Garden Friday

 
Welcome back to Garden Friday!
Spring is runnin' wild, here
and we are so ready for it!
It's been a busy week here in the Piedmont.
Here are a few things we've been up to. 

 We've got potatoes, folks!
Last Thursday, we showed you how we planted our
Yukon Gold potatoes in our homemade towers.
They must be cozy in that straw because they are popping up already!
Not only was I happy to find spuds underneath,
there was a special visitor nestled in there.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture before it slithered away.
Forewarned!

The hugelkultur bed is teeming with greens
(and reds).
The chard, kale, and lettuce keeps on coming!
I picked two gallon-sized bags at the beginning of the week,
and even with my snacking during the day,
it is ready to be harvested by mid-week.
Blessings abound!  



 Something else is making itself a home in the same bed.
I'm not sure if this is caused by squirrels burying something
or some other critter digging for bugs.

 The one Vates kale that I got to germinate during winter
is going to seed.
There are transplants ready to be put in the spot.

 The leek I planted around the perimeter of the hk bed
is doing well.
Nasturtiums were added as a companion plant.
The snap peas are growing taller,
but seem to be having a hard time clinging to the trellis.
I'm thinking it's due to some windy conditions.
No flowers yet on the peas, but we're gettin' closer!

 The shallots are gigantic compared to the last time I grew them.
I can hardly wait to dig them up in a couple of more weeks.
Slurp!

 Last week I talked about the shallots forming flower buds.
After consulting with a couple of experts,
I decided to leave a few flowers in tact to save seeds,
and cut off the remaining buds.

 The garlic will soon be ready to harvest and I can hardly wait.
Next season, I plan to make a lot more room for this crop.
It stores well and we use it nearly every day.

I didn't get a good shot of it,
but our blueberry plants have fruit!
SQUEEEEE!!!
Love me some blueberries!

 I managed to finish driving the stakes for the wattle fence.
Hopefully, Sunday will be conducive to beginning my weaving.
My friend Jannah  
gave me a mess 
of grapevine,
so we shall see if it is enough to complete the project.

 I seeded the pollinator bed with
an array of bee-lovin' flowers.
Daisies, echinacea, nasturtiums, and zinnias
are but a few of the seeds sown here.
The tipi will support morning glories and moonflowers.
Can you see the holes in this bed too?
Ugh.
The two flower beds on the other side of the property 
were sown yesterday.
We are forecasted to get a good dousing all day,
so I'm hoping for good germination.

 Our neighbors have been happily providing us with cardboard
to add to our pathway project.
More free mulch will be collected,
as soon as our trailer is free.

This pathway will wind around the lorapetalum
and end up by the arches.
I'm hoping to plant flowers on either side of the walk.

 I got the mulch added to the area under the arches.
It will be so exciting to be able to walk under the melons
and beans that will be growing on them.

 The three beautyberry bushes acquired at the Farmers' Market
a couple of weeks ago have been planted.
They were placed with lots of space around,
so they have room to spread out.
Another area under the lorapetalum is beginning to take shape,
with a few new transplants added to what I hope becomes a seating area.
Thanks to a lot of inspiration from fellow gardeners
and a few YouTube channels,
garden design is something I am starting to enjoy exploring.

With daily goodies from the garden,
I feel blessed beyond measure.
My basket runneth over.

Are you harvesting any goodies yet?

Makeshift Greenhouse

There's a little nagging voice inside of me
telling me that a greenhouse would be a great next step.
Remembering that this past winter I had virtually nothing growing outside
encourages that voice to get louder.
What an amazing feat to be able to grow year-round
and feed your family from seed to table.
Alas, it seems so daunting,
that it most likely won't happen this year.
So, we make do with our circumstances.

This weird room off of the master bath
contains only a jacuzzi tub and two fabulous windows
that let in the most beautiful morning light.

I cut some boards to size so that they fit over the bathtub
and fashioned my own "spa nursery" for seedlings
that I could no longer wait to plant.

These green bean plants grew like wildfire!
In less than a week, they were 8 inches tall!

I started cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tat soi, 
and a mixture of herbs well before planting time,

not expecting everything to germinate and grow so well.
So, I'm in a kind of holding pattern until it's safe to transplant
some of these outdoors.
We're getting close,
with nighttime temperatures closer to 60 than 40 degrees.

This room is soon to be converted into a laundry room,
so next year I will have to figure something else out.
I'm thinking maybe we could just have some open shelving
so that I have room for flats.
Time will tell.

The sweet potato slips are coming along,
although I'm not sure they will be ready for planting next month.
I may end up having to purchase them,
as I did last year.

What a blessing though, 
to have this space to get seedlings started,
when the desire for sowing overwhelmed me.
So much of what we do is a wait and see game.
Good thing God made me a patient woman.
It comes in handy when you're a gardener.

Weatherization Program Update

 

A couple of months ago,
we had a weatherization audit done on our home.
This program, which is free to those who qualify,
does testing to see how energy efficient your home is.
We had pretty good results,
but several contractors were sent our way
to button up our cozy nest just a bit more.
So far, this is what has been done.

