Big Plans for the Sidewalk Bed

Ok so what am I going to do with that sidewalk bed?  I think it's most important to get a few small Liriope up front, right in front of the Yarrow.  Those plants get pretty tall and they start to fall over, so I would rather have something sturdy in front of them.  And then from there I'll put Liriope along the edge moving down towards the stairs.  I will not be doing anything with those ornamental grasses.  They're in good enough places now and I do not feel like digging them up.  So let's say I've got a nice border or Liriope in front.  Then I would put in all the Rudbeckia that I've got.  Yes, I think I want to plant all 18.  They only need to be about a foot away from each other.  And then the Day Lilies would go behind them.  Specifically, I would put some Day Lilies right behind the Yarrow, I think that will look really nice.  I should keep in mind that the Day Lilies are permanent, and the Rudbeckia is an annual.  The Day Lilies can kind of be spread around near the ornamental grasses. Do I want to keep them close together to get that big mass of color?  That would definitely look better.  I will certainly spread them out more than what they are like in the small space they are in now, but I shouldn't just have like, Day Lily here, another one over there, as individual plants.  They look best when they're in mounds.  And then in whatever space is left, I will plant lots of Sunflowers.  I don't really know if I want to direct seed them, or if I want to start some inside.  They say not to do that, because they don't like being transplanted, but I think I've done it successfully before.  And I'm worried that if I just put out seeds, something is going to eat them.  

Oh, I forgot about the Zinnias.  I'm not going to put the big ones in there, probably, but I got the Zahara variety specifically for that bed.  I'm only going to have 12 of them.  They say they get 12-18 inches tall, although most Zinnias seem to grow taller than advertised. So we'll do Liriope, then Zinnias, then Rudbeckia, then the Day Lilies.  Most of the Sunflowers I have are supposed to get to only 3 feet tall, which is actually shorter than the Day Lilies.  

Actually, I should probably keep these things in masses.  So maybe I will do a big clump of Zinnias in one spot, probably right up center to the left of the Yarrow.  I will have 12 plants so I could do two separate clumps of 6 plants.  I mean, I probably shouldn't try to plan it out this specifically.  The reality always ends up being pretty different.  I just want to make sure I am thinking about these things, like height and placement and grouping.  Actually, what is the sun situation like?  The back part does get some shade in the middle of the day.  I mean, that's mostly the ornamental grasses.  By mid afternoon it's really full sun, and I think the whole thing gets full sun for most of the morning, with the east end getting it first.  I think the sun is just fine in every part.  I'm a little worried that the Sunflowers will all end up facing towards the south, because theoretically that's what they do, but maybe not.  The sun is pretty even, especially in the summer, and I would think they would not face the shady side where all the trees are.  I mean, there isn't a whole lot I can do to change what direction they face, so I might as well just put them where I can and hope for the best.  

Right now though, I should be cutting back the ornamental grasses.  They're so huge and spreading that crap everywhere, so at the moment it's hard to see exactly what space is there.  And maybe once I do that I ought to take some pictures or make some drawings so I know what's what, and specifically where the damn Daffodils are.  And maybe I should plant the Tete a Tete Daffodils in there, the ones I forced in pots.  They've been getting good sun so I ought to be able to get more use out of them, and I'd rather plant them now, when I know where they should go.  

Liriope and Day Lilies

Ok, I really did cut back the Liriope and it wasn't that hard!  My big pruners are in good shape and still nice and sharp.  I made up a good technique- you kind of have to bundle them together to reach the bottom, and you can't really hold it with one hand and cut with the other, and then you have leaves everywhere to clean up.  So I thought, maybe there's a better way... and I used a hair tie to make a little Liriope ponytail, chop it off at the base, and pick up the whole severed clump and throw it out (pulling off the hair tie).  No mess, super easy.  I think I might be a genius.

While I was doing that, my neighbor came by and we were talking and she said she doesn't really think we're going to get any mulch this year.  She knows what's going on a lot better than I do.  I'm fine with not getting mulch, obviously.  And she is too!  She got Dog Vomit Fungus in her yard last year, and she has noticed that it's just all sitting there forever, and now if she wants to plant something, she's just planting in 6 inches deep of wood mulch.  I very deliberately didn't ever tell her not to use wood mulch, because people like that are super annoying, it's like telling someone to only eat organic meat, or not to smoke.  She has arrived at this conclusion on her own, for her own reasons.  And it's not like she's just decided to be ok with it once she learned she wasn't getting any mulch; that is not how she rolls.  I think if she was expecting it and then learned that service was cut due to lack of funds, she'd actually push harder for it.

