Sue's Garden Journal

439 Shades Of Grey (Color My World.....Please!)

2012-02-17T06:20:00.002-05:00

Living in the far north has so many advantages. The second half of February is NOT one of them. Grey. Gray. However you spell it---it's gloomy and dark and I am so sick of it.

I set up a cold frame today--I am hoping that the sun they are calling for later this week will start to thaw some of the snow. There isn't much out there. My hopes are to try sowing a few rows of leftover seed before we leave for March----to see if anything pops up during the month.

If I were a seed, I wouldn't want to come up in this.

Blech!

Every way I look, cold bleak February rears it's ugly head.

Sometimes, the skies get a blue-ish tinge to the gray----

But fear not, the grey (gray) is not gone.

Times like this, I'm glad I chose a blue roof for everything. In February, it's the only color I see.

Depressed yet?
Feeling sorry for me yet??

Good.

MORE PICTURES OF YOUR SPRING GARDENS, PLEASE. Pretty please!

I promise to return the favor in August with cool breezes. I Promise!

How This Gardener Keeps Her Sanity During a LONG Winter

2012-02-08T06:17:00.016-05:00

Winters in Northern Michigan are LONG. With our first frost in early September to the last frost around June 1st, I have a LOT of time to do other things. Skiing, snowmobiling and eating too much pie fills a lot of the days, but even then, by February, I'm getting restless. I MISS the garden. Seed catalogs help fill the void, as does cleaning up my "shop" and getting the seed starting supplies organized. But what really helps is reading and drooling over all those beautiful garden blogs and my collection of gardening books.

Now I know---Martha Stewart. I can hear the groans. But c'mon--her gardens are amazing.

Tell me that isn't just about the prettiest patch of lettuce you've ever seen!!!

I have a few books on greenhouses/conservatories--just in case Wonderful Hubby's weekly lotto ticket ever pans out, I'll have an idea of how to spend it!

Don't we all need a two story greenhouse with a spiral staircase?? You can keep the cat, however. I'm not ready to be tied down with animals yet.

Hubby knows I'm getting close to being stir-crazy when I'm flopped on the couch with a stack of my gardening books.
I'm just grateful February is a short month. We leave in March to see the grandson and when I get back April 1--it's SEED STARTING TIME!!!!

Until then---thank goodness for a few good books and lots of blogs from all over the country. I'm so glad southern gardens exist. How lucky to already be planting things! And thankfully, you all share those photos of your green and growing things.

End of the Month Roundup-January 2012

2012-02-01T06:02:00.001-05:00

Our first ever flock of Waxwings in the yard

The weather in January was CRAZY.
We got our very first snow of the winter on January 1--a whopping 4" . Six days later, it was up in the 40's.
We had---13 sunny days
12 days above freezing-including several that reached into the 50's
4 days that were 0 or below for the lows
5 days of snow totaling 24 inches--there's only a couple inches left
We have a snow deficit of over 5 FEET for the season so far and it doesn't look to improve anytime soon.

I have concerns that the pest problems this year will be high due to the extremely mild winter. I also feel that with the extreme lack of snow out west that food prices will be very high this year. No snowpack means No spring meltoff and thus- No water for irrigating crops. That makes my garden top priority this year and that's going to be a challenge, as we are doing more travel this year--kind of a final last "hurrah".

Garden Plans 2012 and the Final Seed Orders Arrive

2012-01-25T06:02:00.002-05:00

The final 2 seed orders have arrived. Pinetree seeds are nice because they pack less seeds and keep the price reasonable. After all, do I really need 50 tomato seeds?

Swallowtail seeds had their free shipping again. I bought all flower seeds from them. I'm trying a lot of different Coneflowers and Delphiniums this year.

And now for the garden plans:

No fancy computer images for you! Excuse the lousy drawings. I'm no artist!

On both these plans, the right side of the paper is North. All beds in the vegetable garden have been rotated north from last year. AND, lesson learned----I'm putting my Hearts of Gold melon in a raised bed and hopefully I can keep it warm enough to have a few ripen this year. Last fall I tossed THIRTEEN melons that never ripened because of our short , cold summer.

I'll be tucking in extra herbs in my flower borders this year. I really enjoyed drying my own basil, oregano and thyme last year. I froze a lot of chopped chives and also parsley. And last year was also my first year growing/drying mint for tea and I really enjoyed that served with honey from the hives we had placed out in our back field. This will be year 4 for the vegetable garden and it is really becoming the source for most of our food now.

I'm really enjoying those blogs that have been showing their seed orders and even some that are starting seeds. Such joy for someone (Me!) that can't start seeds for another TWO months.

Thanks for putting some garden "love" out there. I'd go crazy without it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Seed Orders and the $1 Garden

2012-01-20T06:06:00.003-05:00

Seed orders that I placed last week are starting to roll in-first in was from Botanical interests.

Thursdays mail brought Vermont Bean's order.

This has to be the garden bargain of my lifetime. Eleven packets of seed for 99 cents. These are all old fashioned, open pollinated types. I'm devoting one of my 4x8 raised beds for these. I'm curious how much I can grow for a dollar. Later, I'll be distributing the produce from this bed to some neighbors that are going through some tough times. Good eats for them and a neat experiment for me.

Included in this bargain-Beans (2 packets), Broccoli, Carrots, Cucumbers,Lettuce, Green Pepper, Radish, Cherry and Regular Tomatoes and because this is me and I always have to "pretty" things up--some Calendula seeds.

Even if I had paid the original price of 59 cents a packet it would have been a good deal. but 9 cents? Wow!

This should prove to be fun. I'll keep the harvest results separate from my regular garden.

January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T09:07:00.007-05:00

January 12 and snow continues to elude us. We have been in the mid-40's the past few days. Yesterday hit 52 degrees. My lilies are all popping up. Crazy crazy winter!
We did get 4 inches January 1-2. We got 2 days of skiing out of it before that was gone. It wasn't enough for snowmobiling at all. Sadness!

I've begun winter-sowing. I have several flats out on the deck now ready for whatever this crazy winter brings.

We're busy trying to plan our trips this year. Lack of snow this winter has left us not knowing whether to leave in March or not. We don't know if we'll feel tired of a winter that never showed.

The back "20" waiting for ski-ing.
I forgot this photo on my camera. I took it before Christmas , obviously.

And I think someone "over-did" it this Christmas with their inflateables.

