There Will Be Another
2 months ago
Monday, May 16, 2011
Damn deer
Actually, damn deer is not quite accurate. )F%*&ING DEER! They broke down a section of our deer fence and decimated a good part of my garden. Ate most of my tomato plants, portions of my eggplants, all of my phlox, most of my blueberry bushes, and the flower buds off my mums. I'm really depressed and angry right now. Hubby re-secured the deer fence, but I'm worried that now that they know about the delicacies of the garden, they will be more inclined to force their way in. Not a good garden day.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Rainy weekend update
The rain finally came. We had a week and a half of beautiful, sunny, 70-degree weather. While I am never one to complain about perfect weather, it did force us to start watering the gardens with the hose. Especially the veggies. I left them for two days without watering and nearly ended up with a garden of dead plants. Veggies are not as tolerant of perfect weather as my perennials.
It started raining yesterday and we are due for rain on-and-off all week. I'm actually happy; all my newly planted flowers and veggies and seeds will benefit. But because of the rain, and a short-napping toddler, I didn't quite accomplish all my gardening goals this weekend.
Here's what I did get done:
* Bought 15 strawberry plants from Home Depot and replaced my non-growing crowns in the garden. The plants already have flowers and some have baby fruits on them.
* Planted three burning bushes, a butterfly bush, an azalea bush, and a blue lace cap hydrangea.
* Bought and planted a small basil plant. I love basil and don't have the patience to wait for the seeds to sprout.
* Fertilized the veggies and roses.
Here's what I need to do ASAP:
* Finish de-grassing my herb garden. I want to plant hostas along the border (by the fence that we'll be putting up this summer).
* Plant my baby herb plants that are still growing in their tiny peat pots: rosemary, chives, and mint. The other seedlings didn't survive the hardening off process. I need more practice at that! I need to start over with the cilantro, lemon balm, dill, and parsley.
* Till my third veggie box, plant eight more tomato plants, and sow my summer veggie seeds: corn, zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, and okra.
* Plant my three remaining burning bushes.
Update on veggie progress:
* My cucumber seedlings have just poked through the soil. No sign yet of my string beans. I used last year's seeds that I had left over...they may not have been viable. I'll give them another week.
* The peas. The ones that had started to yellow look like they might be coming back, though they are still looking pretty sad compared to the bright green ones I sowed directly in the garden.
* I thinned out my row of radishes. They might be ready next week. The beets will need to be thinned soon, as well as the carrots.
* The spinach and broccoli seem to be hanging in there. I haven't noticed much growth, but they are green and sturdy, so I'm still hopeful.
One final note. Thank you Hubby for laying down a weed-block blanket and covering it with wood chips in paths surrounding each of my veggie boxes.
It started raining yesterday and we are due for rain on-and-off all week. I'm actually happy; all my newly planted flowers and veggies and seeds will benefit. But because of the rain, and a short-napping toddler, I didn't quite accomplish all my gardening goals this weekend.
Here's what I did get done:
* Bought 15 strawberry plants from Home Depot and replaced my non-growing crowns in the garden. The plants already have flowers and some have baby fruits on them.
* Planted three burning bushes, a butterfly bush, an azalea bush, and a blue lace cap hydrangea.
* Bought and planted a small basil plant. I love basil and don't have the patience to wait for the seeds to sprout.
* Fertilized the veggies and roses.
Here's what I need to do ASAP:
* Finish de-grassing my herb garden. I want to plant hostas along the border (by the fence that we'll be putting up this summer).
* Plant my baby herb plants that are still growing in their tiny peat pots: rosemary, chives, and mint. The other seedlings didn't survive the hardening off process. I need more practice at that! I need to start over with the cilantro, lemon balm, dill, and parsley.
* Till my third veggie box, plant eight more tomato plants, and sow my summer veggie seeds: corn, zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, and okra.
* Plant my three remaining burning bushes.
Update on veggie progress:
* My cucumber seedlings have just poked through the soil. No sign yet of my string beans. I used last year's seeds that I had left over...they may not have been viable. I'll give them another week.
* The peas. The ones that had started to yellow look like they might be coming back, though they are still looking pretty sad compared to the bright green ones I sowed directly in the garden.
* I thinned out my row of radishes. They might be ready next week. The beets will need to be thinned soon, as well as the carrots.
* The spinach and broccoli seem to be hanging in there. I haven't noticed much growth, but they are green and sturdy, so I'm still hopeful.
