Garden Friday

 Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share our Zone 7b Piedmont garden.

This clematis was found near our back porch steps

when we bought the place.

It never did anything until just recently

when I moved it closer to the back entry of the garden.

I think I've found the right spot!

 

This week, the rest of the blueberries

were planted in pots and relocated to offer them a bit more sunshine.

For the past two years, although I amended the soil,

we got very few berries and the soil's pH was not balanced.

I used Holly Tone and a good organic potting mix

to foster the chances of success.

Time will tell.

 

Next to the blueberries are the extra strawberry

plants I was gifted.

These are mostly for giving away,

once they have some size to them.

The wire mesh is to dissuade squirrels from 

digging up the soil to bury their treasures.

The Birdie's bed is filled with more strawberries,

some which were transplanted from a washtub,

and a few more that were added this year.

Soil was collected from all of the berry pots,

so that it can be tested by our local Cooperative Extension.

 

 

Most of the smaller beds are filling up with 

containers from the winter sowing project.

It will soon be time to get them planted,

as soon as I come up with a solution to keep the chooks 

from eating all the kale and lettuce they see.

Insect netting may be my best option,

as it will also protect the brassicas from cabbage moths.

Beans, broccoli, cabbage,

leeks, tat soi and some flowers are also growing

in the repurposed salad containers.

 

 

It was a busy week, but with spring moving forward,

I don't expect things to slow down anytime soon.

I've been enjoying my umbrella as I sit at my makeshift workbench

and pot up seedlings and commune with the chooks.

If you notice the two blue grow bags hanging on the bamboo uprights,

there are more strawberries in them.

This is the first time I've used grow bags,

but it's a nice option for so many uses.

 

The potatoes that were planted in February

are finally starting to pop up.

This is unusually slow,

but I'm using a new technique called

"The Ruth Stout Method", 

so I'm not really sure what to expect.

 

There is lettuce volunteering in some of the small beds.

I want to say it may have been sown in the fall,

but I honestly don't remember.

In any case, it is more than welcome!

 

I'm trying my hand again with the chook composting method.

I used welded wire to make a ring right in the chicken run,

and have been throwing all sorts of scraps into it.

Since I shortened the wire to about a foot and a half,

they have been climbing right in there,

scratching, pooping and moving the pile around.

We'll see what comes of it.

 

I put up some flexible fencing around the wooded area

near the garden.

We have a dog who is not too friendly who lives

across the street and this gives me a bit more confidence

that the chooks will be safer.

They are only allowed to roam in the woods

when I am working outside, so I can keep an eye on things.

They have been enjoying the cool shade

and ample dust baths!

 

 

 

 

Cooler weather lies ahead for us next week,

after a good dousing of rainfall over the weekend.

I embrace it all!

Here's hoping your weekend is just how you like it.

Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share what's happening on our

Zone 7 Piedmont homestead.

(These double daffs are beautiful,

but not as helpful to the pollinators as singles.)

 

Our biggest project this week was to spread

three yards of gravel along the back walkway.

Using the mower and one of our small trailers

sure makes the job a lot less tiresome.

 

Although this type of work is taxing,

it's good for my bone building

and gives such a feeling of satisfaction,

when things around the homestead are looking their best.

 

We also used some of the gravel to fill in a ditch

near the chicken run to aid in diverting rainfall.

There is sometimes standing water,

which is not good for the chooks.

Hopefully, this will remedy the situation.

 

The garden is coming alive!

 We may have had our last night of freezing temps,

and I am working quickly to get things ready for spring planting.

Here are a few of the winter sowing seedlings 

that will be transplanted to larger pots

or directly into the garden in the next week or so:

tat soi

cabbage

leek

 

red ripper beans

 

The beans may be babied a bit longer,

as it is probably not the ideal time to plant them out.

buttercrunch lettuce

 

As you can see,

we have plenty of lettuce growing.

I'm hoping to use some of it as part of my

ongoing experiment with foodscaping.

It'll be nice to share some of it with friends as well.

 

These lettuce plants were all germinated

using the winter sowing method,

then transplanted to cell trays.

It's taken about a month for them to get this far.

 

We'll have several varieties ready for eating in no time,

with resowing taking place to encourage a staggered harvest.

I've never grown on this scale before,

but the winter sowing method made me a believer! 

 

I actually had time on Tuesday

to transplant and fertilize some of the seedlings.

Fish emulsion was used to soak the cell pots

in repurposed sheet pans for 20 minutes.

The cookie sheets are an efficient way

to bottom water young crops.

The cell pots were then placed

in the garlic bed to grow a bit more,

until they are ready to put out in the landscape or garden bed.

 With spring temperatures ushering forth,

only a few beds required covering overnight in the past week,

as there were delicate seedlings placed here.

 

The sweet potato slips are coming along

and were pinched off of the spuds

and placed in water to grow.

We have plenty of time before these are planted.

Here's hoping that spring is coming up 

wherever you call home.

 

 

 

Garden Friday

 

 

 

candytuft and tulips

 

Welcome to Garden Friday!

Spring is still weeks away, 

but you'd never know it by what's popping up!

 

The sweet potatoes leftover from last season

were added to a baking tray filled with soil.

This is the new way I'm creating slips to plant 

out in the garden later on.

For now, they reside in our funky space

we affectionately deem "the spa room".

Once the slips start forming,

they will be pinched off and added to a jar with water to form roots.