I am going to be eliminating comments again, as I am being overloaded with comments from someone with taglines like "mattress", "barbecue grill" and "refrigerator". I will certainly miss your opinions, ideas, and input, but frankly cannot deal with all the spammy type stuff coming in.

Thanks to all who have commented in the past. I truly appreciate it. I guess this blog is just going back to my personal garden journal.

Thanks to all!

December. Really? Where's the SNOW???

2011-12-27T02:17:00.014-05:00

Frosty is up-in-arms about the lack of snow too!

So, instead of dwelling on all the things we can't do---we concentrated on what we could DOO-as in Donkey-Doo.

I never thought I'd see the day we could haul manure---in December. The END of December to boot!

Could this month get worse, weather-wise??

But, it's not just for myself that I am throwing this pity party. Our area depends heavily on getting those snowmobiliers/skiers/ice fishermen up here and spreading some cash around. The peace and quiet are nice, but not at the expense of local business owners. Let's hope January brings some much needed snow.

A very very Happy New Year to all. May your gardens all grow bountifully in the coming year!

Carrots, Broccoli, and Skunk--Oh MY!

2011-10-31T06:08:00.011-04:00

Happy Halloween to all. Hard to believe it's the last day of October already. The frost is definately on the pumpkins (as it has been for the past 7 weeks!)

Things are slowly returning to normal after our great Skunk disaster.

I've managed to put up a few decorations. Most of our efforts have been concentrated on ridding the house of the awful stench of skunk.

Hubby did a fabulous job of getting rid of the stripey devil, but unfortunately, as some of you know--our home took a direct hit. In the crawlspace. OMG.

The hole has since been dug out, fresh concrete poured, and fresh dirt hauled in to replace the "bad" stuff. It's been a hellish week and my huge thanks to those of you who wrote words of encouragement. Home has always been my sanctuary and these past days have certainly taken a toll on me. It's good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This year was very good for the mums. I'm impressed with how well they bloomed despite almost the entire month having nighttime temps in the 20's.

This is my Oddball mum---it was purchased last year---the blooms were a combo of orange with yellow striping. It came back this year a mix of ALL orange and ALL yellow blooms. Odd.

The coldframes are hard at work cranking out lettuce, spinach , carrots and broccoli.

I've gotten several pounds of carrots this month......This bunch was from Oct 26.

The broccoli is almost ready for cutting. I have a dozen plants under the Agribon that promise at least a few more meals of good eating.

Wasn't that snow out East something?? So many areas still had leaves on the trees..what a shame about all the damage to them.

I've been frosted out since early September. Our leaves have been gone for weeks. According to the Farmer's Almanac, we're supposed to get plenty of snow this winter and I'm glad.

Stay warm and safe, everybody!

2011 Final Harvest Tally and Notes for 2012

2011-09-26T05:32:00.001-04:00

The pumpkin vines have been pulled and the fruit garden gets it's final clean-up. In the background-the new lean-to addition on the barn can be seen. It's a much needed new space, and I'm eyeing that as mine. Don has other ideas. Silly man!

My "shop" (garage stall) is filled to the brim with harvest projects-herbs drying, geraniums being potted up to bring inside, sunflowers drying, squash curing , perennial seedlings being prepped for planting. I need more room!

The Pumpkin-on-a-Stick drying for fall decorating and buckets of apples waiting to be made into applesauce.

The Agastache really going full bore now in the final weeks. Shouldn't be long until I can harvest seeds from this one. Despite numerous nights in the upper 20's and low 30's, this stuff looks better every day. I think all the rock and the large expanse of concrete in the driveway keeps this area going long after frosts have done in the vegetable garden. Maybe I should be putting my Brandywine tomato here?????

2011 Harvests--Starting /Ending Dates and amounts

Spinach--5/8-early July--plenty for fresh eating-

Radish--5/14--early July--about a pound a week

Peas--6/19-7/21-- enough to last thru 8/13

Strawberries--6/18-7/21-- 75 Quarts

Broccoli--7/8--8 heads, Fall Crop--not ready YET

Carrots-7/8-9/5--Plenty for fresh eating all summer, plus final harvest ~5 pounds, more in ground for hopefully a late fall crop.

Kohlrabi-steady supply until July

Garlic --7/21--42 heads

Zuchinni-Never Mind--too many!

Green Beans 7/22-8/4--42 pints frozen

Cukes--7/29--65! Cripes!

Matts Wild Cherry 7/29--- About a handful a day until first frost

Cauliflower 7/31-- 7 heads, 8/16-- 3 heads., 9/12--5 heads (15 heads total/16 planted)

Cabbage 7/31-August--8 heads

Celery 8/2 -9/6 Four large bags chopped and frozen

Yellow Pear Tomato 8/9-Sept 5 A Good Handful a day

Supersweet 100 Tomato 8/11 Many Handfuls a day!

Yukon Gold Potatoes 8/12--1 milk crate full

Melon-Fastbreak--8/15-Sept 20 --13

Melon-Hearts of Gold--Plant fully loaded, none ripened due to lack of heat/not enough time

Brandywine Tomato 8/23-Sept 5-- 15

Russet Norkotah potato 8/23 --2 milk crates full

Jetstar Tomato 8/27-9/5 -----Too Many-STILL eating them 9/23

Onions 8/27---170

Green Peppers 8/29---A whopping TWO

Butternut Squash 9/3--X4

First Frost 9/5/11

Pumpkins---9 large, 5 small

Overall-I was pleased with the year. I wish I had gotten some of the Hearts of Gold melons, as they are the best .....but the Fastbreak melons were delicious and did satisfy the melon cravings. Our summers are very short and quite cool, so I'm glad there is a canteloupe that can deliver.

Pumpkin and Butternut harvests were the biggest surprise....very disappointing. Last year was far more productive, but again-cooler temps this summer were the villain.

I wish I had gotten more Brandywines. I couldn't believe how prolific the Jetstar were once they started. Loved the Yellow Pear--new to us this year and will return again next year. I have to narrow down between the Matt's Wild Cherry and Supersweet 100 though. Two cherry tomato plants is too many for us. I don't know which one I'll keep yet. Too close to call.

As for potatoes-after TWO disappointing years of Yukon Gold harvests, I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't give up on them..........but they are my FAVORITE. I will try a different supplier next year and if it's still a bad harvest, I guess I'm done with them. I can't afford the space for something that doesn't produce. But gosh, I do love them!!

