Now that the summer gardening is about to start, let's go through the early spring gardening and see what we could do differently next year.
Spring Bulbs
Overall, this was very well planted. I had Daffodils, Tulips and Hyacinths all in different beds, and I like that idea a lot. Spring bulbs are only really good if there are a lot of them. The daffodils in the sidewalk bed are great, and I'm just imaging what they will be like in 5 years. I probably won't be here in 5 years, but whatever. The way they're planted was perfect. I love having them in those drifts. I tried to get all of them out of the front bed, but I missed about 5. I'm going to pull them and plant them in the fall. There's no real reason I need to plant more, but there's a good chance I will just plant another pack of daffodils in the fall. I'd like to get the Tete a Tete, to have some diversity of size and shape.
The Hyacinths are great, as always. I planted a lot of Grape Hyacinths in there, and they're fabulous. They seem to have a long time in which they look good, unlike the regular Hyacinths. I'll probably do more of those, because oh my god. There is a massive cluster in the corner closest to the door, so I can see them right now through the storm door. I'd like more, throughout, but these are fucking working it. The regular Hyacinths are doing great, overall. About a third came up kind of weak, and the flowers were pretty sparse. They're pretty nicely positioned throughout the bed, but of course we could always use more. They don't seem to multiply. I just love the fragrance, when I leave in the morning or get home at night, when I delay for a few seconds fumbling with my keys, I get that hit of perfume and I'm just so happy.
This morning, I was leaving the house... last night, I had decided I could cut the daffodils that were in the wrong bed, because they didn't look right there. Once I had them in a jar, I needed more, so I went out to cut some more, at like, 9 pm. So I had this lovely jar with daffodils that I was bringing in to work. (As I did this, and I was picturing that gorgeous bunch of flowers on my desk, I was thinking, what's the over-under on one of the girls walking by and leaning down to bring her nose into the bouquet in hopes of smelling the "daffodil fragrance?" It was like, 3 hours. Why would anyone think daffodils have a fragrance?) I stood there, in the very cool twill trench I can only wear 4 weeks a year, with my laptop on one shoulder, holding my mason jar full of daffodils I would put in the cup holder in my car to bring it to my desk. I was at the door, I could smell these amazing Hyacinths, and I was delayed because I was watching the birds. I had woken up an hour earlier by the birds singing outside my open window. Now, I was watching two cardinals. A male and female were doing this delightful kind of interaction on the seat of my raised bed. They would jump around, then get close to each other, and then touch their beaks together. Then they would coyly shy away, only to jump back a few seconds later for more passionate beak-ing. I was so moved, I felt the kind of excitement of the first time you kiss your first boyfriend, you're so nervous but there's so much promise and anticipation, and it's just so sweet I could die.
And then I remember my gorgeous tulips. Last night, I was watching them constantly. The first set of them had opened, and I finally saw these rich colors. I was so happy. All my spring bulbs were a huge success, and I'm so happy with the way I planted them (so the opposite of last year.) The Tulips were the clear winner. They were planted really nicely, there was the right density, and they were all going to bloom. They were heart breakingly beautiful. I kept going outside to look at them, because I was delighted with the way these colors seemed to change through the change in light as we got into dusk. Even when I went out to sneak a few more daffodils, I put on the crazy lights so I could see them.
At this point, I was full-on Disney princess. I was communing with the birds, holding a bouquet of freshly cut flowers, breathing in the lovely fragrance, just loving nature so hard.
When I walked around the corner, it took me several seconds to understand and fully take in the kind of atrocity I was seeing in front of me. I didn't see that color. Was I mistaken, did I dream that beautiful display? As I gained my bearing, I realized these tulips that were so staggering beautiful were now just stems. The blooms appeared to have been pulled off. initially I was in denial, but of course these was a murderous dear. I started to cry, no joke. Of course I then got in my car, and every tulip display I passed reminded me of this injustice. These strip malls have mediocre tulips, at best. Mine were worlds beyond this, and they were so swiftly stolen, not just from me, but from the 10 or 20 people who walk past it every day. Couldn't the deer have just traveled 10 miles to eat the tulips at the car dealership? And as I listened to Morning Edition, with stories about a 10 year old boy escaping Vietnam during the war only to enlist and go to Afghanistan, the pervasive racial injustice in US cities, the thousands killed by the earthquake in Nepal, I just cried and cried and kept thinking about my tulips. They interviewed US military forces who discovered the first concentration camps, and they described the inability to understand what they were seeing, the initial denial. That's how I felt about the Tulips. Drake is right, deer are cunts.
I was surprised they only ate some. They seemed to go for those that were furthest along. But there were a lot, and it's very likely he was just full, and thought, "I'll just come back tomorrow, with all my friends!" I hope they all get fucking shot. I'll help field dress those fuckers.
The ones they ate, the ones that were furthest along, were the farthest to the back, That's like, 5 feet away from the sidewalk, so it must have stepped into the bed. I could not see any footprints. They must prefer the ones that are in full bloom, they were not just going for the low hanging fruit. I don't know what to do about this. I do not want to spread deer repelent. I don't want to just smell rotting eggs instead of hyacinths. It's pitch dark during the time they did this atrocity, so I don't think I motion activated sprinkler would be effective. I'll find out tomorrow if they eat more. I'm thinking of turning on the flood lights, but I'm worried that will just help them find the tulips. I hope they all fucking die.
So what to do differently? I could spray deer repellent, I could get a motion activated sprinkler... I might call Mike McGrath. It's not like he hasn't talked about this, but it's a good story, I have all these FEELINGS and I think he would empathize.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Serious Gardening
There are like, 20 things I want to do this Saturday.
- dig up and divide grasses and liriope
- Dig out and replant the Rhododendron
- Plant the new roses in the side bed
- spread compost on the raised beds
- buy lots more potting soil
- plant Zinnia starts
- plant Sunflower starts
- transplant Coleus to patio bed.