She did say she'd rather not use any wood mulch and then just spray the shit out of every weed she sees.  And I didn't say anything.  Someone on "the board" asked her not to, because it's poisonous to dogs, and I did jump in and say, yeah, that's true, pets have died.  Luckily she plans to put up a sign, which is actually really responsible and I don't think most people do that.  Also she wants dogs to stop peeing on her stuff.  All good stuff.

For some strange reason, she wants to get rid of all the Day Lilies in there.  And I don't know why, it's like the only thing that's really going strong, it's the only mature planting she has.  It is kind of densely packed over there in that sunnier part, and as she said, it's not like it's going to spread laterally to fill another 10 feet.  I've been seriously envious of them every time I walk past.  A large planting of mature, reblooming Day Lilies is like, the best thing you can have in a perennial bed.

And yet, my neighbor wants to get rid of these.  She's actually asked that someone come and dig them all out, and she did say she wanted them to plant them somewhere else on the property but I bet they won't, because no one cares enough to do that.  She said I was welcome to them if I want to come and dig them out!  Free plants!   Yesterday as I was looking at my space I was seriously thinking of buying more Day Lilies to fill it out- a bag of 18 bare root little yellow Johnny One Note Day Lilies is only $60 from White Flower Farm.  I think she's got like, at least 30 and as much as 50 fully grown plants.  These are the big orange ones, what I call "Roadside Day Lilies."  The internet seems to also call them that.  They're big and flashy and they live forever and grow in anything.  They get really tall, like 4 feet.  With that in mind, they are kind of inappropriate for the location they are in now- they're right up against the sidewalk by the door, and then there's a ton of empty space behind them.  I mean, I've done stupid stuff like that, I can't be too judgmental.  So she wants them out, and I am happy to take them.  I'm going to put them in the sidewalk bed.  Their height and size would be too much for the front bed.

So while she was there and we were talking about what she could grow she was pointing out the Lirope in the sidewalk bed.  It is a great plant, even easier than a Day Lily.  You do need to cut them back, but as I saw yesterday, the whole process took like 20 minutes and very little physical effort.  She's mainly interested in them because they stay there all year and they are pretty much green throughout the winter.  I like them because they just do exactly what you expect- you know how tall they are going to get (like, less than a foot, not counting the flowers) and you know how much they are going to spread, and you know right where they are all the time.

My original plan was to dig up the bigger Liriope in the sidewalk bed and divide them, and replant them to make some kind of a border.  There are a few reasons for this.

1. Some of them I think actually need to be divided- the biggest one looks like it's got a dead patch in the middle.  This isn't as awful looking as the ornamental grasses were, but it's just going to get worse.  
2. Dividing them makes more plants, and more coverage.  One big plant that's like, 16 inches in diameter at the base, will spread and make a mound that's like, 20 inches in diameter.  But if I break that into four plants that are like, 8 inches in diameter, they spread into four plants that are a foot wide.  
3. They should be in the front, because they are short.  They look dumb mixed in there with the really tall grasses, or behind that crazy Yarrow plant.  
4. I have lots of other things I want to plant in there, like the Rudbeckia, and I'm not really sure where I can put it.  
5. I want to make a kind of a border with them along the sidewalk. I think that will make it look more complete and deliberate, like someone knew what they were doing.  And I think it will make a barrier to weeds.  I notice all the weeds seem to start at the edges for some reason, and they make their way in to the center over time.  And the soil at the edge is probably the worst, it seems to be the driest.  

So when I told my neighbor I was going to divide them and replant them, we decided to trade plants.  I can take her Day Lilies and I can replace them with some boring-ass Liriope.  That's actually a great plan.  We get the plants we want, for free, and create more plants in the process.  And there's less digging involved.  Once I get the Liriope out of there, I can just plant the Day Lilies in those same spots, more or less.   

My only concern is that now I won't have as much Liriope left to put back in there in the front.  I've got 5 really big ones that actually need to be divided, and a few smaller ones.  Let's say the 5 big ones can each be divided into 4, and those will still be pretty big.  I don't think I could fit more than 10 in the space she has.  Well, in the specific area where the Day Lilies are.  She could pretty much fill that area with Liriope, and have a Liriope bank like Longwood Gardens has in the parking lot.  But we only really need to fill that part by the sidewalk right away.  

