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Post by Pat on Mar 21, 2006 3:35:01 GMT 10
3/20/06
So much to do and needing the right weather to do it with.
Mel got out the rototiller last week and got the garden spot turned and fertilizer put down. Now we are just in desperate need of rain. It's so terribly dry here. Unfortunately the weather has decided to be very cold as well. Today is supposed to be the first day of Spring for us but I think the temperatures will not cooperate for much of a spring feeling.
The fruit trees are in full bloom. We have cherries, apples, pears, plums and peaches. The peaches are the most spectacular right now since they are the largest tree.
My daffodils are coming up and I'm seeing lots of green shoots in other spots as well - hostas, iris, tiger lily, bleeding heart, mums, and who knows what else.
The ajuga that Carolyn gave me a couple of years ago(?) is doing wonderfully. It still loves it's spot in the flower bed near some huge old rocks.
Just writing about my outdoors stuff gives me peace. Being it in is completely relaxing for me.
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Post by braided-rug on Mar 21, 2006 8:29:00 GMT 10
Happy Spring everyone, its finally here.
Well done Pat, a great gardening journal.
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Post by teddymaker on Mar 24, 2006 0:51:04 GMT 10
Pat, what kind of fertilizer did you put down?
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Post by Pat on Mar 24, 2006 1:06:37 GMT 10
What a great question Jayne, if only I knew the answer. I do know it's standard, granulated fertilizer but I'm not sure the composition. I'll have to find out and get back to you.
3/23
We finally got a tiny bit of rain the last couple of days but definitely not enough to do much. This morning there was ice on my car windows so I'm sure the fruit trees aren't happy. Hopefully there isn't much more of this cold weather before the warm. Carrots and lettuce will be going in the ground on Saturday unless something weird happens. I only plan on planting a little and then planting more in about 10 days so I can get staggered production going. I've decided that I need to delve deeper into healing plants and flowers so that's my latest research project. I want to see what I can grow in my own flower beds for potential use. At least get some mint going and a few herbs for cooking.
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Post by braided-rug on Mar 24, 2006 12:05:06 GMT 10
I was wondering if everyone grew iceberg lettuce? Years ago I heard about mignonettes, they like the colder weather and you can plant them I think all year round where I live, or more than the icebergs anyway.
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Post by braided-rug on Mar 24, 2006 12:07:45 GMT 10
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Post by Pat on Mar 28, 2006 5:14:38 GMT 10
3/27 Unfortunately nothing new is happening in the garden right now. The weather this weekend was chilly and damp. Mel did work on the barn a bit and cleaned up the yard a little. I mostly worked on the inside and did take a few trips out to at least look at the flower beds and see what little bit is poking through. My peony bush and hostas are coming up nicely so far. The fruit trees are still in bloom and we are hoping for a nice harvest this year.
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Post by Pat on Apr 2, 2006 12:06:02 GMT 10
4/1 Hurray, I finally got to get outside and play in the dirt. The ground is still as hard as concrete due to our lack of rain, but I managed to plant 2 Lily of the Valley plants, and 4 packs of little Freesia bulbs. I also put down 4 large boxes of fertilizer in the flower beds and then watered it in. I had to rake some leaves out of the flower bed also. I noticed that the Ajuga that Carolyn gave me a couple of years ago is really doing nicely this year. Also the 2 Bleeding Heart plants that I planted last year are coming up great and one of them even has blooms. My hostas and peonys are shooting up like crazy and I've got little green sprouts all over the place from the other plants. Being outside sure did make me feel so much more alive.
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Post by braided-rug on Apr 2, 2006 12:53:49 GMT 10
I think you got alot done today Pat, well done.
We put our freesias in a couple of weeks ago, even though it is autumn, I would be lost gardening in the US I think.