Broccoli---next year plant MORE. It turned out so extra wonderful this year grown under the fabric. We could actually use 24 heads for the freezer and an extra dozen for fresh eating.

Shoot for 36 heads next year.

Carrots--keep up the steady sowing--a few rows every 10 days--and keep covered with fabric

Kohlrabi-don't try to grow through June/July---hates heat, gets woody

Cabbage--we don't eat enough to justify the space--skip?

Acorn Squash--I didn't grow them this year because we don't eat that many.....but I missed them. Sigh.

I know so many-especially in the south-have struggled with their gardens this year-between the heat and the bugs it must have been tough. Up here in the north, I guess it was an okay year--not nearly as prolific like last year, but heck, I live up here because I despise heat. So, I don't get the melons I love so much, or much for Brandywines either, but I grow a mean cauliflower, so I'll be satisfied with that, I guess.

This will be the last post for a bit, aside from updating some notes for 2012 as I think of them. I have nothing new going on. To those who have emailed-thank you so much-I really enjoy getting to know you.....and I am always happy to share seed if I have it to spare. And a huge thank you to those whose gardens continue LONG after mine--you are what keeps me going up here. Remember--pictures!! And lots of them. It is my gardening lifeline!

Have a wonderful fall!!

Sue

End of 2011 Season RoundUp-Part 2--The Winners

2011-09-15T04:36:00.013-04:00

Okay...no big surprise here that the FABRIC row covers were the very best-est thing in the garden. I used them on the potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, salad beds, and carrots (and on the blueberries too). Wonderful wonderful stuff. No bugs. No worms in anything. Love love love it!

The Agastache cana wins hands down on the best performing plant this year. I grew these from seed and even in my incredibly short summer, these grew and filled out so fast, and put on such a great display. They are fantastic and will become a much bigger part of my garden next year.

The front bed that I was trying to make into an English Garden proved to be too hot and dry for most plants because of the stone wall. I am going to definately use these up front next year. They thrive on that.

Now, this one I'm not quite sure as to whether it was what I did, or a fluke, but I read that withholding water from melons at the end of their growing period concentrates the sugars and makes them sweeter.

I withheld all water from my Fastbreak Melons for the final 3 weeks. Not hard to do considering it only rained twice. I used the infamous Blue Tarps to make a tent over them when rain was called for. I've grown this type for the past 3 years and I have never had a sweeter and juicier melon in my life. I mean chin-dripping juicy. Stand over the sink to eat it juicy. Fluke? I don't know, but from now on---no water for the melons in their final weeks.

Flash Blend from Botanical Interests. Great variety of sunflowers that brought in honeybees by the hundreds. They loved it, and so did I!

Sunflower-Burpee Aztec Gold--great producer of striped seed-done in only 70 days.

Grandpa Otts Morning Glory--self seeded from last year turned out more robust, and produced sports of light pink and the most incredible shade of pale blue-which I've marked with zip-ties to save seed.

For the end of the raised beds, this combo of dk blue, light blue, and white petunias stood up best to the heat and drought. Still looked good even after frost.

Zinnia Zahara-Starlight Rose. VERY drought tolerant. And it's in a spot surrounded by concrete-so it stood up great to heat also. I had my doubts on this one when I bought it, but it did very well.

These fushia geraniums just kept going and going all summer long-definately repeating these ones in this tub.

Petunia Sanguna Blue Vein. One plant per tub-completely ran over the Purple Wave petunias I put in with it. This stuff just blooms it's fool head off. I don't even need the purple waves in there anymore. Pretty drought tolerant too. I watered these tubs twice a week. Not bad!

Argyranthemum Butterfly. OMG. It's STILL blooming, even after 2 frosts. Given to me by my good friend Deb Arnold, this is definately being used next year.

Winter Sowing--also another winner. It gave me something related to gardening to do in those cold winter months, and with little effort and not much expense, gave me flats of perennials that I've struggled to start in the past. For the best source of info: http://wintersown.org/

This is by no means everything that worked , but it is a list of what is new for me, and that will become a regular part of my garden in the future.

I'd really love it if the rest of you guys would feature what really worked for you (and didn't!)

We all learn so much from each other.

C'mon, any takers??

End of 2011 Season RoundUp: Part 1- The Losers

2011-09-13T06:44:00.000-04:00

Look at that gorgeous melon plant. Hearts of Gold. And 2011's winner of the LOSER category.

Why?? My stupidity. Yup. My growing season.......short. Hearts of Gold's growing season....90 days. Or should I say 90 HOT days, which we can't seem to manage up here. So--why didn't I put the Hearts of Gold in the raised beds, where I could MAKE IT HOT???? Instead, I put the Fastbreak Melon in there-which only needs 69 days. So, I am sitting with darn near a dozen very UNRIPE melons on the ground, and I'm desperately running out there covering them with blankets and tarps every night. And, I know they won't ripen. We've already had lots of frost. Sigh. NEXT YEAR----PUT IN A RAISED BED WITH A COLDFRAME, Dummy!!

Runner Up---Green beans. Doesn't matter which of the 3 varieties I planted because I did this stupid manuever with all of them. Sowed a row, waited a week, sowed another row RIGHT NEXT TO IT. Well, guess what. Stupid. DO NOT PLANT DOUBLE ROWS----TOO HARD TO HARVEST. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but makes it almost impossible to see all the beans. I'm only planting them on the very outside from now on. Carrots can fill up the center of the beds.

I like to put flowers on the ends of the raised beds--makes it look a little less graveyard-y.

This combo of Verbena and Nicotiana looked great in the beginning, but FRIED by summers end. Do not repeat.

Sheet Mulching was another stupid thing I did this year. I tried to cover the SW bed with double layers of cardboard and a good 8+ inches of Donkey Doo. Within 2 weeks the lilies and Bishops Weed began arising from their stinky grave. DIG THE BEDS, SUE!! Stop taking short cuts.

The north side of the sidewalk border. Hated it. The marigolds CLASH with the Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm', the Osteospermum spent more than half the summer in various stages of NON-blooming. Rethink the whole thing.

Cosmos--Don't try putting it in a bed and expect it to behave. Love the "blousy" blooms, but they need space and lots of it. It ran right over the Eryngium you see in the middle of that bed.