I think the grasses are the priority. That needs to get done, because they will continue to look like shit and eventually not even grow. And Drake has agreed to come and machete them. I think I will start digging them up before he gets here, just to accelerate the process. I should buy a case of beer. I'll move the patio ottomans out there, so we can keep all these tools somewhere, and so we can sit down and tear into these fuckers.
So while Drake is here and revved up, what else should we work on? I could get him to get some potting mix since he has the truck. Maybe that's more of a time sink than I want.
Transplanting the Coleus could certainly wait until next weekend. There are also all the Morning Glory starts, which are doing great. I want to put them where the Peas are, and those peas are a long way from making any peas. I think we will pull them out and put in the morning glories in their place. That's an hour of work, tops. But it might be nice to wait for next weekend.
- dig up and divide grasses and liriope
- Dig out and replant the Rhododendron
- Plant the new roses in the side bed
- spread compost on the raised beds
- buy lots more potting soil
- plant Zinnia starts
- plant Sunflower starts
- transplant Coleus to patio bed.
I think the grasses are the priority. That needs to get done, because they will continue to look like shit and eventually not even grow. And Drake has agreed to come and machete them. I think I will start digging them up before he gets here, just to accelerate the process. I should buy a case of beer. I'll move the patio ottomans out there, so we can keep all these tools somewhere, and so we can sit down and tear into these fuckers.
So while Drake is here and revved up, what else should we work on? I could get him to get some potting mix since he has the truck. Maybe that's more of a time sink than I want.
Transplanting the Coleus could certainly wait until next weekend. There are also all the Morning Glory starts, which are doing great. I want to put them where the Peas are, and those peas are a long way from making any peas. I think we will pull them out and put in the morning glories in their place. That's an hour of work, tops. But it might be nice to wait for next weekend.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Alright, I got my Knock Out Roses! Wedgewood didn't have any when I went last Sunday, but they nicely told me they would get some in next week. I looked online, and both White Flower Farm and Home Depot sell them for $25. I know Mom got them for $10 last year at BJs, so I went to Costco where they had tons of them for $13. Perfect! That brings the cost for 4 down from $100 to about $50, yay!!!
They seemed perfect. Pots were heavy but not wet, the plants were all really stocky and big with some new growth and some buds. They were kind of difficult to wrangle into the cart, and into the car, and around the building to the house.
I'm going to plant 2 in the side bed and 2 in the front bed. I can't plant in the side bed until I move the Rhododendron, which I might try to do this weekend. I'm hoping it's not that big of a deal. When I do that, I'll of course have to move a lot of mulch, and that would be a great time to set up the soaker hose. And I guess I should plant any Zinnias and Sunflowers at that time. That's all the starts upstairs, the Zinnias in the container, and maybe plant some new seeds in there. I think the Zinnias are going to be quite tall, like 4 feet at least, so those should go behind the roses. The mini sunflowers are like, 18" tops, so they should all go in the front. Actually, maybe I'll plant a bunch of the big sunflowers in the back, like in a row. They're supposed to be like, 4 feet, so that would be beautiful.
In other news, I bought Tomato plants from Wedgewood. Kind of an impulse buy, actually; I was planning on different specific varieties, but they were just so exciting to see in the flesh. I was going to get Brandy Boy and Sun Gold, a Jalapeno, and an Early Midnight Eggplant. I actually bought a Better Boy and a Sweet 100 tomato and a Jalapeno. I had chosen Brandy Boy because I thought it would be the mid-season hybrid with the best flavor. I kind of thought Better Boy had been over-engineered to perform well at the expense of being a banging tomato. The reviews on Burpee are very mixed. They complaints are that it didn't grow very big tomatoes, which I do not care about at all, and that it didn't have the disease resistance it claimed. I'm not actually upset by any of that. No one complained about the flavor being lacking.
These plants seem great. They're not too tall, they're big enough. When I pull them out of the containers, the roots are definitely up against the edges, but not what I would call root-bound. I wasn't planning on planting them until May 15th, in 2 weeks. The rule is to check the 10 day forcast and make sure the lows are all in the 50's. That appears to be the case if I were to plant them this weekend. But I have Romaine and Bok Choy in there now, but they need some more time before I'd like to harvest them. So I might actually wait that two weeks, and I have a lot of gardening to do this weekend.
I also bought herbs- Rosemary, Mint, Thyme and Parsley. I planted the first 3 in containers, the 12" green ones. I have them on the tiered stand, and it's in the eastern corner of the patio. I'm seeing that the area gets a lot of sun- starts fairly early, and doesn't get shaded until like, 2 or 3. So, a solid 6 hours, maybe 8. That's good for herbs. I like the idea of having herbs in containers, and so close to the house. Rosemary and Thyme like it a little dry, I think, and Mint can't be fucked up. I also transplanted a bunch of cilantro into another green pot on that same stand, and it seems to be ok. I'm thinking I would make that corner all herbs, and I've got 4 but I need 5. Lemon Balm would be good. I don't want to do Basil in there, I want that in the raised bed next to the Tomato. The Parsley will just be planted in the raised bed. It did so well there last year, at the shadier end, so of course I want to use that space again. Lemon Balm is supposed to be great for mosquito repellent, but it has to be in containers, so, yeah, let's get that.
I haven't thought about the Jalapeno at all, but I'm just going to plant it in the raised bed and it will be fine. I could do it in a container, but whatever, where am I going to put all these containers, right?
Oh! Speaking of containers. I put all those old Gladioli bulbs into one of the grey fiberglass containers, about 4 inches deep, and they're already sprouting. I kind of love them even though they are tacky as shit, but I think if they're planted really densely in a container, that will look phenomenal. I'm thinking I might grab some of the creeping Jenny in little clumps and plant that around them, to make it a better overall container. If I had something with these tall amazing flowers and something in a contrasting green spilling down the sides, it will look so good, I can't even.