Speaking of Liriope- I've got all those little bunches that I pulled out of the patio bed, and they are still sitting in containers, on the patio wall, as if I'm deliberately displaying them or something.  They look really dreadful, but I think that's ok.  They only look worse than the ones in the ground because they were not in the ground, protecting themselves, and their leaves got all beat up.  I don't think they could possible be really truly dead.  They are the toughest plant ever, hardy to Zone 5, and we had the mildest winter ever.  I was kind of hoping they would spontaneously regrow on their own, but I think I need to cut them back as well.  I mean, that ought to be easy.  I could bring them inside and do it while sitting on the couch.  (Don't do that.)  But I'm saying, they are totally available for planting now, to fill out a nice border either for me or my neighbor.  

Ok, I took the day off, so I really ought to be using this time to get some outside stuff done.  I mean, it's such a beautiful day.  I did finally plant my Kale in the raised bed.  It looks so nice.  I think the way I spaced it will work out really well as far as giving them room to grow, and it very nicely handled the 11 plants I have.

Originally I was thinking I would be planting pretty good sized Romaine and Bok Choy at this point, but the Romaine looks pitiful.  And the Bok Choy is just barely germinated.  This is bullshit.  I think last season I had almost full grown plants by now.  I guess I should just go ahead and plant the Romaine that I've got.  It's not like it's doing anything where it is, one way or another.  And then I can start more seeds!  Maybe it's not doing well because it's too warm up there?  I've got 9 that are technically alive.  So that's fine, I 'll do like, 5 and 4.  And that will fill up the bed, so maybe it's ok that I don't have any Bok Choy.  (No it's not, I loved growing that stuff.  And I liked eating it.  More than I like eating Kale...)

In the raised bed, I dumped all the old containers of potting mix and that raised the soil level up to the top, and I worked in a generous amount of the Espoma fertilizer.  Last weekend I dumped out 2 trays from the worm bin, and it was a pitiful amount.  It probably had no effect at all.  But hey, that's in there too.

I looked at the compost in the tumbler, and it's not so bad.  Of course, I had some big chunks of stuff, like the stump from some ornamental grass, and sticks and root balls and crap, but other than that I think it's ok.  I could probably pull out all the really big stuff, like things I can grab by hand, put that in a bin or whatever, and then dump out the rest and use it as compost, even though it won't be all nice and homogeneous.  Yeah, I do have a compost sieve, and I could sit there and shake it all through and get some really beautiful compost, but that sounds like a lot of work.

I would like to totally remove everything that is in there before starting a new batch.  I've got that trash can full of leaves, and plenty of leaves in the patio and on the beds, and when I start to clean stuff out I should accumulate more compost-able stuff.  I'm not going to add new stuff to almost-finished stuff.  I'm also hoping that the stuff in the trash can has already started to break down a little.  If I can add that and just leaves and small stuff to the tumbler, and then add a bunch of coffee grounds, from Starbucks or from work, hopefully it will move along quickly in the warm weather and I will have usable compost by like, June.

So about these other beds, the non-vegetable ones-  The front bed is looking pretty promising.  The perennials are all starting to show already, including the Black Eyed Susan, the Echinacea, and even that sad little Clematis.  I'm going to move the obelisk over top of it so it can start to climb it, after I take off the Christmas lights.  Or maybe I could leave them on.  They can't do any harm, and I don't have to put them on again next year.  (About that- maybe this would be a good time to take down the rest of the Christmas lights, please?)

The Liriope border in the front is fine, I guess.  There isn't any new growth on it, or on any other Liriope.  The internet says to prune "before new growth," which isn't really that helpful because I don't know when the new growth is coming, but they say late February to early March.  Maybe pruning stimulates some new growth.  I saw Liriope starting to come in strong when I was in Raleigh, and they are only a few weeks ahead of us- tons of Daffodils, only a few Tulips, Dogwoods all in full bloom and Forsythia was pretty much finished.  So what I'm hearing is that I should prune these fuckers now.  Ugh, ok.  It's not that bad, they're smaller now that we dived them all so normal loppers should be able to handle it.