And, after a lifetime of trying Phlox, I officially give up. It looks SPECTACULAR in everyone elses' garden but mine. This is NOT mildew, my loves. This is DRY SANDY SOIL and what it does best--sucks the life out of anything. I love Phlox, but it does NOT love me back.

Next week, I'll have the post on my 2011 Winners--the best plants or ideas about my garden.

The final posts for this year will be the Harvest Totals and Notes for Next Year. I can't believe how fast this summer went. That's okay though, because my love for each season runs about 3 months. I'm ready for fall---crisp days, bike rides, hiking, and getting to know my house again!

Have a wonderful week in the garden!

Who Was That Masked Man? And THE FABRIC!

2011-09-07T05:30:00.002-04:00

Darth Vader in my garden? Nope. Frost protection. We got our first frost yesterday. We're having ANOTHER one today. So it's tarps and blankets and frantic cover-ups every afternoon. Sue will do a LOT to protect her precious Brandywines.

The flowers by the house were spared. You can see the yard beyond is well coated.

Pumpkin Vines-- Um-not so good.

No more cukes. And I'm GLAD.

Oh, poor basil. Black is SO not you!!

Why do I not seem upset? Because we had a WHOPPING 96 frost free days this year---a full ELEVEN days more than last year. I am thrilled! Those of you with "normal" growing times can't begin to imagine how hard it is to get things like tomatoes and peppers . And I'm not going to even justify some of those short season tomatoes. I like Brandywines. 90 days. And I got it!!

Now then. I have gotten sooooooo many questions about the Agribon fabric that I used on my potatoes/broccoli/cauliflower and strawberries.

And first off ------I DO NOT HAVE ANY (ANY!!!!) affiliation with the company. It's just the one I chose to use. And I only brag it up because IT WORKS. I hate sounding like a commercial.

I dislike product endorsements.....but if something works, and works WELL--I'll shout it from the rooftops.

(and likewise-if something SUCKS ((like HughesNET)) I will tell you that also!)

So--I got the Agribon 15 from Johnny's Selected Seeds. Please don't tell me if it's cheaper somewhere else or blah blah blah. This is just where I ordered it from. Here's the link.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-461-agribon-row-covers.aspx

I bought the 118" x 250 ft roll---$47.50.

Expensive? Heck yea! BUT---so is MY time and it's MY food and it WORKS.

I am also incredibly cheap. It's so much cheaper buying a roll this size than the 50ft roll. I have a LIFETIME supply of it now.....for less than fifty bucks. Well worth it to eat broccoli without worms. A tiny price to get to eat ALL my strawberries---instead of the birds getting them

Sorry to be "commercial-y". It's good stuff.

Have a WONDERFUL week--I'm going to go clean up dead stuff. Haha--no more cucumbers!!

End of the Month RoundUp-August 2011

2011-09-01T05:55:00.001-04:00

August is over. Yay! September usually heralds the start of the fall rains and boy, do we need it.
This past month we had 25 sunny days, 6 cloudy days, 1.9" rain (NOT ONE DROP in the past 11 days!), and average temps in the low 80's in the beginning of the month dropping to mid 70's the past two weeks. We've had 5 nights in the low 40's....a gentle reminder of what's to come.

I started planting a couple of the new beds---I have tons of the wintersown perennials that need to get into the ground and get established before the cold hits.

One of the seedlings I am most proud of is the Agastache cana. Beautiful stuff and the hummers and bees are going crazy over it. I'm so glad I planted this in the kitchen window border-it's nice to see the activity while up to my elbows in dishwater!

Against my better judgement, I started planting the southwest border, despite the disaster with the sheet mulching this spring. I need to get all these seedlings in before the cold of autumn.

This bed will have blue Lupine, yellow foxglove, various iris, hollyhocks, delphinium, and phlox-white ' David' and purple 'Laura'

I had yet another run-in with ground bees this past week--I was going to plant some of the ornamental grasses. I didn't realize they were nesting in one of the containers and when I picked the grass out of the bucket I got stung. I dropped the grass and ran into the house, not realizing that they were in hot pursuit. My shirt was FULL of them-I ended up with at least 20 stings, 5 of them quite bad. I got my revenge later in the week, though. I went out in the dark and filled a barrel with water and threw the grass in while they slept. It was only 41 out, so I think that even if it had been light out, they wouldn't have been too active...but better safe than sorry!

I still have one nest to deal with in my raised beds. Will deal with that later.

In the garden, more beds emptied........but I'm STILL waiting on the final bed of potatoes--Red Pontiacs. I'm curious as to how well they produced given the lousy Yukon Gold crop, and the fantastic Russet Norkota crop. I don't know what to expect now.

The ENTIRE pepper harvest. Yup. Two. Which, in reality is okay, I guess.

I don't use many-Don hates the smell of them cooking so I only use a bit here and there for omelets (when he's not around) Each pepper gave me almost a cup diced. I froze them for use this winter.

I thought this was funny---perfectly square cavity when I cut the ends off.

Doesn't take much to entertain me.

Pulled the onions August 27. It was a really good crop this year-a lot of big ones. This is not all of them--I filled my little wagon too. I have more than enough for the year for us-and I have plenty to share with the neighbors.

The cauliflower has been trickling in--a few heads here and there. They are perfect size to freeze whole. I've gotten 6 of the 9 in that I planted for fall already processed and am waiting on the other 3.
Not a bug on them. Can I say enough good about that Agribon row cover fabric??????

SuperSweet 100 cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes are giving me about a quart a day between the 2 of them. The Matt's Wild Cherry never makes it to the house. I eat them as I wander the garden so I don't know how much I'm getting. Maybe a handful a day? Three?? It's not really bearing as well this year for me--but I have more than enough.

The Jetstar I planted for Don finally started producing . Blech. But at least it keeps him out of my beloved Brandywines. It's so odd that they are ripening so much later when they are "supposed" to take 2 weeks less to mature. The yield has been "just right"....about 1 per day.

We've started getting color in the Maples. I took this over a week ago. Yesterday when we went for ice cream I saw some crazy beautiful colors, but didn't have my camera. Will post as I get them.

Labor Day we are expecting temps in the low 30's, so more color to follow!

See--there's something I get before all the rest of you!!!

The pumpkins are far behind what they were at this point last year, but that was an exceptionally odd year. I don't have nearly as many either, but this bad boy is HUGE and I'm looking forward to picking them hopefully in the next week.