One final note. Thank you Hubby for laying down a weed-block blanket and covering it with wood chips in paths surrounding each of my veggie boxes.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
A beautiful Mother's Day weekend
**I planted nine 14" terra cotta pots with red and white impatiens to liven up our deck. In a couple weeks the flowers will be overflowing the rims.
**Also newly planted: two baby Brigitta blueberry bushes, 12 sprigs of tall red phlox divided from my neighbor, two double cone flowers (a kooky variety of echinacea), eight 4 O'clock flowers that I grew from seeds indoors, and a packet of zinnia seeds sown directly in the garden (I'm crossing my fingers).
**In addition, I planted four astrantia roots. BUT, I forgot that I ordered them for my shade garden, and planted them in full sun. So now I have to go dig them up this week before they sprout. A frustrating task, knowing it's my fault for not reading the planting directions before I dug my holes.
**Other updates: One of my two new rose bushes has died. The stalks have all turned brown. The other has tons of swollen buds and is beginning to leaf out. I will have to call the company this week to get a replacement plant or refund. But on a more successful note, the cosmos seedlings I sprinkled in the dirt surrounding our raised veggie beds seem to be sprouting. Yeah! AND, I just discovered three gladiolas poking out of the ground. They are not supposed to be winter-hardy in zone six, but looks like at least a few survived!
**For Mother's Day, Hubby woke up early to get a truckload of wood chips for the paths between the veggie beds. He is laying down the black weed-block and will finish spreading the chips this week. It's starting to look "pro" around here ;)
Garden goals for the upcoming week:
1) Plant butterfly bush, azalea, hydrangea and burning bushes
2) Move astrantia
3) Fertilize all beds (believe it or not, I've never fertilized!)
4) Weed and mulch
5) Remove grass and weeds from the herb garden area so I can sow seeds and transplant my seedlings.
6) Identify the plant that has overtaken own of my borders. I'm hoping it's a flower, but probably not likely.
7) Plant hostas in the shade garden
8) Plant gladiolas bulbs
As always, to be continued!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Veggie garden update
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| Cavan planting bean seeds in the veggie garden. |
1) Radish, beet, and carrot seedlings have emerged and seem to be growing well. I may have to thin them out this weekend.
2) Pea transplants are now staked and thriving, and the pea seeds I sowed directly into the garden have just poked out of the soil.
3) Spinach seedlings are not dead, but are floppy and reflect little growth since moving them to the raised beds. You can't win them all, I suppose.
4) Bean and cucumber seeds were planted yesterday, with the help of my sometimes-dedicated-assistant, Cavan.
5) Lettuce, carrot, and pepper seedlings started indoors are still waiting to be transplanted. I have to till the third garden bed before this can happen. Maybe I'll get around to it this weekend, if I'm not too tired.
6) Broccoli transplants are doing well. They are just now sprouting their second pair of leaves.
7) No action with the strawberry roots I planted, gosh, how long ago was that? Hmmm. Disappointing.
8) All starter plants bought at the nursery are doing great. The eggplant leaves are multiplying and two of my tomato plants are already flowering!
9) Hubby built a three-foot critter fence around the veggie beds to ward off groundhogs and rabbits. The groundhog trap has seen no action since my tulips were eaten. I hope critter has moved on to someone else's property.
'Till next time. (Ha ha, "till"!)
Monday, May 2, 2011
More spring photos
Here are some shots of the garden this weekend. |
| Close up of open tulip. Becky, this is the color for you! |
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| Tulip patch...the side the groundhog didn't eat. |
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| I love the focus on the water droplets! |
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| Close up of the flowering ajuca groundcover. |
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| Lamb's ears with ajuca in background. (And a dandelion, arg!) |
Saturday, April 30, 2011
More than a box of dirt
On Thursday, I finally had the time and energy to plant most of my veggies, turning my boxes of dirt into an actual garden. I bought starter plants at Home Depot of the more time-consuming and difficult to grow varieties, which are now spreading their roots in the raised beds. These include six tomato plants (two cherry, two "early girl" and two "big boy" hybrids); three "black beauty" eggplants; two red bell peppers and one orange bell pepper; four brussel sprouts and four red cabbage. In addition, I planted most of my seedlings (well, the ones that survived, anyway): a row of broccoli, six peas, and a couple of spinach.
Today, I am adding to the veggie family: a few lettuce and carrot seedlings and bean seeds. Beginning to sprout from last week's planting are my radishes and beets. Still no activity on the carrot or pea seeds I planted about two weeks ago; same with the strawberry roots. I bought the strawberry roots at Walmart—they were there and I couldn't pass them up—but now I wonder about the quality. Dormant roots do tend to take a while to begin to leaf, so I hope to see some budding growth in the next two weeks. I will be bummed if I wasted $6.00! (Actually, more bummed about wasting months of growing time and missing out on a strawberry season).