The Daylilies are only starting to show, and there aren't very many of them. I thought in previous years I had a ton of them.  Maybe I should put in more.  They're pretty awesome plants.  Hm, I can buy 18 bare-root Johnny One Note daylillies from White Flower Farm for $60.  That might actually be the most cost effective.  And that would need to be done like, now-ish.  18 would probably be the right amount.

Now, the sidewalk bed, that is another situation entirely.  Right now it's a big pile of old ornamental grass stalks.  And I am glad they didn't chop all that down in the fall, it's supposed to be left there.  But I am really hoping the do it soon, along with last year's Liriope.

If they do that, I think I might want to dig up the Liriope and divide them and rearrange them.  There are like, 4 or 5 that are really, really big, and they're closer to the center than I would like.  I would like to do the same thing in there that I did in the front bed.  I want to plant them along the edge and create a kind of loose border.  That would be good for aesthetic reasons, because they're the lowest growing thing and they should be in the front, but also because I think it would make a nice barrier to weeds.  Most of the weeds seem to be right along the edge.  And I guess that's convenient because that's where they are easiest to reach and to pull, but that weed mass just moves inward and takes over entirely.  The Liriope would be a very sturdy defense over the whole year.

I'm not going to do anything with the ornamental grasses.  We already did that and I'm not going to try to fight with those monsters again for like, 5 years at least.

The Daffodils seem like they're doing fine.  I kind of thought there were more of them in there?  Maybe if they do clean it out and cut stuff back, I should take some careful pictures and maybe even mark where the Daffodils are so I can plant new ones next fall and so I don't dig them up accidentally.

Eventually I think I want to plant all of these Rudbeckia in that sidewalk bed.  I've got 18 of them, which is pretty awesome.  I'm looking at Google Images of this plant, initially just to see what the plant looks like, what's its growing habit.  It's kind of a dense mound of leaves, with tall stems that flower.  Burpee claims it gets up to 42 inches tall, which seems like a lot.  That's like, bar-height.  That can't be true.  I would say more like 2 feet.  But that's still tall.  Images show it being planted with Echinacea a lot, which makes sense because they have the same habit and the same flower shape.  It looks like Echinacea is consistently a little taller than them, only by like, 6 inches, so they form this nice solid wall of flowers.  But of course they always look the best in very large masses.  And I've got 18 plants, for basically free.  Burpee says the "spread" is only 12-16 inches, and that's pretty much true looking at the pictures- they have a nice, compact base.  So I can plant them a foot away from each other, in a row, or in a mass, and they will hopefully grow full and create a nice bed of dense flowers.  I'm so good at this!

I also wanted to plant all the Sunflowers in that sidewalk bed, and some of the Zinnias.  Basically I am using this as my cutting garden so I don't totally overcrowd my other beds.  I've got 12 of the giant Zinnias that I started nearly 5 weeks ago, and 12 of the Zahara Zinnias that I started 2 weeks ago.  And I have the Thumbelina Zinnias, which I was planning to just direct sow.

These big Zinnias (which are actually the "State Fair" mix, not the Giant mix) are all mixed colors and there is a lot of pink and stuff.  So maybe they won't be the best thing to grow in there.  And they need a decent amount of attention, they need to be staked and all that, and they get to be like, 4 feet high.  What if I grew them in containers against the patio wall?  That's a great place for lots of sun, and they are really accessible.  The container would add like, 8 inches, so maybe that's not ideal.  The other thing I could do is plant them in a row behind the roses.  I would need some serious support, like a trellis, but that might make for a cool looking screen.  I think I got like, 3 feet or so, and that would be plenty of space for 12 plants.  Or I could put them in the rectangular containers on the patio wall.  I think on the outer wall, I will stick with the Morning Glories.  I think if it was Zinnias, they would branch out and get in the way of people walking by.  If I put them on the inside wall, it doesn't matter if they spread out a bit.  And since they aren't in the ground they will be more susceptible to drought, so it's good they will be right where I can keep an eye on them.  It will of course cover up the gutters, but I don't have big plans for those in the summer.  I was going to throw in some Nasturtiums but that's fine, we can start with those and if they get covered by Zinnias, that would be fine with me.