The gutter garden is not that great. The direct-sow seeds have really just started. I did transplant some lettuces I started inside, and those look nice. In the summer, I want Nasturtiums in there. I have them in starts under lights, but I could direct sow them now, theoretically. Next year, I should set up these things much earlier, and have lettuce starts ready, like in mid March. They don't look all that attractive, the containers themselves. And that's not because they're gutters; it's because they are not hanging straight. I want the whole situation to be covered by something that spills over the sides. so I'm hoping the Nasturtiums will accomplish that. I got this brand new strain of Nasturtiums because they're pink, not red, yellow and orange. I want the other patio bed to be begonias and coleus, which will be pink, so I wanted to keep the color palette consistent. I still want to do that, but I'm really hoping these new-fangled Nasturtiums are as good as regular old ones, and they still grow all big and pretty. Even if they're not quite that crazy, that would be fine.
Oh, ok, what am I going to put into the Patio bed? I mean, a few bags of potting soil first. But then? I was originally thinking Caladiums and Elephant Ears, and Begonias, and fill in the spaces with Coleus. I don't really think the Elephant Ear bulbs I bought are going to ever sprout. I've moved them to the bathroom and cranked up the heated floor, like Mom did with her Caladiums. If we get to June and I don't see anything, I should probably give up. I think I will have to move some Hostas out of the side bed, so I would happily move them to that bed. The fern has done really well and multiplied, so I could move that as well, or take part of it. Perennials in that raised bed might be a bad idea, they might die from freezing, but whatever, they're cheap, right? I could certainly buy some more begonias and stuff. Of course, Coleus would fill that space out, no problem. I've only got like, 10 plants from my seeds. They are fabulous, big, lush plants, and if I bought plants like that, they would be like, $2.50 each, so the seed starting was for sure worth it. And Coleus are winners; they will look amazing, they'll thrive, and grow and fill it out. Only one of last year's Begonias has sprouted, and I don't know about the rest. It may be worth it to buy some growing Begonia plants. I could even do some Begonias that are just foliage.
So let's talk about the Spring Veggies. I wish I could have gotten them in earlier. The Romaine and Bok Choy look so nice, but I'd like them to grow more before harvest. The Radishes are not really doing anything, and they are getting all the sun. I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'll obviously keep trying, because I have a lot of seeds, but I don't know. The Peas seem kind of weak. They're growing, they've gotten to where they are attaching to the trellis netting on their own, but we are a long way away from any peas. And if they weren't there, I would be planting the Morning Glory now. I'm thinking of just ripping out the peas. At this point, they would need a lot more time to make any peas, and the Morning Glory will take off. I can't even keep them under the lights much longer, because they're so tall and crazy. So maybe I'll work with that in the next few days. Peas were a failure, let's not do that again.
I would have liked to get these bitches in the ground a lot earlier. I was totally dependent on when the soil thawed, because my raised bed was frozen through like, a month ago. Maybe that's unique to this year. containers are seeming better and better. There;s no scenario in which I don't try to grow lettuce. I am not going to wait until May and just plant tomatoes; I want greens. Those baby Bok Choy are just so thick and green and healthy looking. They grow so fast, I could almost do them totally under the lights between January and March, and they would be like full plants, totally under the lights.
I think I might now get enough sun for early spring veggies. specifically, peas would not get enough sun to flower. Greens are ok, I guess.
They seemed perfect. Pots were heavy but not wet, the plants were all really stocky and big with some new growth and some buds. They were kind of difficult to wrangle into the cart, and into the car, and around the building to the house.
I'm going to plant 2 in the side bed and 2 in the front bed. I can't plant in the side bed until I move the Rhododendron, which I might try to do this weekend. I'm hoping it's not that big of a deal. When I do that, I'll of course have to move a lot of mulch, and that would be a great time to set up the soaker hose. And I guess I should plant any Zinnias and Sunflowers at that time. That's all the starts upstairs, the Zinnias in the container, and maybe plant some new seeds in there. I think the Zinnias are going to be quite tall, like 4 feet at least, so those should go behind the roses. The mini sunflowers are like, 18" tops, so they should all go in the front. Actually, maybe I'll plant a bunch of the big sunflowers in the back, like in a row. They're supposed to be like, 4 feet, so that would be beautiful.
In other news, I bought Tomato plants from Wedgewood. Kind of an impulse buy, actually; I was planning on different specific varieties, but they were just so exciting to see in the flesh. I was going to get Brandy Boy and Sun Gold, a Jalapeno, and an Early Midnight Eggplant. I actually bought a Better Boy and a Sweet 100 tomato and a Jalapeno. I had chosen Brandy Boy because I thought it would be the mid-season hybrid with the best flavor. I kind of thought Better Boy had been over-engineered to perform well at the expense of being a banging tomato. The reviews on Burpee are very mixed. They complaints are that it didn't grow very big tomatoes, which I do not care about at all, and that it didn't have the disease resistance it claimed. I'm not actually upset by any of that. No one complained about the flavor being lacking.
These plants seem great. They're not too tall, they're big enough. When I pull them out of the containers, the roots are definitely up against the edges, but not what I would call root-bound. I wasn't planning on planting them until May 15th, in 2 weeks. The rule is to check the 10 day forcast and make sure the lows are all in the 50's. That appears to be the case if I were to plant them this weekend. But I have Romaine and Bok Choy in there now, but they need some more time before I'd like to harvest them. So I might actually wait that two weeks, and I have a lot of gardening to do this weekend.
I also bought herbs- Rosemary, Mint, Thyme and Parsley. I planted the first 3 in containers, the 12" green ones. I have them on the tiered stand, and it's in the eastern corner of the patio. I'm seeing that the area gets a lot of sun- starts fairly early, and doesn't get shaded until like, 2 or 3. So, a solid 6 hours, maybe 8. That's good for herbs. I like the idea of having herbs in containers, and so close to the house. Rosemary and Thyme like it a little dry, I think, and Mint can't be fucked up. I also transplanted a bunch of cilantro into another green pot on that same stand, and it seems to be ok. I'm thinking I would make that corner all herbs, and I've got 4 but I need 5. Lemon Balm would be good. I don't want to do Basil in there, I want that in the raised bed next to the Tomato. The Parsley will just be planted in the raised bed. It did so well there last year, at the shadier end, so of course I want to use that space again. Lemon Balm is supposed to be great for mosquito repellent, but it has to be in containers, so, yeah, let's get that.