The fall broccoli crop has finally started growing... kept protected, they should be able to produce in time. And again---love the row cover! I bought some broccoli at the farmers market last week and it was so wormy. I got spoiled on my bug-free stuff this spring.

Elsewhere--still drowning in zuchinni, salad beds for fall growing well except for the spinach, butternut squash should be done next week, celery about ready, carrots doing well and averaging a nice bunch weekly, and getting a melon every other day---which is okay as they are perfect size for Don and I to share. Yesterday I had 3 ready-so a couple neighbors got a welcome surprise.

I hope all of you that went through the hurricane are doing okay with your clean-up . What a terrible storm that was. Let's hope that's IT for the year.

Have a wonderful week in the garden!

Garden Update August 24, 2011

2011-08-24T05:45:00.000-04:00

I awoke at my usual 3 am to the sound of rain on the roof......talk about heaven! It's been a LONG LONG time since we've had any (almost 2 weeks!)--the sun shines day after day after day.
Temps have been a GLORIOUS 70-75 degrees all week, not a stitch of humidity . Abundant sunshine. We had 2 nights that got into the low 40's. I even saw a few shots of color in some trees yesterday on the way to get ice cream. Yes---summer is almost over. And I'm glad.

Carlos the frog, who lives in my holey water trough, has been wondering if it was ever going to rain again too.

I'm telling ya--between the blue tarps and the yellow buckets under all the eaves, the neighbors are really wondering WHY we moved here. Tee hee!

I've been a good wife, I guess, so hubby got me a dandy new water trough this past week to catch the rain. Just in time, too. We have an area where two rooflines meet and the rain really comes down here. Won't take much to fill this.

Pumpkin on a Stick is beginning to turn orange. These look great for fall decorating.

Mama Pea-last year I told about a short season sunflower for seeds--well, this is it-Aztec Gold from Burpee. I kid you not, these heads weigh a TON-so loaded down with seeds and do-able in our very short summers. I have huge hands-so you can see these are quite large. The birds are going to appreciate these!

We got our first melon August 15th, and it's true that withholding water concentrates the sugars. I didn't personally withhold the water, Mother Nature did. Oh my gosh, the flavor was amazing, and so juicy you had to stand over the sink to enjoy. Fastbreak Melon-69 days.

Dug the Russet Norkotah on August 23. Got two crates full. Though russets are not my favorite, these will certainly help get us through winter as the Yukon Golds did not produce well (one crate) for the second year in a row. I'm beginning to question my supplier on them. I used to get tons of Yukons . Thoughts???

The First Brandywine-finally!! August 23....a full week later than last year. It looks like BLT's are on the menu for lunch today. Oddly enough, the Jetstar -which have a much shorter maturity time-are still not ready. Looks like I will have to share this one with Don. Rats.

Hope you all have a wonderful week. To those in the east-batten down the hatches and stay safe!

Garden Update-August 14,2011

2011-08-14T05:28:00.018-04:00

Another busy week dig,dig, digging. The weather cooled off to what it should be--mid 70's, and that makes it time to work on expanding those borders some more.

The Morning Glories by the garage are finally starting to bloom. The middle flower is Grandpa Ott's--the other 2 are sports of it that came up by themselves this year. That's the great thing about these-you only need to plant them once.

The bed next to the driveway continues to change. The Russian Sage is getting darker by the day--it is the most beautiful shade of blue now. I tried for years to grow it in Hellinois--but it obviously didn't like it there either. Here in the dry sand it thrives.

Got another section dug on the west side of the house. I have to keep it covered in tarps so the rain doesn't wash my sand away. I'm hoping with the rain we received this week (4/10th's inch on Tuesday and 1/2 " yesterday) that I'll be able to mow the yard and get grass clippings to top this new section off for the winter. It will be planted in annuals for a year to make sure all the Bishop's Weed (aegopodium---AWFUL AWFUL INVASIVE) is completely gone.

I finally got around to digging out all those orange ditch lilies that had come right through the sheet mulching I did here. I am now behind a FULL YEAR because of that. I'll be planting with annuals in this bed next spring too. I know a LOT of folks have luck with sheet mulching. I'm sure with just grass it works well, but not with lilies and aegopodium. I knew deep down when I tried it here it was a mistake. Live and learn.

The bed on the southeast corner---The Cleome loves it here. It completely "ran over" the Artemesia 'Powis Castle' and is attempting to do that with the Heliopsis too. Love the look of them together---I'll move them further apart in the spring.

The Scummy Pond Bed is filling in nicely. I have to add a bit more grass clippings to this bed (if I ever get to mow again!)

The Winter Sown perennials are waiting to be transplanted into the veg. garden to over-winter as beds open up. I've already planted Agastache cana, Physostegia "Summer Snow', and Salvia 'Blue Cloud' and 'Vatican White'. Still to transplant-Echinops, Echinacea, Gaura,Foxglove, Verbena Pink Spires, Solidago, Heliopsis and Hollyhocks.

In the vegetable garden, things are starting to really look tired. A lot of beds are opening up as things get harvested and stored for the long winter.

The Yukon golds got dug this week (August 12), four days earlier than last year. Size was bigger than last years', but the quantity was LOW. Only about 25 pounds. I'm hopeful the others will produce more. Looks like the Russet Norkotahs are next in line to dig. I noticed they are starting to die back now. Red Pontiacs still going strong.

The Brandywine tomato still is not even thinking of giving me a nice ripe one yet. Still waiting.

I covered the Fastbreak Melons with a blue tarp to prevent the rain from rotting them. I have at least 2 melons that are REALLY CLOSE to ripening. It's best to withhold water close to harvest as it concentrates the sugars (or so I've read............)

The daily harvests are small and nothing to write home about. I get about 1 cuke and 1 zuchinni a day. A handful of berries. A handful of cherry tomatoes. Here a kohlrabi, there a cabbage. A fistful of carrots. Nothing spectacular, just enough. I guess I feel like I don't have much compared to others, but then I realize---that's how I want it. Just enough. I grow ALL the green beans, onions, potatoes, garlic, herbs, and salad fixings we use for the year. So one plant of each is enough. One zuchinni plant, one cucumber plant, one each of the different tomatoes. I guess I'm in trouble if I ever have a failure on them, but I'm not that concerned. I've lived without before, I probably will again.

Have a wonderful week!