Anyway about that sidewalk bed and Sunflowers- I've got a total of 70 Sunflower seeds to plant in there.  I know they are usually direct seeded, but I kind of want to start them in containers so I can plant them with some confidence that they would actually grow where I put them.  I mean, if you just throw sunflower seed on the ground, isn't a bird going to eat it?  They are all around 3 feet high, and I've got a normal yellow one, a mostly red one and one with red streaks in the center.  I think I can expect a pretty decent survival rate, so I am really looking forward to a big mass of sunflowers in July or whenever they happen.  I need to be careful because when they first come up, they are real ugly little things and look like some kind of asshole weed.  That's another reason to start them inside first, so they can get some good growth on them and I know what they are.

Ok so what do I need to do?

• Plant the Romaine babies.  I've got them outside now to "harden off" (not really, it's almost 70 outside), and I'll plant them tomorrow.  Actually, it's going to rain tomorrow.  I'll plant them today.  
• Prune the roses.  This shouldn't be that hard, other than navigating the thorns.  Then clean out the leaves and weeds, and feed the Hyacinths with bone meal. 
• Cut back the Liriope in the front bed.  This will make it easier to see what's there, and maybe it will help them to start regrowing.  
• Water the radishes. 
• Start some Cilantro seeds
• Cut back the ornamental grass, Yarrow and the Liriope in the sidewalk bed.  
• Pull weeds out of the sidewalk bed
• Divide the 5 big Liriope in the sidewalk bed and replant along the border.  
• Buy lots of potting mix
• Transplant Morning Glory to the long containers.  Direct seed some more. 
• Transplant the big Zinnias to 2 of the 24" containers, with fertilizer. 
• Start more big Zinnias.  
• Deal with the compost in the tumbler.  
• Plant leaf lettuce in the gutters
• Sweep up leaves in the patio
• Clean out bird baths.  

And also, I'm thinking of giving up on the Bok Choy.  They don't look right at all! I swear this is not how they grew last time.  They're like, dense heads, there is no way something that is tall and leggy like that could become a real Bok Choy.  I would suggest that right now they are just a waste of space under the lights.  I would rather have more Zinnias, some Cilantro, and maybe even Swiss Chard going in that space.  Same with that one tray of Basil.  Half of them are dead, and I've got like, a dozen full grown plants.  I guess I'll keep that around for another week or 2, and then transplant the 3 good ones into larger containers.  Same with the Coleus.  

I'm concerned about the Strawberries in the raised bed.  There are some that have been green all the way through the winter, although I thought they were supposed to die back completely.  I think if the others were going to come back, they would have done so by now.  So maybe they're just totally dead.

Seed Starting Situation

So I left for most of a weak and a lot of these things really dried out!  I totally killed a tray of Coleus starts.  And there are 2 other trays that are just totally dried out with no sign of any plant happening.  I think those were Bok Choy, but I'm not really sure.  The other two that I thought were Bok Choy have lots of long leggy shitty looking sprouts, I guess because they weren't close enough to the light.  

The other tray of Coleus looks ok. I mean, they're growing properly.  They have real leaves, they have colors and stuff.  Maybe they will be ok.  I wouldn't want to put them outside until beginning of May probably, so I still have... damn, only 6 weeks.  Maybe that's enough time.  The four good ones are doing just fine, so I'm optimistic about them.  

The tomatoes are hanging in there.  I wish they had a little more growth.  Especially root growth.  I just put some fertilizer on the 4 biggest ones.  Maybe they could all use some.  Um, Basil also looks great.  They're like, ready for transplanting.  Or at least they would be if it was May and not March.  Don't you wish you had started more lettuce instead of Basil?  

The Kale should be transplanted soon.  I don't really want to do it today, because it's going to snow tomorrow, so it looks like I will be doing it on Thursday.  

The Rudbeckia are growing and everything.  They haven't really changed much.  I'm moving them downstairs, in front of the window, because I think that will be kind of like hardening them off.  They're not getting constant light, and it's not so hot.  They're going to be transplanted after "last frost," so maybe in 2 weeks.  

So now I can rearrange the lights a little more, since I don't have these stupid tall-ass plants.  I've now got the Tomatoes and the Basil under that bottom light.  That seems pretty good, because it's one of the more intense light situations, and because those lights are bare bulbs, so they cover the area in front.  I've got the big tall tomatoes right in front, and I'm hoping they get some decent light there.  

The other two shelves have the 2-foot lights- one is 4 bulbs and one is 2 bulbs.  So I'm thinking I will keep the six-packs under those lights.  That way I can have one be for the new little tiny starts, and as they get taller I can have the other light higher.  