I haven't thought about the Jalapeno at all, but I'm just going to plant it in the raised bed and it will be fine. I could do it in a container, but whatever, where am I going to put all these containers, right?
Oh! Speaking of containers. I put all those old Gladioli bulbs into one of the grey fiberglass containers, about 4 inches deep, and they're already sprouting. I kind of love them even though they are tacky as shit, but I think if they're planted really densely in a container, that will look phenomenal. I'm thinking I might grab some of the creeping Jenny in little clumps and plant that around them, to make it a better overall container. If I had something with these tall amazing flowers and something in a contrasting green spilling down the sides, it will look so good, I can't even.
The gutter garden is not that great. The direct-sow seeds have really just started. I did transplant some lettuces I started inside, and those look nice. In the summer, I want Nasturtiums in there. I have them in starts under lights, but I could direct sow them now, theoretically. Next year, I should set up these things much earlier, and have lettuce starts ready, like in mid March. They don't look all that attractive, the containers themselves. And that's not because they're gutters; it's because they are not hanging straight. I want the whole situation to be covered by something that spills over the sides. so I'm hoping the Nasturtiums will accomplish that. I got this brand new strain of Nasturtiums because they're pink, not red, yellow and orange. I want the other patio bed to be begonias and coleus, which will be pink, so I wanted to keep the color palette consistent. I still want to do that, but I'm really hoping these new-fangled Nasturtiums are as good as regular old ones, and they still grow all big and pretty. Even if they're not quite that crazy, that would be fine.
Oh, ok, what am I going to put into the Patio bed? I mean, a few bags of potting soil first. But then? I was originally thinking Caladiums and Elephant Ears, and Begonias, and fill in the spaces with Coleus. I don't really think the Elephant Ear bulbs I bought are going to ever sprout. I've moved them to the bathroom and cranked up the heated floor, like Mom did with her Caladiums. If we get to June and I don't see anything, I should probably give up. I think I will have to move some Hostas out of the side bed, so I would happily move them to that bed. The fern has done really well and multiplied, so I could move that as well, or take part of it. Perennials in that raised bed might be a bad idea, they might die from freezing, but whatever, they're cheap, right? I could certainly buy some more begonias and stuff. Of course, Coleus would fill that space out, no problem. I've only got like, 10 plants from my seeds. They are fabulous, big, lush plants, and if I bought plants like that, they would be like, $2.50 each, so the seed starting was for sure worth it. And Coleus are winners; they will look amazing, they'll thrive, and grow and fill it out. Only one of last year's Begonias has sprouted, and I don't know about the rest. It may be worth it to buy some growing Begonia plants. I could even do some Begonias that are just foliage.
So let's talk about the Spring Veggies. I wish I could have gotten them in earlier. The Romaine and Bok Choy look so nice, but I'd like them to grow more before harvest. The Radishes are not really doing anything, and they are getting all the sun. I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'll obviously keep trying, because I have a lot of seeds, but I don't know. The Peas seem kind of weak. They're growing, they've gotten to where they are attaching to the trellis netting on their own, but we are a long way away from any peas. And if they weren't there, I would be planting the Morning Glory now. I'm thinking of just ripping out the peas. At this point, they would need a lot more time to make any peas, and the Morning Glory will take off. I can't even keep them under the lights much longer, because they're so tall and crazy. So maybe I'll work with that in the next few days. Peas were a failure, let's not do that again.
I would have liked to get these bitches in the ground a lot earlier. I was totally dependent on when the soil thawed, because my raised bed was frozen through like, a month ago. Maybe that's unique to this year. containers are seeming better and better. There;s no scenario in which I don't try to grow lettuce. I am not going to wait until May and just plant tomatoes; I want greens. Those baby Bok Choy are just so thick and green and healthy looking. They grow so fast, I could almost do them totally under the lights between January and March, and they would be like full plants, totally under the lights.
I think I might now get enough sun for early spring veggies. specifically, peas would not get enough sun to flower. Greens are ok, I guess.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Perennials
So, about all those perennials and real plants.
I really need to divide those grasses. They went and mulched everything, I'll need to move that out of the way, I guess. Cause when I start digging it up, I'll end up mixing all the mulch in and fucking it up, and all the clay shit will be on top and it will look terrible. But, I mean, when would be a better time to mulch? Other than never? I'll also need to get the soaker hoses fixed up under the mulch.
And what am I going to do about the Liriope? I need to move the one in the back because I want to plant something different in there. But am I going to divide the rest? I emailed the Flower Market people and asked if I could donate stuff, but no one responded. Oh, just kidding, they added that to their page. I can just bring them on Wednesday or during the fair. Or maybe the right thing to do would be to offer them to neighbors in the association? And how would I do that? I guess I would just put them in a box that says "Free Plants." And if they're not gone in a few days, they'll go to the Flower Market.
So that all sounds good, but I will eventually have to stand up and go outside and do that work. I'm putting it off so hard, like checking the weather and it's going to be like 5 degrees warmer tomorrow, so maybe I should wait? Don't worry, there will be plenty more work to do tomorrow!
The side bed is kind of stupid. The Camellia is straight up dead, so I just pulled it out. It was really easy to pull out, easier than pulling a weed, so that would suggest it's really not likely to live.
I could also put a Knock Out Rose in that bed. It gets a lot of sun. I mean, I really do think it's best to buy plants in threes. So, yeah, maybe I'll put two in there. I might as well buy it from Home Depot, because it's all the same plant.