 

These pots were found at the big box store

and are being saved to transplant our blueberry bushes.

Although I've amended the soil two years in a row,

our pH was still much too high for them to thrive.

The containers will buy me at least a year,

so that I can try to remediate the problem and test again.

These pots are not only made in the USA,

but they are fashioned from ocean plastic!

 

Our first Birdie bed has been assembled.

Big K helped with this project,

as he is a master of all things nuts-n-bolts.

Truth be told, I could have easily done the job myself,

it was that easy.

 

The bed will be used strictly for strawberries,

which I've ordered from our local Cooperative Extension office.

I still have some fairly healthy plants that I will transplant as well.

The bottom of the bed was filled with twigs and dried leaf mulch.

 

The potting soil was added and there will be room at the top

for homemade compost and more shredded leaves.

I love the look and plan to replace the existing beds with Birdie's

as the budget allows.

The washtub (behind and to the right),

will be repurposed as a dust bathing vessel for the chooks.

They can use another place to primp and preen themselves.

 

 

Lettuce has been transplanted into the Mr. Stacky pots.

There are two more tiers to this system,

but I just wanted to start with a few to see

how well they do on the back deck.

After they grow a bit more,

the wire (used to deter squirrels from digging)

will be removed and the pots will be stacked.

 

One of our tasks this week was cleaning out

all of the birdhouses on the property.

C enjoys helping with this

and the weather couldn't have been better!

We're ready for all of our feathered friends to join the family!

 Spring is almost here,

and all of the gardeners I know are SO excited!

What a blessing this season is for so many.

Enjoy your week!

 

 

Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share our Zone 7b Piedmont garden.

Asparagus has been emerging from its winter sleep.

It is sampled while working outside,

a true springtime treat.

 

Yukon Gold potatoes were planted this week,

one of several sowings I hope to do.

In past years, they were all planted at the same time,

and harvested that way as well.

This early planting shouldn't be upset

by any cold snaps coming our way,

and another round or two sown later on.

 

The Ruth Stout method is being employed,

something I've never tried before.

The mulch next to the garlic beds was moved

and the spuds were laid right on the soil.

No preparation or amendment was involved,

unless you count some curious chooks 

scratching, digging and "fertilizing" the area before planting.

The rows will be covered in organic straw

and left alone.  As the foliage shoots up,

more straw will be added to cover and avoid

sunlight from penetrating the crops.

I'm also toying with the idea of using this method

to grow sweet corn this summer.

Isn't it just grand that there is always something new to try?

This gardener will definitely be checking out Ms. Stout's books

on my next trip to the library.

 

The garlic is benefiting from our consistent rainfall.

At least once a week,

we get an ample soaking.

I haven't run the irrigation once this winter.

 

The winter sowing has been a game changer for me.

I have always tried to grow seedlings in the house,

but have had limited success.

This method, which is fairly hands-off,

has worked miraculously!

I will never go back to anything else.

No need for grow lights, heat mats,

or even a greenhouse.

Just look at the germination in this bin.

They have all been this way.

 

Once the seedlings hit the top of the container,

(the lid is mostly closed, except for very warm days),

they get transplanted to cell trays.

Using a bamboo skewer, holes in potting soil were made

to receive each seedling.

The starts were lifted by the leaves

and gently placed into each cell.

The root development was like nothing

I've ever grown before!

 

Placing welded wire over the trays

helps to deter squirrels from using them

as a hiding place for their food stash.

It also dissuades the chooks from pecking at them

when they are roaming the garden.

 

Okay, I think it's fair to say,

that I've fully embraced this method of growing.

Each one of these reused lettuce bins

has about 50 seedlings in them.

I'm thinking I will have more than enough to share

with friends and neighbors who want to grow their own food.

 

 Look at this darling chart I found on The Farmer's Almanac!

It's a great visual about companion planting,

and at a glance, it's easy to tell which crops

play well with others.

I love it so much, I am planning to frame it.

We added a cattle panel arch

to the back entrance to the garden area.

It will be seeded with something lovely,

maybe peas, morning glory or clematis.

 

In the front flower beds,

spring is popping up all over.

Here, the black-eyed susan is enveloping the bird bath.

The weather will soon be mild enough

for us to put out our new birdbath that a friend made.

 

The salvia is coming back with no prompting from me.

This is one of my favorite perennials,

as it is so easy to grow.

I look forward to sharing with you the new design beds

that a fellow master gardener is helping me with.

The idea is to use mostly what I already have,

and creating a cohesive space to enjoy.

The mums that grew to be gargantuan,

will be relocated to ensure that they

have enough room to spread out.

 

The new tarps are in place in the chook run.

I can't tell you how much better it looks.

The bonus is that they are weather resistant,

and this white one in particular keeps the chooks dry.

The streamlined look really appeals to me.

We ended up adding another cattle panel to this side

of the run, so that we could open up the tarp completely

and give them more shade and protection from our ever present rain.

 

An added blessing of the rain, is that it has shown me

where I need to work on the chicken run

to improve the drainage.

I will get out there with a shovel and maybe some river rocks

to create a more aesthetically pleasing system.

It's important to keep standing water out of the run,

as chickens are prone to bumblefoot in wet conditions.

The chooks enjoy some mealworms on their 

Omlet free standing perch.

They also get to free range several times a week

when I am outside working in the yard.

No doubt they are finding a few more things to eat out there!

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.

May you enjoy wherever life finds you.

Peace...