Also on tap today (depending on how long Cavan takes a nap—currently, she is just playing around in her crib. I dare not go outside while she is still awake, and she doesn't sound sleepy in the least! EEK!):
*Planting the begonia tubers that I started indoors about two months ago. Eleven of the 12 are leafing out nicely; I should have blooms in about three weeks!
*Sowing flower seeds directly in the garden: zinnias, cosmos, and baby's breath. The zinnia seedlings that I started inside all died when I left them outside in the sun too long one day. Bummer. Start over. I have never tried direct outside sowing, so let's keep our fingers crossed.
*Identifying the plant that is invading one of my borders. With our week of warm, wet, sunny weather, everything is sprouting like crazy, and so is this mystery plant that seems to be spreading everywhere. I wonder if it is the pink coreopsis (tickweed) that was in the border last year? If so, this is not an all bad thing—it is a pretty plant that blooms all summer. However, if so, the spread is really out of control and I will have to do serious maintenance on this thing to keep it from taking over! BUT, if it is something else, I have a real problem on my hands...to be continued.
Today, I am adding to the veggie family: a few lettuce and carrot seedlings and bean seeds. Beginning to sprout from last week's planting are my radishes and beets. Still no activity on the carrot or pea seeds I planted about two weeks ago; same with the strawberry roots. I bought the strawberry roots at Walmart—they were there and I couldn't pass them up—but now I wonder about the quality. Dormant roots do tend to take a while to begin to leaf, so I hope to see some budding growth in the next two weeks. I will be bummed if I wasted $6.00! (Actually, more bummed about wasting months of growing time and missing out on a strawberry season).
Also on tap today (depending on how long Cavan takes a nap—currently, she is just playing around in her crib. I dare not go outside while she is still awake, and she doesn't sound sleepy in the least! EEK!):
*Planting the begonia tubers that I started indoors about two months ago. Eleven of the 12 are leafing out nicely; I should have blooms in about three weeks!
*Sowing flower seeds directly in the garden: zinnias, cosmos, and baby's breath. The zinnia seedlings that I started inside all died when I left them outside in the sun too long one day. Bummer. Start over. I have never tried direct outside sowing, so let's keep our fingers crossed.
*Identifying the plant that is invading one of my borders. With our week of warm, wet, sunny weather, everything is sprouting like crazy, and so is this mystery plant that seems to be spreading everywhere. I wonder if it is the pink coreopsis (tickweed) that was in the border last year? If so, this is not an all bad thing—it is a pretty plant that blooms all summer. However, if so, the spread is really out of control and I will have to do serious maintenance on this thing to keep it from taking over! BUT, if it is something else, I have a real problem on my hands...to be continued.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Dandelions=gardening exhaustion
This will be brief. On Tuesday I dug out about 3000 dandelions from our yard. And I could barely move yesterday. This pregnancy thing is beginning to interfere with this gardening thing.
At the beginning of the year, I had big plans for a veggie garden this year. Raised boxes, spring, summer and fall crops, 20 different varieties of edibles. Yummmm! Well, we are almost at May and the only things I have planted in the beds are radishes, carrots, beets, and peas (and I only got around to doing this last week!) Oh, and dormant strawberry roots, that hopefully will begin to leaf in about a month. My spring lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and herbs are still sitting in their seed packets, except for the few I tried to start indoors, with mixed results. I am just too tired to till the soil and bend over this big-ole-belly for hours, all while keeping an eye on a two-year-old and running inside for 8000 potty emergencies (hers and mine).
Hopefully I will get a burst of energy this weekend to sow all the rest of the seeds, then I can just maintain the flower beds for weeks until the veggies hopefully grow.
At the beginning of the year, I had big plans for a veggie garden this year. Raised boxes, spring, summer and fall crops, 20 different varieties of edibles. Yummmm! Well, we are almost at May and the only things I have planted in the beds are radishes, carrots, beets, and peas (and I only got around to doing this last week!) Oh, and dormant strawberry roots, that hopefully will begin to leaf in about a month. My spring lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and herbs are still sitting in their seed packets, except for the few I tried to start indoors, with mixed results. I am just too tired to till the soil and bend over this big-ole-belly for hours, all while keeping an eye on a two-year-old and running inside for 8000 potty emergencies (hers and mine).
Hopefully I will get a burst of energy this weekend to sow all the rest of the seeds, then I can just maintain the flower beds for weeks until the veggies hopefully grow.
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