So wait, that means I need to pull out the Rhododendron? It's so sad, it's too much sun, it just looks depressing as hell. It's not quite dead yet, so I think I will dig it up and move it to a spot near the edge of the woods there, that's usually a good spot for them. I'm not going to just kill it. I guess I will have to tear up that whole space.
When I put the rose into the front bed, I will have to move a few things. There's a patch of tulips there, so those should probably just be pulled when they're done. And there were some Echinacea back there, and they aren't even showing yet. And now they'll have to work through the mulch. There's a Black Eyed Susan near the back, as well. Ultimately it will need a 3 foot wide space, but I guess I only need like, 2 feet of space to start, they're not going to grow that much right now. But it needs to be at least a foot away from the hedge. So that means I can't really plant in there until the Tulips are done. Yay, I can procrastinate more.
Last year I bought these Coreopsis that were really cheap from Home Depot, and I never planted them, so I just buried them in the patio bed. I've pulled them out, but I don't know if they are still alive. They're supposed to be super tough, so I bet they are. I'm planning to plant them in the sidewalk bed, which I guess I could do this weekend. They are not showing any growth yet, so I was going to wait until they were starting to grow. I don't want to bother digging holes and shit if they are already dead.
So realistically, what can I do today or tomorrow? I could start digging up and dividing the grasses, if I'm feeling strong. With the sidewalk bed, there's nothing I need to wait on. I of course don't want to hurt the Daffodils, but I think that's manageable. We're not going to get any rain for the next week, so the ground is the softest right now. I was going to try to get Drake to come and help me with his machete. If I'm doing it, I think I will use the little saw, or my new gardening knife.
It's probably more important to clean up the leaves in the patio. There are of course a lot of them, and I'd like to just pack them up in a trash bag so that when my current batch of compost is finished, I can dump all these leaves in there and maybe add coffee grounds and start another batch.
I really need to divide those grasses. They went and mulched everything, I'll need to move that out of the way, I guess. Cause when I start digging it up, I'll end up mixing all the mulch in and fucking it up, and all the clay shit will be on top and it will look terrible. But, I mean, when would be a better time to mulch? Other than never? I'll also need to get the soaker hoses fixed up under the mulch.
And what am I going to do about the Liriope? I need to move the one in the back because I want to plant something different in there. But am I going to divide the rest? I emailed the Flower Market people and asked if I could donate stuff, but no one responded. Oh, just kidding, they added that to their page. I can just bring them on Wednesday or during the fair. Or maybe the right thing to do would be to offer them to neighbors in the association? And how would I do that? I guess I would just put them in a box that says "Free Plants." And if they're not gone in a few days, they'll go to the Flower Market.
So that all sounds good, but I will eventually have to stand up and go outside and do that work. I'm putting it off so hard, like checking the weather and it's going to be like 5 degrees warmer tomorrow, so maybe I should wait? Don't worry, there will be plenty more work to do tomorrow!
The side bed is kind of stupid. The Camellia is straight up dead, so I just pulled it out. It was really easy to pull out, easier than pulling a weed, so that would suggest it's really not likely to live.
I could also put a Knock Out Rose in that bed. It gets a lot of sun. I mean, I really do think it's best to buy plants in threes. So, yeah, maybe I'll put two in there. I might as well buy it from Home Depot, because it's all the same plant.
So wait, that means I need to pull out the Rhododendron? It's so sad, it's too much sun, it just looks depressing as hell. It's not quite dead yet, so I think I will dig it up and move it to a spot near the edge of the woods there, that's usually a good spot for them. I'm not going to just kill it. I guess I will have to tear up that whole space.
When I put the rose into the front bed, I will have to move a few things. There's a patch of tulips there, so those should probably just be pulled when they're done. And there were some Echinacea back there, and they aren't even showing yet. And now they'll have to work through the mulch. There's a Black Eyed Susan near the back, as well. Ultimately it will need a 3 foot wide space, but I guess I only need like, 2 feet of space to start, they're not going to grow that much right now. But it needs to be at least a foot away from the hedge. So that means I can't really plant in there until the Tulips are done. Yay, I can procrastinate more.
Last year I bought these Coreopsis that were really cheap from Home Depot, and I never planted them, so I just buried them in the patio bed. I've pulled them out, but I don't know if they are still alive. They're supposed to be super tough, so I bet they are. I'm planning to plant them in the sidewalk bed, which I guess I could do this weekend. They are not showing any growth yet, so I was going to wait until they were starting to grow. I don't want to bother digging holes and shit if they are already dead.
So realistically, what can I do today or tomorrow? I could start digging up and dividing the grasses, if I'm feeling strong. With the sidewalk bed, there's nothing I need to wait on. I of course don't want to hurt the Daffodils, but I think that's manageable. We're not going to get any rain for the next week, so the ground is the softest right now. I was going to try to get Drake to come and help me with his machete. If I'm doing it, I think I will use the little saw, or my new gardening knife.
It's probably more important to clean up the leaves in the patio. There are of course a lot of them, and I'd like to just pack them up in a trash bag so that when my current batch of compost is finished, I can dump all these leaves in there and maybe add coffee grounds and start another batch.
Flower Time!
Yay, the Daffodils are finally up! Most of them are blooming, a few will come out next week. The Tulips are all up and have formed nice buds and maybe they will open soon?? In the window box, one Tulip is flowering, and the rest are just short leaves... So... I don't know if the rest are going to come up at all?
The Hyacinths are all up, and they look great, but I think the ones from last year are the ones that are kind of sad and little? And there are what look like Hyacinth leaves, but no bud, so I don't know what that's about.
About those Daffodils... They're looking really good, I'm so happy with the way I planted them. I of course wish I had planted more. I'm so jealous of those beds that have like, 30 year old Daffodils that have multiplied into these dense masses. But I'm pretty sure I can't replicate that just by piling more in there. Last year I tried to get all the daffodils out of the front bed and move them to the sidewalk bed, but of course I missed a few, like 4 or 5, so maybe I will pull those out and plant them next fall.