Garden Update August 7,2011 The Vegetable Garden

2011-08-07T05:55:00.000-04:00

Another week of endless sunshine. I know that sounds terrible, but we need rain. We did get 4/10 of an inch Tuesday night, but with temps in the mid 80's and humidity at desert levels, that rain was gone practically the next day.

I picked the final Contender Green Beans on Tuesday and pulled those plants. I am DONE with the green beans. Final tally--42 pint bags in the freezer, a huge vat of green bean and potato soup in the refrigerator and some very happy neighbors too.

I dug the 3 "volunteer" potato plants that had come up in two separate beds. The one Yukon gold plant only had 2 large and one tiny potato and had a good case of scab on them. . The 2 Red Pontiacs yielded over 5 pounds.

The onions look to be next up on the harvest. The tops are starting to fall over. I have stolen 4 out of the garden, as my Copra's from last year ran out early this year. I think that was due to the smaller size of them. I've never ran out early before. I'm just glad I didn't have to BUY one.

A quick trip to the garden was all that was necessary.

This represents our total haul from FIFTEEN BLUEBERRY BUSHES. Yep. Mrs. Robin sure has been busy. It's my own fault for not covering them. How in the heck does anyone get any? I thought for sure I'd have plenty. Wrong!

I think the Yukon Golds are telling me they're ready! This little tent "collapsed" in the past few days.

The Matt's Wild Cherry are starting to come in now. I get a small handful every day. And yes, I've been sharing with Don.

The Brandywines are getting quite large now. Enough growing----Ripen!!! I have bacon to fry!

The Butternut have started to form this past week. I don't eat them--I grow them for my neighbor with the donkeys. Small price to pay for great fertilizer!

The Fastbreak Melon has gone crazy. There must be 20 melons total. I'm really looking forward to these-they're delicious and just the right size for two people.

This is my big screw up...............see those itty bitty seedlings. That's my fall broccoli crop. Yea. I've got less than 30 days until my first frost. Don't think they'll make it in time. Rats!

This is the cauliflower I planted when I was supposed to. Why didn't I plant the broccoli then?????? Well, at least I have this. It's been a terrible year for me for broccoli. I only have 5 bags in the freezer for this winter. Looks like I'll have to buy some this winter.

Hope you're all having a great week. Happy Gardening to all!

End of the Month Roundup--July

2011-08-01T02:29:00.018-04:00

July gone? Really? Cripes.
Boring Boring Boring post ahead---for my reference. Go read someone else's blog!

This month we had:
29 Sunny Days--I am so sick of sunshine I could scream
2 Cloudy days
1.75" rain for the month....not nearly enough for even a week with our sand!--It is sooooooooooo dry out there. The only time it rained was AT NIGHT. Every day---day after day---SUNNY. ACK!
The grass is completely dead. It is a sea of brown. We seriously need some rain.
Temps have been average. We had one really awful night that only got down to 83. It's summer.

Strawberries ended July 12. Best year ever--75 quarts. Tore up Honey-O and Jewels. Will replace with new varieties next year. Hated the Honey-O's--sour and the Jewels were a tangled mess. I am keeping my Cabots. I'm undecided about the Northeaster. They are the BEST TASTING--but don't produce much.

The new berries I planted are all doing well and I've been staying on top of the weeding and keeping them from putting out runners.

Green bean harvest began July 22. I pick every other day. Harvest started with Blue Lake (love them, but so many are CURLED), Contender started by July 24 (hate them--tough, fiber-y) and the Top Crop started July 26 (undecided--good taste, straight, but they are "sticky" and the blossums stick to them and they're hard to clean up for processing). Pulled Blue Lake already (3 pickings). I have 36 pint bags (2 cups each) in the freezer. One more picking (tomorrow) and I'll have the full years worth. I'll rip up the other two beds and prep them for winter.

Sunflowers started blooming in earnest just yesterday. This is from the Autumn Beauty mix-Botanical Interests.

From the "Flash" blend-Botanical Interests. Not my favorite--very dark, but it IS the bee's favorite! At times, there are as many as 10-15 bees PER FLOWER. So, I'll grow these again next year.

The Aztec Gold sunflower from Burpee----short season SEED PRODUCER. Nice sized heads, the stalks are reasonably sized (6') and they produce quickly (70 days) so this is a keeper for my garden!

First cucumber EVER-July 29. Though I love salads, for some odd reason I've never grown them before. Will grow again next year.

First Matt's Wild Cherry--July 29. Tiny. REALLY TINY. Lack of water??? Crazy year?????

Also, the first blueberry we managed to harvest from TWELVE BUSHES. Note for next year--stop procrastinating and COVER THE DAMN BUSHES.

July 31 Harvested 7 heads Cauliflower. Looking a bit ratty. Rotten weather. But again--the row covers worked beautifully to keep them completely pest free. And they're good enough for soup.

First cabbage-July 31

Looks terrible, but this represents a major win---first year they aren't riddled with bugs. Again--the ROW COVERS were the trick. The only thing is I MUST USE HOOPS to keep fabric OFF the cabbage. The leaves kind of "rotted" where the fabric touched. Perfect underneath though. AND NO BUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The garden over-all is doing okay, especially considering the HOT DAYS we're experiencing and the LACK OF WATER

Garlic harvest this year-July 21 .

The pumpkins and butternut squash--though huge and healthy, have not put out any fruit.

Melons-

The Fastbreak Melon is LOADED....and I have a couple that should be ready in a week or so.

The Hearts of Gold Melon--lots of blossums but no melons.

Onions--starting to fall over. Last year I harvested on Aug 13, so about 2 weeks to go.

Potatoes look to be progressing well. The Yukons look close to harvest. Last years harvest was Aug 16.

Tomatoes: Overall-extremely healthy plants this year. No rain. Coincidence?

Did have to De-Hornworm them starting July 30. They were loaded!

Matts Wild Cherry-just starting. The fruits are TINY this year. ?

Brandywine -Loaded with fruit. Last years first one ripened Aug 19.

Jetstar-Loaded, but none turning

Yellow Pear-Lots of fruit, but none ripening

SuperSweet 100-Lots of fruit, but none ripe yet

Zuchinni-I get a couple every few days. I've just been shredding them for the freezer. Too hot to bake now.

Broccoli ---bad year. I did get SOME for the freezer, but not nearly enough....only 5 bags. Worse yet, my starts for the fall crop are not doing well. I'm going to plant them anyway--even though I won't have enough time.

Cauliflower-seven out of 9 plants produced. I did get fall starts in for them. Hope that crop looks better.