I really need to start some Cilantro, maybe today.  Previously I used water bottles, because I know they get some serious root growth, but I don't want to have to deal with those tall things under the lights.  I guess I will start 1 six-pack today.  They're pretty normal, they just get planted after any frost can happen, so if I start them inside now, I can transplant them in a few weeks.  

What's up there, again? 

• 2 Romaine
• 2 Zahara Zinnias
• 2 Bok Choy (I guess)
• 1 Coleus
• 1 Basil

And I just added 2 more Bok Choy, and I'll do one of Cilantro.  

With any luck, the Romaine will be ready to transplant in a week.  Maybe I need to feed them.  Same with the Bok Choy.  It's supposed to be 30 days to maturity!  

Ok so I really want to plant the Kale today.  I know it's going to snow tomorrow night, but Kale likes that shit!  I probably should have gotten them in there a few weeks ago.  (EW it's snowing NOW!)  It's like, 8 weeks between now and when I would put tomatoes in, at most, and I would like for these things to grow a little bit and get some nice eating off of them before May.  So I could get out there and plant them right now, like NOW, or I could wait until Thursday.  Actually now the forecast says it is not going to rain or snow tomorrow, just raining this afternoon.  So I will plant tomorrow.  Perfect.

Next I will plant some arugula and stuff like that in the gutters.  I'll water with warm water tomorrow morning so it's warm enough for germination.  And I need to water the Radishes in the window box.  

Pepper Plants- The Obituary

I've been trying to deny it for a while, but these pepper plants are straight-up dead.  They look exactly like a dead plant.  I bet a Google Image search of dead plant would turn up several pictures that look exactly like these.

I'm so sad, because it's nearly Spring!  I almost made it!  But that's not even true.  I'm acting like they just suddenly died this week, but in reality they have been dying for a long time.  

The first one died for real a long time ago.  It got spider mites, and I just dealt with that (emotionally, at least) because hey, I had two more that looked great!  About two months ago I noticed they had aphids. Then I started hearing Mike McGrath point out over and over that peppers like, always get aphids.  I did know that I was supposed to rinse them down really, really well before bringing them in, for this exact reason, but I didn't because I am lazy.  Once I saw the aphids, I knew I was supposed to rinse them off inside.  I got as far as moving one up to the bathroom so I could give it a shower, but after it sat there for a week or two, I came to the conclusion I was too lazy to do that as well.  

The aphids kept going.  When it was warm, I brought them outside, hoping that something would deal with the aphids for me.  They didn't have an aphid problem outside, right?  That's because something was keeping them under control, probably?  I did leave them out overnight, even though it wasn't really in the 50's overnight, but it was certainly not in the 30's.  And maybe that made it worse.  Not that it really matters.  

I had big plans for the peppers!  I was going to keep them around for years, and have little pepper trees.  I was thinking I would have to transplant them up to bigger pots, because by then they would have nice giant roots.  And now I have to deal with these monsters.  In the process of pulling them out of the pots, I would like to check out the roots a little bit.  I don't think they're really... root-intensive? Is that the word?  As Mike McGrath would describe it, their "life" is all above ground.  So it's not like it's going to grow back from the roots.  Right?  Maybe?  No, it won't.  Just stop.  

So yeah, I got two, actually three, nice big pots.  What am I going to put in them?!  Oh my god, nothing right now.  I will be buying pepper plants this year (I really thought I wouldn't have to, so sad) and probably I'll just use the same pots.  What peppers do I want to buy?  I mean, let's just buy the same shit again.  It went just fine, until they came inside.  My house is kind of a terrible place, maybe that's the problem.  Maybe the aphids live here already.  But yeah, I like Habeneros, and I like Jalapenos obviously, and maybe I'll get something else weird just to mix it up.  Or maybe I will try an Eggplant.  I've never grown that, of course.  

And next fall, am I going to try this shit again?  Am I going to actually wash them off like I'm supposed to?  Please?  

Outside Stuff

Eventually, I am going to have to take this whole gardening situation outside.  I have a lot of nice ideas, but as I'm getting closer to when I need to actually do it, it is sounding like a lot of work.