The Hyacinths are all up, and they look great, but I think the ones from last year are the ones that are kind of sad and little? And there are what look like Hyacinth leaves, but no bud, so I don't know what that's about.
About those Daffodils... They're looking really good, I'm so happy with the way I planted them. I of course wish I had planted more. I'm so jealous of those beds that have like, 30 year old Daffodils that have multiplied into these dense masses. But I'm pretty sure I can't replicate that just by piling more in there. Last year I tried to get all the daffodils out of the front bed and move them to the sidewalk bed, but of course I missed a few, like 4 or 5, so maybe I will pull those out and plant them next fall.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Mini Raised Bed
I finally cleaned up the pile of scraps and sticks and leaves and trash and hose tangle that was to the right of the raised bed. That's an area I was thinking about building out into another raised bed, because it does get better sun, but I decided I didn't want to take on another project and put another semi permanent structure in front of my house.
But I do need to use that space for something. For one thing, it's got great light, it's pretty accessible, and it's wide open. It used to be the location of the compost turner, which I moved to the little nook behind the air conditioner (much better). I'm thinking I need to do something to raise up whatever planting area goes there, because the soil is quite compact and full of clay and rocks. All winter I'd kind of start at it out the window, thinking if I could magically change it with my mind or something. I few times I tried to go out there and measure it, but it was kind of tough because of the garbage pile, the snow, and the giant rock. (Two of those three things are gone, but the third one is going to be a challenge...)
I was thinking I could take the wooden planters that I've had for a while and maybe take them apart and use the long sides as a makeshift raised bed. This would be most importantly free, it would create sides that would match the existing raised bed, and it would be a use for those planters that are too shallow and drain and dry out too fast to be much use for anything. Not knowing the dimensions of that space, I wasn't really sure it would work.
But I do need to use that space for something. For one thing, it's got great light, it's pretty accessible, and it's wide open. It used to be the location of the compost turner, which I moved to the little nook behind the air conditioner (much better). I'm thinking I need to do something to raise up whatever planting area goes there, because the soil is quite compact and full of clay and rocks. All winter I'd kind of start at it out the window, thinking if I could magically change it with my mind or something. I few times I tried to go out there and measure it, but it was kind of tough because of the garbage pile, the snow, and the giant rock. (Two of those three things are gone, but the third one is going to be a challenge...)
I was thinking I could take the wooden planters that I've had for a while and maybe take them apart and use the long sides as a makeshift raised bed. This would be most importantly free, it would create sides that would match the existing raised bed, and it would be a use for those planters that are too shallow and drain and dry out too fast to be much use for anything. Not knowing the dimensions of that space, I wasn't really sure it would work.
It looks like the width of the space is exactly the length of two containers, hooray! (Still, what am I going to do about that big fucking rock?)
Now, I could either take the planters apart completely, which looks like it won't be a big challenge, and then just prop the sides up and fill the space with soil, and figure they'll stay in place. Or, I could somehow remove the bottoms, and bury the frames partly into the ground. This would create two teeny tiny raised beds, inside the frames, and one larger one, in the space between them and the wall. That's kind of a cute idea, but it seems like it's unnecessarily complicated for planning where to ultimately plant things. If I take them apart, I might still need to do something to keep the two slats of wood together. But that shouldn't be hard, I think I ought to be able to do that with a power drill, whatever hardware I have lying around, and the wood from the planters. (Reclaimed wood raised bed! Pin it!) I think I don't want it as deep as the raised bed... the main one is 2 feet deep. If this one was like, 18 inches, that would look nice, right? And I believe that length is 4 feet, which will look nice, half the length of the main raised bed.
My plan is to use this spot for Green Beans. They can't really be right up in there with Tomatoes, cause shit gets wild. Googling images for Square Foot Gardening shows some with 4, some with 6, and some with 9 bean plants. I usually think the SFG method plants things awfully tightly. I mean, 1 square foot for a tomato? So I should probably be planning on 4 per square foot. In a space that's 4 feet by 1 1/2 feet, that's still 24 bean plants. And maybe I don't even need 24 bean plants. Yeah, no, I'm going to leave the surrounding 6 inches, maybe plant short flowers or something in there. That leaves 3 feet by 1 foot, so 12 bean plants. Half purple, half green.
Now, I can't plant Green Bean seeds until May 15th. And seriously, no, you can't; they just won't do anything until they are ready, and it's probably bad for them if you try to rush it, like with tomatoes. If I get this space put together, I should try to use it for something in the next 6 weeks. Like maybe lettuce? Lettuce would be the obvious choice, but why not Strawberries? They could be right up front, so they'd hang over the side a little if then needed to. Quick search says beans and strawberries should do fine together, that the nitrogen fixing will be helpful. Of course, that's not the order they're going to happen, but at least there won't be any problems. The important thing here is that the strawberries are low growing and the beans are super tall. I think Strawberries are also 4 plants per square foot.
Ok, this is very exciting! I've got another little raised bed to play with. And I didn't have to buy anything. I'm not sure I'll even need to buy any more soil. I was kind of wondering why the hell I bought a package of bare root strawberry plants. I think I have 25 of them. And only 8 can go in this bed, so I'll eventually want to figure out something to do with the rest. I don't know if I should plant them today. The 10 day forecast looks fantastic- overnight lows are in the mid 40s to 50s for the next 10 days, except for tonight, which gets down to 36. So if I were to plant them tomorrow, they would probably be happier.
And the rest of the mini raised bed, I guess I will fill with the leaf lettuces and arugula, when they start to grow under the lights. Those are also supposed to be really fast to reach maturity, so I can still get plenty out of them before May 15th when I want to put in the beans. And actually, if the lettuce still looks ok on May 15th, I don't have to rip it out. I just need to make space for the bean seeds, and for the trellises, and the beans will start to grow around them for the first few weeks.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Springtiiiiiiiiime!