Raspberries--where the heck are they this year?????????????????

Carrots--I've gotten several really good harvests, but I did not keep up with sowing and am now running out of them. So much for my plan!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we EVER get rain again, I will try sowing more and use a cold frame on them if needed.

Lettuce/Spinach/Radishes--If we EVER get rain again, I'll start sowing them again.

Misc---first year I wasn't fanatical about keeping stuff weeded in the aisles. I have LOTS of volunteers--escpecially Portulaca. And I love them. Relax, Sue, relax. And let things go..........

Garden Update July 29,2011

2011-07-29T05:09:00.017-04:00

The week has been BUSY! We got a call from our neighbor with the donkeys. Leona and friends have been busy making fertilizer for my gardens. It was unexpected. I wasn't planning on it until September-our usual "doo" hauling time, but they've been busy churning out fertilizer, and I NEVER turn down that!

I had to dig like a crazy woman to get the weeds/plants out of this area. I was planning on doing it next month. Amazing how motivated I can get at the thought of free "doo".

Because without "doo", my gardens could NEVER do this on their own. I have sand, and as the ad slogan goes---Pure Michigan!

Now I'm messing with you---the view from my upstairs of that west border I'm working on.

I now have the whole top part dug and ready for planting next spring.

This is to the right

And to the left. And all thats left of that tangle of Aegopodium (Bishops Weed) from the previous owner. I can't do anymore this year---It's so bad, you can't even see that there are LARGE rocks in there. Next spring..................ack!

And in the vegetable garden......we've gotten a crummy 2/10's inch of rain in 2 weeks. The hose has been busy.

The green beans have begun. It started with the Blue Lake, then Contender. I noticed that the Top Crop are ready now too. I've picked for the whole week and have 22 of the 42 pints I'll need for the year already blanched , vacuum-sealed, and in the freezer.

Tons of perennials on the deck (and in pots in the garage and behind the garage!) waiting for the new borders.

The birds have cleaned MOST of the blueberries off the bushes. I finally got them covered.

Don finally got the wagon he wanted for the front of the barn at an auction last week. He drove darn near 30 miles with it on a trailer and was ALMOST home when one of the hubs broke. I felt so bad for him.......but he managed to rig up a brace for the rear axle and it looks okay.

And yes, I'm filling it with flowers next year!

And finally-we got word that the Amish are going to be here in late August or early September to put the addition on the back of the barn. What does this mean? Four more blue tarps available for Sue!!! They've been covering the wood for the addition and will soon be available for more beds and borders.

Have a great weekend! May the rain fall (but not too much) and the sun be warm (but not too much!). I guess all things in moderation (except chocolate!)

Garden Update July 22,2011

2011-07-22T04:53:00.006-04:00

Well, Sue and the garden survived the heatwave intact. Lots of new things blooming in the garden.

And the best part of hot weather????? Yes, Erin, that IS a Brandywine tomato. I am so happy!!

Pulled the garlic yesterday (June 21). I got 42 heads , most a good size, about 8 that were dinky.

I hung it on my clothesline under the covered deck to cure.

The Phlox along the south border of the vegetable garden is now in bloom. Love the combo with the Achillea. The Delphiniums they are planted with faded with all the heat, though, so it's not the display it was last year.

My 'Razzmatazz' Coneflower has really taken off--it is the 2nd year for this clump and it's filling in nicely.

Next to the driveway, the Perovskia (Russian Sage) has started to bloom. In its third year, it has really sized up nicely.
We took a couple day trip this past week and I got a bee skep to complete this bed.

The Scummy Pond bed I started this spring is also filling in quite well.

Yes, that's another blue tarp you see in the picture. Sigh.

The "COOL SUMMER" that was called for did NOT appear, and my alyssum sandwiched in between the sidewalk and driveway is FRIED. Oh well, maybe next year!

The barrels out by the road have filled in nicely.

By the back door/utilities, the Adonophera is in full bloom. Gorgeous. The Sweet Autumn Clematis did not bounce back after Bunny ate it last winter. I hate this bare wall. I have to find some way to cover those meters.

Other news in the vegetable garden--got my first two zuchinnis and this morning, once it gets light out , I'll be picking the first of the green beans. A BIG hooray on that.

Actually , they were ready yesterday but without air conditioning, I am NOT blanching beans when the house is 86 degrees.

Have a great weekend!!!

Garden Update July 15,2011

2011-07-15T01:04:00.021-04:00

It's been a busy week. I finished clearing another section on the west side of the house. The neighbors are probably celebrating the removal of another blue tarp from our yard.

Not to worry, though. There are still like TEN of them distributed around the place.

The sheet mulching on the southwest corner of the house was a disaster. Those orange lilies broke through 8" of donkey doo and several thick layers of cardboard like it wasn't even there.

My quest for an orange-free garden goes bust yet again! And the shovel is going to be busy. Again!

The Delphiniums in the front have FINALLY been tied to the stakes that I had put in early in the season. Took a whopping 10 minutes. So, why did I WAIT UNTIL HALF THE FLOWER STALKS BROKE??????????????????? Note to self: stop being a procrastinator!!

Into the vegetable garden we go............................................

South border of the fruit garden is filling in nicely. Raspberries forming-looks to be a good crop.

Canteloupe (bottom right of photo) is not liking the cooler weather. Next week is supposed to be hot, though, so perhaps I'll get some growth out of it then.

The Howden pumpkin IS doing well though. Of course, don't pumpkins ALWAYS try to take over everything?

Blueberries are just starting to show the slightest tinge of blue. Won't be long now. The sunflowers on the west border are now about four feet tall. North side flower border is filling in well.

The cauliflower has not headed yet. I did plant the fall crop (9 plants) this week.

I can't believe how much I love the covered beds. No pest problems at all. The garden looks a bit "silly", but so what. Gives Cranky Dolores (neighbor) something else to make snide remarks about.

The broccoli looks like it should all be ready this weekend. I sure hope so as it is supposed to get really hot next week. I'd hate for it to bolt.

The garlic should be pulled next week. It shares a bed with the Fast Break Melon, which is just starting to really take off.

I cut the first kohlrabi on the 14th. That's kind of late, but Don said it was very good-not woody at all. I don't know why they seemed to have been so "leafy". Too much nitrogen?