Vegetables and Stuff

• I was thinking I wanted to move all the soil from the tomato side of the bed, so that the tomatoes won't be growing in the same soil and building up wilt.  But I'm not sure I have to, and honestly I don't think I'm going to actually do it.  It sounds like a lot of work.  The tomatoes I am going to put in there are Brandy Boy, and Sun Gold.  Brandy Boy says it has disease resistance, and the reviews seem to confirm that.  And Sun Gold is a cherry tomato, and you can't hurt those.  So all I am going to do is buy a bunch of potting soil and dump it on top.  
• Once I've prepared the bed, I will transplant all that lovely Kale.  By then, the Romaine may be big enough to transplant.  And I just started some Bok Choy today, and they grow so fast they might be ready to transplant in 2 weeks.  Then the bed is full, nothing to do but watch it grow me some nice vegetables.  
• I also want to start some peas.  I guess I can do that whenever I want.  
• I threw some seeds in the Gutter Garden a few weeks ago when it was warm, but I don't see anything yet.  So I guess I need to re-sow that.  The radish seeds I put in the window box are doing great, I just need to go out and thin it down.  

Bigger Stuff

• First I should clean out all the dead crap and leaves and garbage and stuff.  I'm really hoping the landscaping people actually cut back the Liriope and the grass, because I just don't think I am capable.  Probably want to pull out some weeds too.  
• Gotta prune the roses.  That's not going to be fun, because of thorns and shit.  I guess I can do that now, because they do have new growth.  But I really don't feel like it right now.  
• Take down the goddamn Christmas stuff!  Oh my god, it's March.  This is embarrassing.  
• Stir up the compost.  I was hoping it would be farther along than this, but it is getting warmer, so that should help, and I'm adding coffee grounds.  I am hopeful that the compost will finish within like, 2 months.  That way I can add it to the raised bed before I put in the tomatoes, as I'm getting going with summer flowers and stuff.  
• All of the other leaves and brush and stuff, I will pack in to that trash can thing.  And hopefully, the compost in the tumbler now will be finished, and I can move all the other crap into the tumbler and try to get it to compost over the summer.  

Of course none of this got done this weekend.  Next weekend looks ok.   And now it's raining so I have an excuse.  

So hopefully in the next week or two I will have the raised bed filled with the greens, and the smaller bed sown with some peas.  And it won't be until early to mid May that I can put in the tomatoes and green beans.  Yeah so that means I have to keep these poor tomatoes going for another 2 months.... well, that's why you are not supposed to start them in January.  I might need to pot them up into something bigger.  I hope I have to do that, right, I hope I end up with a lot of roots since they got like, 4 months to get started.  

And I think I want to space them a little farther apart than I did last year.  So instead of 2 feet per plant, like 2 1/2?  That's going to be most of the bed.  And that's fine, I don't really want to grow much else in there, just a few Swiss Chard and some Parsley.  And the Chives have already come back, so that's awesome.  And of course I'll put some Basil in between the tomatoes.  

In the smaller bed, I'll replace the peas with green beans.  And hopefully the strawberries come back ok and maybe I'll even get some strawberries this year.  

March

I did some seed-starting rearranging.  I realized I had the biggest, heaviest stuff on the highest shelf, and it was only a matter of time before I dump my whole tray of plants all over myself and the carpet.  Now I've got the heaviest, biggest stuff on the bottom, on the counter.  That's the many Rudbeckia, the Kale, the Zinnias, and the bigger Tomato plants.  The Zinnias need some kind of a booster seat to raise them closer to the lights.  The Rudbeckia and the Kale need the light pretty high, mostly because they are in such tall containers.  (No regrets, the plastic bottle method means I see them taking full advantage of that space.  #teamdeeproots)  

The shelf above that is for the six-pack starts.  There is some logic to putting them on the highest shelf, but then I really can't see them, and that's the smallest light. (2 bulb 2 foot)  So they are on the second shelf, under 4 bulb 2 foot lights.  Getting creative, I was able to fit all 11 six-packs under there.  

On the top shelf, I have kind of a mid-height.  This is good for most of the Tomato starts, the Coleus, and Basil. This is not the most light, so I hope it's enough, but as these plants have more leaves, I think it will be ok.  And Coleus doesn't need tons of light at this point.  

So where are we with these plants?  I've reduced the Tomatoes down to 4 of each.  I took out the ones that looked the worst.  They just weren't worth the space.  There are a few that are getting pretty tall.  The biggest by far is a Sun Gold; it's at least a foot tall above the container.  That one, and a Fresh Salsa, and two Brandy Boys are on the bottom shelf because they are a little too tall for the top shelf. I really should give all of the tomatoes some fertilizer, I think that's why they are not growing as fast as I would like.  