Oh my god, it's actually Spring!!! It's 55 and sunny, and going to be even better tomorrow!
I'm kind of at a stopping point with the vegetables. The raised bed is pretty much full. I do have a 6-pack of Bok Choy, but they're still pretty tiny, I'm not sure if they will be viable before it's time for more summery stuff. There is a 6 pack of Swiss Chard, 2 packs of Lettuces and one of Arugula. I'm hoping the Lettuce and Arugula get going quickly, and then I can put them in the Gutter Garden.
Out of the Raised Bed, I'm expecting the Bok Choy to be harvested first. They're supposedly really fast to mature, and it's something I want to pick when they're little. I mean, 4 weeks, tops, right? They're supposed to be like, 35 days to maturity, and they grew out for at least 3 weeks inside. Depends what they mean by "mature," I guess.
Anyway. Everything else seems to be doing well enough. The Daffodils and Tulips are all showing, although they are a long way from flowering. Other Daffodils, including right across the street, are fully flowering. I do not know what is wrong with mine, or what is wrong with me in general. I deliberately bought an early variety, Ice Follies. They are coming up in the same time frame as the Tulips. Everywhere else, the Daffodils are up and flowering and the Tulips are just starting to show. (Actually, looking at Longwood's pictures from last year, their Daffodils and Tulips seem to be up at the same time, but I guess they would do that deliberately.)
The Hyacinths are of course up, and they're showing buds. The Tulips in the window box are up, and have been for a while. I had a bunch of crocuses around them, I don't know if they're all eaten by squirrels? I planted about 100 Crocuses under the little trees above the retaining wall, and all winter it was just a standing pool of water (when it wasn't covered with snow and frozen solid.) I've seen two come up, and they're nice, I guess. I guess I should be happy to even get those. I'm sure they're all rotted. if they weren't eaten by squirrels.
I'm kind of at a stopping point with the vegetables. The raised bed is pretty much full. I do have a 6-pack of Bok Choy, but they're still pretty tiny, I'm not sure if they will be viable before it's time for more summery stuff. There is a 6 pack of Swiss Chard, 2 packs of Lettuces and one of Arugula. I'm hoping the Lettuce and Arugula get going quickly, and then I can put them in the Gutter Garden.
Out of the Raised Bed, I'm expecting the Bok Choy to be harvested first. They're supposedly really fast to mature, and it's something I want to pick when they're little. I mean, 4 weeks, tops, right? They're supposed to be like, 35 days to maturity, and they grew out for at least 3 weeks inside. Depends what they mean by "mature," I guess.
Anyway. Everything else seems to be doing well enough. The Daffodils and Tulips are all showing, although they are a long way from flowering. Other Daffodils, including right across the street, are fully flowering. I do not know what is wrong with mine, or what is wrong with me in general. I deliberately bought an early variety, Ice Follies. They are coming up in the same time frame as the Tulips. Everywhere else, the Daffodils are up and flowering and the Tulips are just starting to show. (Actually, looking at Longwood's pictures from last year, their Daffodils and Tulips seem to be up at the same time, but I guess they would do that deliberately.)
The Hyacinths are of course up, and they're showing buds. The Tulips in the window box are up, and have been for a while. I had a bunch of crocuses around them, I don't know if they're all eaten by squirrels? I planted about 100 Crocuses under the little trees above the retaining wall, and all winter it was just a standing pool of water (when it wasn't covered with snow and frozen solid.) I've seen two come up, and they're nice, I guess. I guess I should be happy to even get those. I'm sure they're all rotted. if they weren't eaten by squirrels.
It's starting to look ok out there. They came around and cut back the Liriope, which means I don't have to. They also cleaned up the leaves and crap out of most of the beds. There are still a lot stuck in some of the plants in my side bed, like the Creeping Phlox. The Daffodils are showing, but they've got a long way to go. I'm also seeing the Tulips coming up in the front bed. I'm kind of surprised that the Tulips seem farther along than the Daffodils. The Hyacinths are showing the flower buds.
I'm now ready to transplant the Kale and the Bok Choy. There are 9 Kale, and 6 Bok Choy.
I actually don't know what I have going on for seed starting right now...
I'm now ready to transplant the Kale and the Bok Choy. There are 9 Kale, and 6 Bok Choy.
I actually don't know what I have going on for seed starting right now...
- a mixed 6 pack, where I transplanted some orphans- 4 Coleus, 1 Creeping Thyme, and 1 Basil
- Basil
- Coleus
- Swiss Chard
- Bok Choy, I think?
- mixed Lettuces
- mixed Lettuces
- Arugula
- Zinnias (cut and come again)
- Creeping Thyme
I killed most of the first round of Cut and Come Again Zinnias because I was gone for a week. Next time I do that, I might have to just take them out from under the lights, or put them in the window.
I was able to salvage 2 of them, and I have the 6 Giant Zinnias. I've also got 4 Cilantro in the plastic bottles, and the 5 containers of fully grown Coleus.
I also started just 4 of the Elf sunflowers in the plastic bottles. I know I'm not supposed to start them inside, but I think it will be ok because I can transplant them without hurting them. We're only 2 weeks away from the time it would be safe to direct sow them, so why not get a head start in here?
I think once I get all the veggies out, I'll just fill that tray with the same plastic bottles, and start growing all my sunflowers. That tray holds 15, so I'll do 5 each of the Elf, the Sun Baby, and the other weird ones that say they're 18 inches high. Or maybe I'll do all minis. The ones that get 4 feet high (Sun "Babies") should probably just be thrown in the ground. I don't care about those as much.
As I'm reading about the Morning Glories, they actually recommend starting inside in March! So, I'm soaking them overnight and then starting a few in trays. Should have started earlier!
Friday, April 3, 2015
Other plants
I want to start thinking about my summer gardening in my beds.
In the front, I have the big hedge, the stupid juniper, the many liriope, the day lilies, the black eyed Susan, and the echinacea. I'm happy to move the echinacea to the other bed. I'm very seriously thinking of getting a Knock Out Rose to counter balance the juniper, near the back. I would take out the liriope that's back there, and maybe the echinacea.