A whole house fan was installed in the hallway bathroom.
This fan replaced the builder-grade fan that was there,
and it has Smart technology.
The fan cycles on automatically,
according to the humidity in the air.
It is designed to pull the dampness out of the whole house,
not just the bathroom,
thereby creating a healthier environment,
with less chance of mold or mildew being formed inside.
This fan is so quiet, you can hardly hear it running.
Astounding!



On another day,
a crew came to take care of quite a few items on our list.
One task was to seal the ductwork at the registers.
They also went under our crawlspace and sealed all of the ductwork there,
and wrapped the water tank in thick insulation to retain heat.

The same crew added a few inches of insulation to the attic,
as well as insulation under the crawlspace to improve our efficiency.
We're almost looking forward to this year's power bills,
so that we can take note of any difference in cost.

A different team came to put a moisture barrier all through the crawlspace,
to keep condensation from building up under there.
We are so grateful to all of the workers who did such a wonderful job
and were extremely professional and easy to work with.

We should have one more contractor coming sometime soon
to check out our HVAC unit.
Before long, we'll be as buttoned up as we can be!

If you want to see if you qualify for this free program,
check out this website.

Garden Friday

Welcome to Garden Friday!

There's a lot going on in the garden this week,

and an array of projects in midstream.

After visiting the farmers' market last weekend,

I am still scouting the perfect spot 

for the lovelies that made their way home with me.

One of the tasks on my list was to get the cover crops mowed down.
This was the first winter I've grown cover crops 
and I plan to repeat it in late fall.
The crops sown are there to add nutrients to the soil,
keep weeds at bay, and allow for earlier planting come spring.
I used hedge trimmers to do the job quickly.

Green beans and cucumbers were planted in two of the four rows.
Sunflowers were sown at the ends to attract pollinators
and add a little perty to the beds.
 These are all companion plants, which is this spring's focus.
I will be using more flowers in general in the veggie beds than in the past,
in order to make it easier for pollinators to find the veg.

This is the beginning of the wattle fence project.
Big K has been able to get the wooden pieces that will be used as stakes.
The line was strung (see the arrows?) to keep some semblance of a straight row
for the stakes to line up against.
Me and straight lines don't get along too well,
so we need all the help we can get.
For now, the plan is to fence in two sides of the veggie garden,
and if I like it as much as I think I will,
I'll have to scratch up some more grapevine or willow branches.
Sometimes materials for these types of projects
can be acquired on Craig's List or Next Door
just for the asking.

The "spa" room, as we call it, 
has been transformed into a greenhouse.
Seeds have done well in the space,
as it gets a good amount of morning light.
This week began the sowing of melon and watermelon seeds.
Actually, I just noticed last night that the watermelon is up!
They will be grown on the arches we created on the northeast side of the garden.
Soon this room will be converted into a laundry room,
so I will lose my greenhouse.
It's a fair exchange.

 The garden is starting to fill with color.
The consistently warm temperatures are nurturing
the lettuce, kale, chard, peas, leek and cabbage growing in the hugelkultur bed.
It's been so wonderful to finally be able to harvest enough greens
for a week's worth of salads.

 The garlic is happy as a clam.
It was recently fertilized with Mighty Grow,
and will be fed once more before harvest.
The shallots are starting to form flowers.
I've read conflicting things about that.
Some sources say to leave the flowers to collect the seeds,
and others say to cut off the flowers to encourage energy to the bulb.
A call to Extension might be in order.
I'll report what I find out.
 This parsley has impressed me,
making it through the whole winter with no problem.

Another chore that needs to be done 
is to top off the entire garden with the free mulch
we got from our local landfill.
Free is good.

This kale is the Premier variety,
and although I prefer the taste of some others,
this one has bounded back over the past few weeks
and is producing quite well.
If you look closely, you can see some red lettuce
popping up to the right of the kale.

With a rainy few days expected,
the garden should get a good dousing.
Less work for the gardener.
There will be plenty to do once it's over.

How's your spring garden coming along?

Planting Potatoes

One of the most versatile veggies is potatoes.
They can be prepared in so many ways,
from baking to boiling to frying to roasting.
There's really no bad way to fix a spud.

It starts with seed potatoes.
These can be purchased online or at your local hardware store.
We bought the Yukon Gold variety,
as we had good production with them last year.

The first step in growing your own potatoes
is to cut them into pieces and let them air dry
for a few days.

They may not look too attractive,
but this step is helpful in preventing rot and disease.
Once they are sufficiently dry,
they are ready to take out to the garden.

 This year, I'm reusing the chickenwire towers I made last season.
They were fashioned by simply cutting a length of chickenwire
and joining the two ends to make a hoop.
Support was created by using stakes, rebar, or dowels
woven through the top and bottom of the wire
and stuck into the ground.

 The potatoes were laid (skin side up) onto soil
amended with compost.
Three towers gave us ample space to plant.

Usually, dirt is added to the top of the potatoes as they grow,
to keep them from exposure to the sun,
which can cause them to create solanine,
a toxic chemical that renders the tubers inedible.
In my case, straw will be used instead of soil.
As with most veg,
at least 6 hours of daily sunshine and
an inch of water per week encourages growth.

After a few weeks, we should notice green stalks
escaping from the straw.
In about 10 weeks, the potatoes can be harvested.
They will need to cure before eating,
and can be stored for months unrefrigerated.

As easy as spuds are to grow,
why not add this veg to your garden crop list?