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Post by Pat on Apr 11, 2006 3:31:35 GMT 10
4/10 I'm very disappointed at how slow this gardening journal is coming along. I thought there would be more to report on but it's gotten off to a slow start due to the dry weather conditions. We did finally have 2 days of rain and even though the ground still looks so dry, we decided to go ahead and plant a few things, knowing that we are going to have to water them often. We finally got carrots, lettuce, spinach and radishes in the ground. Hopefully we will plant a second session of them in about 10 days to give them an extended growing time. Mel put down cypress mulch around the cherry trees and I put (and am still putting) some all around the flower beds. Hot and sticky work but it does look wonderful once it's done. I noticed yesterday that the fig bushes are growing very well this year and we are hoping for some nice juicy figs this fall. Last year's production was small and not nearly as tasty as years before. Mel has also been putting down more of the tick/insect killer. I hate to use chemicals in the yard but I hate ticks more and they are obviously out in force already. Mel's gotten several off of him. The clemetis vine and my 2 bleeding hearts are really growing. Ryan's seen a hummingbird at the feeders already but I haven't been lucky yet. The most amazing thing is the incredible number of butterflies this year. Our cherry trees are literally covered in them. I love to see the butterflies!
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Post by braided-rug on Apr 11, 2006 10:48:20 GMT 10
We are lucky that we don't have ticks here. I wouldn't like that much. If we drive over the mountain to the sea, they have them over there.
I think we don't have as many butterflies in Australia as America.
What colour is your clematis?
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Post by Pat on Apr 26, 2006 1:27:47 GMT 10
4/25
My clematis is a white one. I planted two others in pink but they did not survive.
I've been working in the yard so much here lately (and neglected the internet a bit too). I've gotten all my medicinal herbs in the ground. I planted bee balm, lemon balm, anise hyssop, hyssop, clary sage, mullein, chamomile, calendula, self heal, basil, thyme, borage and lavender. Got my fingers crossed that at least some of them make it. I planted seed rather than whole plants so that always makes it a bit more scary as to their outcome.
The vegetable garden is coming along - radish, lettuce and spinach are all poking thru the soil. We've also got some volunteer watermelons sprouting in the spot we planted them last year. We should have most of the rest of the garden in within a few more days. We will be planting cucumbers, squash, zucchini, canteloupe, pumpkins, crowder peas, green beans and watermelon from seed. I will plant tomatos and peppers as plants and get them at a nursery just up the road. I will get several different varieties of these.
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Post by braided-rug on Apr 26, 2006 10:28:36 GMT 10
I was wondering if you had the time to get the herbs in. It is amazing about the watermelons, I haven't heard of that before, but I guess it makes sense.
Clematis are so pretty.
You are very inspiring with the kinds of herbs you planted. Good luck with the germination.
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Post by Pat on May 3, 2006 3:17:16 GMT 10
5/2 I wish I could say that there was so much to report, but alas there just isn't. The flowers are coming up nicely, but nothing from the herbs yet - may soon be a bit early for their appearance. I did purchase my tomato and pepper plants over the weekend. I got Better Boys, Roma and Cherry tomatoes and green and banana peppers. I also purchased a beautiful dark purple petunia hanging basket - just couldn't resist. Our temperatures here in the mornings are down right chilly so that's holding me back a bit from putting the new plants in the ground. I am letting them sit on the porch under protection to harden off a bit before I finally plant them on Saturday. I've got iris, squill, peonies, purple shamrocks, clemetis, ajuga and bleeding hearts all in bloom. The huge elephant ears are coming up nicely as well. In the veggie garden, there is still no signs of my carrots but the spinach, lettuce and radishes are doing well.
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Post by Pat on May 9, 2006 2:39:58 GMT 10
5/8 Hurray, I finally got to actually eat something from the garden. It was only 2 radishes but it still counted as something. The lettuce and spinach are coming right along but still no carrots. I've put the cherry tomatoes in containers and will sit them on the back deck for easy access when I want a nibble. We retilled and reraked the garden spot on Saturday and it finally rained on Sunday. We should get all the rest of the seed and plants in this week. Today's temperature is only a high of 53 degrees, so the weather is still giving us a fit, garden wise. Temperatures should be back up in the 70's tomorrow.
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