had almost 4 1/2 inches of rain since Tuesday,
with more predicted this coming week.
No need to use the drip system we recently installed.
No complaints here!

 Along with the pelting rain,
the winds have been fierce.
Some of the sunflowers in the pollinator bed
have fared the worst.
Hopefully, once the weather calms down,
I can get out there and stake them up.

 Another casualty from the winds 
was one of the birdhouses.
I found it face down on the ground,
the ten foot pole having been blown over.
Thankfully, when I checked inside,
there were no eggs yet nesting there.

It got fastened to the gazebo frame
until we can get some more rebar.
I hope the occupants decide it's safe enough to return.



The snap peas are blooming now,
so they were given a dose of worm castings.

 A few pods have been sampled,
with much satisfaction.
There is nothing so fresh tasting
as a snap pea eaten off the vine.

 One of the 4X4 beds was partially planted,
but until the rains hit,
there wasn't much action here.
Now it seems that the seedlings have grown
several inches in just a few days.
There's nothing like Mother Nature's blessings.

Detroit Dark red beets

 The lettuce and kale in the coffee cans exploded!
The scarlet kale will be transplanted into a raised bed,
as I hope to relish eating it for months.

The strawberries in the galvanized tub seem content.
This batch was acquired this season from Cooperative Extension
during their yearly plant sale.

 Another batch was gifted by a dear friend last year.
They are planted in a straw bale
and are putting on fruit.
I'm thinking I might cover them with deer netting,
so that we actually get some berries to enjoy.

 This is the first time I've tried using netting
to protect my plants from larger critters like birds and squirrels.
It's easy, organic and causes no harm.

 

 There's a volunteer cantaloupe growing in the pollinator bed.
The plan is to move it into a container,
although since it's already flowering,
I may have waited too long.

 We have squash coming up in one of the 3X8 beds.
Three varieties were planted,
but so far, only two have germinated.
The rest of the bed will be planted with sweet potatoes this weekend.

A new bean to me, Dragon Tongue, 
(I wrote the wrong name on the tag),
popped up yesterday.
This versatile bean can be eaten fresh, shelled or dried for the pantry.
 

 If we get a break in the weather,
one of the weekend's tasks will be to empty the trailer
of another load of free mulch.
Slowly, I'm working on expanding the walking areas around the garden.

 The front porch garden is coming along.
Most of what is here returned from last year
including the allysum, coneflowers, Gerbera daisies, lantana,
milkweed, rudbeckia, and salvia.
Even a stray sunflower arose,
most likely thanks to squirrels or birds dropping the seed here.
The bird bath in the middle,
fashioned out of an old cement base and a plastic saucer,
gets many visitors each day.

rudbeckia

The flower seedlings started earlier in the week
are germinating and will be ready for transplanting in a few weeks.
These include daisies and zinnias.
(The wire caging is what I used before acquiring the deer netting.)

blanket flower

The rain may have slowed down my work in the garden,
but the crops, flowers and frogs are mighty satisfied.
Here's hoping for just a wee bit of sunshine
so that I can tackle some garden chores this weekend.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, 

snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, 

only different kinds of good weather."

~John Ruskin

Garden Friday

Well, How Do,

and welcome to Garden Friday!

This is my friend Snickers,

who doesn't mind shading his eyes

while he supervises my work on Thursday afternoons.

He is one cool pup!

It's been a busy week and it gave me great satisfaction

to cross a few things off of my to-do list.

First on the agenda was to empty this trailer of mulch,

which Big K and I took care of early in the week.

This free mulch is used to convert grassy areas

to pathways around the garden.

A layer of thick cardboard is put down first,

and about 2-3" of mulch covers it up.

The garden is expanding a wee bit this year,
with plans to add a few more planting areas in the next few years.
The county landfill's mulch helps to keep grass and weeds at bay
and the price is right!

We also used the chipper to make wood chips for the interior of the garden.
We use the free stuff underneath and then use the pretty stuff on top.
I'm hoping we can get into a good rhythm of chipping each weekend,
as we have quite a few piles of limbs and twigs around the property.

This mint patch prompted me to give this area a bit of attention.

It was here when we bought the house,

and since I know I can't really fight it,

(mint is almost impossible to eradicate),

I'm embracing this spot and adding to it.

Some of the seeds that were added to the pollinator bed

were gathered to use here.

Daisies and zinnias are some of the fastest growing flowers,

especially when conditions are favorable.

The three varieties were mixed together 

and broadcast over this section of the side yard.

Since we occasionally see deer visiting our yard,

I took pains to protect the newly planted hostas out back.

Chicken wire was either laid on top of

or used to "cage" the plants.

We'll see how it goes.

A cattle panel was placed in one of the 3X8 beds
where three different types of squash were planted.
The area in the foreground will be planted with sweet potatoes.
There should be lots of action happening on that trellis!

A handful of warm-weather crops were sown,
in hopes that the cold weather was on its way out.
Wouldn't you know that we've still had a couple of days in the high 30's?
Thankfully, these were well protected.

Two types of eggplant are being started.

While I've grown the long Japanese-type,

the Antigua variety is new to me.

I've never met an eggplant I didn't like!