I had 3 six-packs of Basil.  Two were directly under the bottom light, and they got pretty big.  The other was getting less intense light and it's still small.  The two that were getting big were starting to touch the lights and burn, so I transplanted them up to 3 inch round containers.  I worked in some Espoma fertilizer in there because I think they could use it at this point.  

That freed up 2 six-packs, so I planted those with more Zinnias, the Zahara Bonfire kind.  That conveniently used up the pack.  I would like to start more Zinnias when I get the space.  I have the Thumbelina Zinnias, which are obviously shorter, and I was thinking I would just direct-sow those.  

The Romaine is looking ok.  I'm kind of disappointed that only like, 2/3 of them actually germinated.  Actually less than that considering multiple seeds per cell.  I was thinking about consolidating, moving out the empty cells and scooping in some.  I've got 4 six-packs, and it could definitely be condensed down to 3.  But since they are so young and weak looking, I don't want to do that just yet.  I'll give them some more time, but in 2 weeks it will be ok to plant them outside. 

Same with the Kale!  The Kale looks pretty great, overall.  A few looked pretty thirsty but presumably they will recover ok.  Next weekend might be a good time to actually put them in the ground.  

Next up is Morning Glory.  I'm kind of behind on these.  I was planning to put them in their final containers right away, but that depends on me actually buying potting soil, and I've just been too lazy.  And I need to decide if I want to do anything with those poor Liriope that are in the containers now.  Of course I could start them in six-packs and just transplant them quickly.  It's probably more important to do that early.  

Before I put anything in the raised bed, I want to move some soil around and really add a lot of potting mix.  Again, this depends on me buying soil.  My thought is that if I move all the soil from the tomato side to somewhere else, I am less likely to get some awful wilt.  Sounds like something I could do next weekend.  

I was planning to plant some peas.  St. Patrick's Day is supposed to be the lucky time to plant them, and I will be away in North Carolina.  And Mike McGrath says to germinate them inside first, because the soil is still pretty cold.  So maybe I'll do that.  I mean, I don't have to.  I will use that space for green beans in May.  And if I get the Peas in there next weekend, that gives me...8 weeks?  That's the exact Days to Maturity, and I think that means that is when the peas start producing, and there should be like a month of this.  But I can't see a big downside.  I would need to pull them out and de-tangle them from the trellis.  Ok let's say I plant peas now-ish, and by May they are starting to produce.  Can I just plant the green beans around them?  The Peas will be fully grown, so there will be no confusing them.  It's like a month before the green beans get really established.  So I can keep getting peas, and by June, I can just cut them down.  I don't think there is any problem to have the roots in the same place.  They are both nitrogen-fixing, so having peas proceed them could only help.  And I assume most people do this, because it's so convenient and obvious.  If there was a reason not to, I think I would have heard of it.  Ok, let's do it.  

And the next thing I need to start is the Bok Choy.  I really need some open six-packs for that.  Maybe in like, 2 weeks, the other pack of Basil will be ready to transplant.  

What's in the six-packs, again?  I have: 

• 2 of the Giant Leaf mix of Coleus
• 2 of the Red Coleus (they look awful, barely anything happening) 
• 1 of Basil
• 2 of Zahara Zinnias
• 4 of Romaine

Hm.  The closest thing to transplant is the Romaine.  The Zinnias (the Giant ones) that are in that 12-pack are actually looking really good, but they certainly don't need to be transplanted any time soon.  And if I did, what would I put them in?  Twelve plants in large containers, c'mon.  

Let's buy a lot more lights and start using the space under the counter!  More plants!  

No, no, no.  C'mon.  

How are we going to free up some space?  The Kale is the first thing to come out, and if everything goes well, that can happen next weekend.  Then maybe the Romaine.  The Rudbeckia is the one taking up the most space, and they don't get planted until late April.  But at this point, maybe they could survive in front of the window?  And that would make it easier for me to harden them off on nice days.  

If I get the Kale and the Rudbeckia out of there, then I have a lot more space, and I don't need to have a light so high up.  Well, maybe I will have the same light placement but hopefully it will be for the tomatoes.  

I gotta get some Bok Choy started soon, but I'm not sure where I will be able to start them.  Maybe I need to make them out of some other container...