Then, my color palette there is just the pink of the roses, and the yellow of the day lilies. The black eyed Susan are great, but they're not really blooming until August. I like the idea of sticking with pink and yellow. Those seem to be the most common color combination in the plant world. I'm really tempted to get a Clematis. I've wanted a Clematis for years. They're just so dramatic and beautiful and they grow up a trellis so they're high up at eye level and would make a nice focal point. They seem to be more purple than pink, but maybe that's ok.
I'm going to try to divide the day lilies, cause they need it, but that should give me a lot of coverage. Same with the liriope. Ultimately, I'd like to make that a totally perennial bed. I like the idea that when I move, the new owner wouldn't have to do anything and it would still be this great spot. I'm probably going to still put some annuals right up front. The vinca were so great last year, I can't really conceive of not doing that again. It was cheap, and it looked fantastic.
The side bed is a total disaster. The perennials in there are doomed. The Camellia is done. It's just straight up dead. I should just stop. The rhodendendron is not looking so good either. It's been there like 3 years now; it's the first thing I planted. I will wait and see how it does this spring, but it's really sad and leggy and it was pretty yellow last year and I'm not optimistic. There are also the two Hellebores. They don't seem to like it there. They look real cranky when it's sunny. I might dig them up and give them to my neighbor. That just leaves the fern and a few hostas, and the creeping phlox. The creeping phlox is great, they can stay.
Last year, I kind of made that space into my cutting garden. I grew a lot of zinnias, and a few sunflowers, and the gladioli. I'm ok with doing that again. When I divide the liriope, I might put some of those in as well, just so there's something there in the winter. I kind of think that's all there is in there, hostas and a fern and the phlox... I also have something strange, this creeping groundcover thing I got from the Flower Market. I'm pretty sure it's Leadwort. And if someone gave it away, it must be pretty easy to propagate. Of course, it's right in the middle, cause I'm stupid. I am thinking about moving the hostas in to the patio bed. Or I could just move them closer to the very back, where they'll get a little more shade.
So I'm thinking about lots of Sunflowers, and Zinnias. They're all pretty tall... so they would all be near the middle and the back? And will I be able to get to them? I mean, I guess... I've got the "Giant" zinnias, the "cut and come again" zinnias. They both claim to get up to 30 inches high, but I think they could be higher.
I have the 4' sunflowers, and some that are like 1 1/2'. Those short ones would probably be best in containers. I guess I could also put the big sunflowers in the other bed. They're going to face the wrong way... but that's ok, other people will like them? I know I'm not supposed to start the seeds inside and transplant them, but I kind of want to. At least for the mini ones that will go into containers.
Actually- what if I put the big sunflowers in the front bed? Obviously they'd need to be near the back. But I think they would look very nice. And it's basically free.
In the front, I have the big hedge, the stupid juniper, the many liriope, the day lilies, the black eyed Susan, and the echinacea. I'm happy to move the echinacea to the other bed. I'm very seriously thinking of getting a Knock Out Rose to counter balance the juniper, near the back. I would take out the liriope that's back there, and maybe the echinacea.
Then, my color palette there is just the pink of the roses, and the yellow of the day lilies. The black eyed Susan are great, but they're not really blooming until August. I like the idea of sticking with pink and yellow. Those seem to be the most common color combination in the plant world. I'm really tempted to get a Clematis. I've wanted a Clematis for years. They're just so dramatic and beautiful and they grow up a trellis so they're high up at eye level and would make a nice focal point. They seem to be more purple than pink, but maybe that's ok.
I'm going to try to divide the day lilies, cause they need it, but that should give me a lot of coverage. Same with the liriope. Ultimately, I'd like to make that a totally perennial bed. I like the idea that when I move, the new owner wouldn't have to do anything and it would still be this great spot. I'm probably going to still put some annuals right up front. The vinca were so great last year, I can't really conceive of not doing that again. It was cheap, and it looked fantastic.
The side bed is a total disaster. The perennials in there are doomed. The Camellia is done. It's just straight up dead. I should just stop. The rhodendendron is not looking so good either. It's been there like 3 years now; it's the first thing I planted. I will wait and see how it does this spring, but it's really sad and leggy and it was pretty yellow last year and I'm not optimistic. There are also the two Hellebores. They don't seem to like it there. They look real cranky when it's sunny. I might dig them up and give them to my neighbor. That just leaves the fern and a few hostas, and the creeping phlox. The creeping phlox is great, they can stay.
Last year, I kind of made that space into my cutting garden. I grew a lot of zinnias, and a few sunflowers, and the gladioli. I'm ok with doing that again. When I divide the liriope, I might put some of those in as well, just so there's something there in the winter. I kind of think that's all there is in there, hostas and a fern and the phlox... I also have something strange, this creeping groundcover thing I got from the Flower Market. I'm pretty sure it's Leadwort. And if someone gave it away, it must be pretty easy to propagate. Of course, it's right in the middle, cause I'm stupid. I am thinking about moving the hostas in to the patio bed. Or I could just move them closer to the very back, where they'll get a little more shade.
So I'm thinking about lots of Sunflowers, and Zinnias. They're all pretty tall... so they would all be near the middle and the back? And will I be able to get to them? I mean, I guess... I've got the "Giant" zinnias, the "cut and come again" zinnias. They both claim to get up to 30 inches high, but I think they could be higher.
I have the 4' sunflowers, and some that are like 1 1/2'. Those short ones would probably be best in containers. I guess I could also put the big sunflowers in the other bed. They're going to face the wrong way... but that's ok, other people will like them? I know I'm not supposed to start the seeds inside and transplant them, but I kind of want to. At least for the mini ones that will go into containers.
Actually- what if I put the big sunflowers in the front bed? Obviously they'd need to be near the back. But I think they would look very nice. And it's basically free.
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