We'll give these two kinds of peppers a go this season,

as I'm not much for the spicy curl-your-hair types.

A few kinds of beans have been sprouting up.

These are Pinto bush beans.

I ventured into growing drying beans for the first time last year,

and I loved the results.

Beans keep for so long in jars in the pantry,

so they are always at the ready for a filling, nutritious meal.

We got flowers, folks!

Snap peas can't be far behind.

 The irrigation system is worth its weight in gold.
I haven't had to hand water once,
and the plants are responding.
Can't wait to fill up these beds with goodies!

A work in progress, just like everything else in this life,
the garden is a source of joy, discovery and grounding.

Here's hoping this weekend finds you
healthy, doing something you love,
and surrounded by those for whom you care most.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommas out there!

Instant Mulch!

Every fall, our wonderful next door neighbor

shares her bounty of bagged leaves with us.

We also have many trees on our property,

so there is no shortage of leaves to be found.

In December, Big K found this leaf shredder on a local marketplace.

We used it to corral all of the leaf coverage on our lawn,

but this week, I decided to create a great mulch/compost blanket for the veggie beds.

It shreds the leaves wonderfully,

so that there is no concern about smothering.

It will be a yearly ritual that I look forward to completing.

(You can also use a mower to shred leaves,

running it over them a few times.)

Leaf mulch is beneficial to plants for a number of reasons.

First, it acts as an insulator, keeping the soil warmer in winter

and cooler in summer.  This gives crops better stability in growing,

as the soil temperature is more or less constant.

Another reason leaf mulch works so well is that it acts as a weed barrier.

With the soil fully covered, the weeds don't stand a chance.

If you think about a forest floor, it is always covered 

and the plants therein thrive.

It's natural for Mother Nature to be covered up.

Leaf mulch also adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down

and helps retain moisture, so less watering is needed.

Just look how tucked in these onions look

with all of that leaf mulch snuggling up to them.

Whenever we run our irrigation, or are blessed with a good soaking,

the moisture can be enjoyed by the plants' roots for a good, long time.

There were a few bags with pine needles mixed in with the leaves.
Not to worry, they were the perfect candidate for our blueberry bushes,
which need acidic soil in which to grow.
Last year I added pine straw around our three bushes,
but this year, I think this will do just fine.

It's a beautiful thing when Mother Nature provides the garden
with just what it needs.
Grateful for our slice o' heaven.

Garden Friday

Happy May Day!

 Welcome to soggy Garden Friday.
We were blessed with almost 4 inches of rain
on Wednesday night, with a little more yesterday.
The garden loves those raindrops, 
                                            every 
                                                      single 
                                                              one.

bush beans planted in straw bales

 Wouldn't you know that as soon as we got our irrigation system
up and running, the rains came?
This is me not complaining!
We finally got our act together and acquired all of the compatible parts
to put together a cohesive, working system.
It will be so worth the effort,
and save me a ton of time on watering.

We may need to tweak things a bit,
we will be testing out how efficient it is in the next week or two.
The onions in this 3X8 bed seem to be quite content.

The Yukon Gold potatoes that share the bed
are growing taller every passing day.
I'm hoping we'll have enough to share.

 The asparagus is a first time plant for me
and I have a lot to learn.
One key element to successful growing of this perennial,
is to keep the area surrounding it free from weeds.
Asparagus doesn't like to compete for nutrients in the soil.

The temperature seems to be just right for the beets.
They've started putting on more leaves and growth overall.

 A sampling of the leaves helped me decide that
I need to remember to harvest these for my daily salad.
They have such good flavor and the texture is almost creamy.
It's wonderful to be able to once again graze in the garden.

 I was shocked to see how much the lettuces had grown
in their coffee can homes.

By next week, I hope to be able to harvest some baby greens.
 

more lettuce on the way!

 These strawberries are from last year and had been planted in a straw bale.
Unfortunately, I had to move them into a tub
because I was reconfiguring the garden to accommodate the drip hoses,
but so far, they seem to be doing just fine.

 Looks like the makings for some pickles may be in the offing.
Last year, the only variety I had any success with was White Wonder.
It was probably "gardener error",
but I was glad to see these coming up.

One of my tasks this week was to screen my red wigglers.
This requires me to take the worms out of the bin,
and leave the castings in a separate container.
There is still some shredded paper in the mix,
but it will decompose over time.
The castings are used as is, or by making a tea with them,
and fertilizing the veggie beds with it.
Here's where we made our worm bin.

One of our trips away from home this week
was to collect mulch from our local landfill.
This shredded mulch is available to county residents
and they load up your truck or trailer for free.
Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

 There are a few areas that I'm working on
covering with cardboard (to deter weeds)
and then placing the free mulch over the top.
This method works great for walkways.

 A neighbor let me have this cute lil' cedar tree
that was in the way of her veggie bed.
Another neighbor gifted me with this liriope
that I used to surround the tree.
We have very generous neighbors.
Slowly, plants are being added to the perimeter of the property.
After all, it can't be about veggies all the time!

A neighbor on the next block has this gorgeous 
false indigo blooming in his front yard.
Actually, he has two.
A friend gave me a great idea to ask him for some seed pods
so we can both get us some of the yellow variety.
Works for me!

What's happening in your spring garden?