There Was Dirt Scattered Across the Shavings
The birds had been scratching in the Perpetual Spinach bed. At first I was annoyed but quickly realized that they were eating the leaf miner larvae that were overwintering in the soil.
The Carrots are Up
I've been holding off until warmer weather to plant summer crops, but it rained today and I had my choice of kneeling down in the rain weeding, or sitting on the rug in front of the fake fireplace planting seeds. I realized that I want the perpetual spinach to be mature by the fall so I can cut it back to overwinter, so I needed to get it started now.
Letting All The Volunteer Swiss Chard Grow
I have swung back to a more formal preference, with defined borders. I would prefer the chard plants all in a row somewhere, but they are so deep rooted that transplanting them could be a disaster.
I Got a Bag of Fir Shavings
It smells nice too.
Hydroponic Dutch Buckets
I've never had as wonderful growth as I've had in dutch buckets. The results are simply amazing.
My First Attempt At Gardening
I had caught two toads and wanted to keep them as pets. I got some small potted plants, rocks, sticks and sand and created a mini jungle.
2 Liter Bottle Hydroponics
2 liter bottles make excellent hydroponics containers and they're cheap. I've had excellent results growing lettuce in them, and you don't have to water very often at all.
It's Time To Pick Out That Perfect Pumpkin
I've not always had pumpkins but I've always been able to find something to decorate. One year it was an old watermelon that refused to ripen.
You Can Mulch With Shavings
I've seen little yellow birds in the spring doing that and named them Chard Birds, but I've never caught sparrows at it before. I cut off all the large outer leaves and covered the plants with the pop up mini greenhouses I got for Christmas.
Woke Up to the Sound of Wind Turbines this Morning
The package says 7-15 days for them to sprout, so the seed starting mat I had them on cut the germination time in half. I got cucumbers started today and some " Black tomato " seeds that were given to me.
The Double Row of Beets
The answer is yes, but I couldn't find it. It may have gotten too brittle from all the sun exposure and I didn't save it.
Getting The Weeding Done In The Garden
I had broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts in rootbound six packs, and didn't have time to weed outside the areas they were going. They got planted in assorted rows in two patches because they have the same water requirements.
Grow More Greenhouse Review 2018
I recently purchased an 8x12 EasyGrow Greenhouse from LittleGreenhouse.com. I chose the EasyGrow kit mostly because of cost.
Another Warm Sunny Day and I Begin Thinking
I did the first batch of them on February 10th last year and struggled to keep them alive through innumerable freezes and relentless rain. Our last frosts we're on May 7th, May 18th, and I heard the wind turbine early on May 25th.
The Garlic and Onion Sets Are Already Coming Up
I'll move my mini greenhouses over them when the weather turns cold and see if we can't have chard all winter again like last year. It's been such a warm November that all the cauliflower came to head and the two rows of transplanted Brussels sprouts are forming sprouts.
We Had Kale Last Night
I guess the cold nights that sweeten up the brussels sprouts also make the kale more tasty. Dunno, gonna pick some more today.
I Keep Hauling My Garden Trimmings
It's much easier to trudge through the mud with the cart than try to burn wet sticks in the rain.
January is time to Start Seeds
I had to wear my rubber boots to check the trap in the garden. It was buried.
Planting Onions and Garlic
The planting diagram on the package showed you should make the holes 5"deep and 4" wide. The planting instructions said to plant them "only deep enough so that the tops of sets are covered with soil".
It's Time To Get Your Winter Squash
Acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squash will start to mold if they sit on the damp ground for too long. Cut them from the vines leaving an inch of stem, wipe them down with a 1% bleach solution, and put them in a cool place that doesn't freeze.
It's Time To Make Up Your Christmas List
The stems that came out from your main plants, touched down on the ground and rooted, are called daughters. You can cut the stems and dig up the plants, replant the daughters, and double your strawberry patch.
Hydroponic Pea Shoots
Pea shoots are one of the best crops to grow in hydroponics.
Merry Christmas Gardeners
I got three cloches and two pop up mini greenhouses. I can extend my gardening earlier in the spring and later into the fall.
I'm Delighted To Have A Coyote Patrolling The Garden
Every garden invader is at risk now. Mice, gophers, rats, possums, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels are all prey, so I should be having fewer invasions.
My Artichoke Plants Look Terrible
Yellow wilted leaves and green droopy ones. The soil is moist around them but they have not the will to live.
I Still Haven't Gotten My Onion Sets Planted
All of our local suppliers don't have any. They think there was a crop failure, and I immediately think global warming.
I got to Fish Emulsion my Crucifers Today
Plant asparagus once, and harvest it for 20 years. If everything in the garden was as easy, we'd have nothing left to do except weeding.
Gardeners Gather The Ingredients To A Healthy Soil
We are always on the lookout for soil amendments because you can never have enough. I've been known to slow down when driving past bales of hay or straw, wondering if they have gotten wet and will soon be available for a buck each.
The Most Colorful Thing In the Garden
They seem to be taking over the fence line from the grapes. They don't lose their leaves in the winter so I'm getting more and more seclusion.
All of the Garlic Are Up Now
I've had to weed the patch already to, not because of weeds , but because of a plethora of poppies plants. When poppies finish going to seed their stems are tan colored like straw mulch, so when they fall to the ground I leave them, hence I'll never run out of poppies.
Plant Snow Peas in January
Peas get planted in there this month so I have to start closing the door. February 2nd is outdoor pea planting time here but I get to start them a month early in the greenhouse.
It's Time To Pull the Mulch Back
Encircling them with Deadline is always a Spring chore for me. I can usually put my cold frames over them to keep the cats from stepping on the bait, but this year they are way too big.
My Garden Often Feels Like A Dissertation
An extremely complex body of work composed one word at a time. I find myself absorbing it one word at a time and letting sentences unfold.
I've Never Had Aphids Up In the Florets of Cauliflower
They got up into the tiniest crevasses and sucked the plants juices until they got too fat to get them out. I kept breaking the head into smaller and smaller pieces and spraying them with the hose until I got down to quarter inch florets with aphid still stuck inside.
I Had To Put My Mini Greenhouses Over the Swiss Chard
Winter Tree Pruning
The sap has retreated to the roots so there is less bleeding from the cut. It's also a good excuse to build a burn pile.
Perpetual Spinach
It was 10' tall so I trimmed it way back to 5' because I don't want more shade. It couldn't be in a better spot though because it's close to the eastern fence in an area of ornamental plantings.
Yesterday I Discovered Baby Carrots Growing In the Shade
I had planted them in early spring and thought the slugs had gotten them. I forgot about them and some germinated, grew a bit, and then went dormant due to the lack of sunlight.
PGIF (Peas Go in First) Spring Planting
(Peas Go In First) Spring planting is hearlded by the planting of the peas.
Garden Chair
I move it from sun to shade and do most of my prioritizing from it. From this throne I can see when the corn leaves are starting to turn dull, or the zucchini leaves wilt and know it's time to water.