Picked the final 9x13 cake pan full of strawberries on July 12, giving me a FULL 3 week harvest of almost 75 quarts. Yes. You read that right. We had pie every day, the freezer is stuffed, the neighbors each got 6 quarts. If I never see a berry again, I'll be happy. Well, until next year at least.

I sowed 9-packs of Green Goliath Broccoli, Silver Cup 40 Cauliflower, Baby's Leaf Spinach, and Buttercrunch Lettuce on Thursday for fall crops . Hard to believe I only have about 6 weeks left until the first frost.

Rainfall-a scant 1/4 " on July 11. That brings us up to 3/4" for the month. Thank goodness for mulch.

The Garden EXPLODES

2011-07-08T07:43:00.008-04:00

The time has finally arrived. I'm starting to get big harvests of vegetables.....weeks (months) after so many others. But, heh heh---it's been cool, so THBBBBBBBBBB.
:)
I cut my first 2 heads of broccoli this morning-one batch blanched for Broccoli/Pasta AuGratin, the rest made into Cream of Broccoli soup-all within an hour of cutting.
The peas-I started to shell, but realized at the half way point that I was only going to end up with about 1/2 cup. I'm saving them for fresh eating whole instead. Much easier, and frankly, much tastier.

Yes, strawberries are STILL coming in. This is by far the longest harvest I've ever had.
I've got enough frozen to last the whole winter. We are now SICK of strawberries. Even the neighbors got at least 6 quarts each. Successful, despite the mold issues. And yes, Mama Pea,
as soon as that precious grandbaby goes home on Monday, I'm going to take GOOD CARE of my patch. Lesson Learned!

The only rose I've not been able to successfully anihilate. The miniature rose is one of those from the grocery store. Plant them!!! They are tough as nails (I'm a Zone 4, I don't fertilize, I don't spray!) Positively Sue-Proof roses!!

The Heliopsis has just opened.

The "Major Wheeler" honeysuckle from High Country Gardens. Beautiful. I'm planning on moving it to the new trellis early next spring.

One of the Dahlias. Sorry-I wrote in marker on the label. It faded. Rats.

My crazy Delphiniums I grew from seed. They're in their second year and are well over 5 foot tall. Some of the stems are as big around as corn stalks (I remember corn. Long time ago.....)

A full lush garden.

Nights have been in the upper 50's, daytime temps at 80. Mosquitoes-ACK. A half inch rain for the week.

Hope you all had a fine week. Enjoy the day!

End of the Month Roundup-June 2011

2011-07-01T09:47:00.007-04:00

Well, happy July to all! June flew by--probably because I was so busy in the garden.
The Salvia along the sidewalk is now in its full glory. It's gorgeous and the bees LOVE it!!

June had18 sunny days with an average temp of mid 70's and nights in the 40's and 50's.
June 7 and 8 did hit 90. June 28 saw a high of only 64. Talk about a see-saw of temperatures.
We had 5.3" of rain for the month---about twice our normal amount.

Can you believe this was just 4 weeks ago?

The sunflowers are starting to grow well along the west border of the fruit garden. Most are Burpee Aztec, a short season sunflower grown for seeds. It matures in only 70 days-hopefully!

Note I've got MOST of the raspberries cleaned up--I'm NOT moving the original plants until I get a batch of berries first. It's the least they can do after I dug and dug and dug those runners!

The Argyranthemum my good friend Deb Arnold got for me on her visit up is thriving. I have a new favorite for pots on the front porch. They are amazing. Non stop blooms. I dead head about 3 blossums off each plant every morning. Beautiful!

Wonder Hubby strikes again. He made me a trellis for the fruit garden out of 2 old ladders and a couple pieces of decorative brackets he had in the barn . My TOTALLY FREE trellis will soon hold some Trumpet Vine and Lonicera for the Hummingbirds. Yea!!

The vegetable garden is growing well. I splurged $47 at Johnny's online for a 250' roll of Agribon fabric. WELL WORTH IT. We had a huge invasion of bugs this spring (why????) and this stuff has protected everything so well. My crotchety neighbor had to stop, of course, and tell me I could have just sprayed everything. Yea. Well. No. But thanks for your opinion!!

Another freebie project in the works. My plumber gave me this old wagon. He knows I love rusty junk to use for planters. I decided to make a miniature garden. I used popsicle sticks and various rocks and sedums, etc from my yard. The trellis is trimmings from my birch tree. All free.

A close-up of my fence and gate---I used a tiny piece of branch for a handle. Too cute!

And lastly--I added this photo because I had to show how cold it's been--I came in from picking strawberries yesterday and the lens of the camera fogged up when I came into the house. We had 39 degrees......on the last day of June. Love that! Tomatoes do not.

Strawberry Harvests Hit Full Swing--June 27,2011

2011-06-27T08:18:00.005-04:00

Harvest of the strawberries continues. I have gone from roughly 2 quarts a day to around 4 quarts a day. I head out first thing in the morning to pick. They decorate the counter all day--we munch and munch and munch on them. Those left in the evening are processed for the freezer. I used to slice them up and add sugar and vacuum seal them. Now I have been pureeing them into the consistency of applesauce and freezing them into 1/2 cup portions. I never cared for the mushiness of the sliced ones. This is more like eating applesauce--just made with strawberries.

Very good indeed. The freezer is filling quickly.

The sad part is that I'm throwing away at least 1 strawberry for every good one I pick. The heavy rains of last week guaranteed a bad case of mold. Even worse, by my own neglect of my patch, much of this problem is my own fault. I did not keep them thinned. I also left a lot of "debris" in from last year. Shame on me, and lesson learned!! I will be using Mama Pea's http://ahomegrownjournal.blogspot.com/ method of tending them from now on. A little bit (ok-a LOT) of work up front saves a lot of misery later on.

Have a great week!

Relentless Rains=Explosive Growth

2011-06-23T17:46:00.005-04:00

Since Monday we have had 4" of rain. That's what we normally get in 6 weeks.

Top photo taken June 15

Bottom photo taken 8 days later on June 23.

This might be considered good. But, my strawberry crop, which looked to be the BEST EVER, is dangerously close to rotting. Many berries are now covered with a thick coating of greyish white mold.

The flowers are fairing much better, but I did lose several Rudbeckia already to rot.

Another lesson on counting the chickens before they hatch.....................................

Garden Update June 23

2011-06-22T08:40:00.010-04:00

Spring has FINALLY arrived. And yes, I know summer has already arrived, but this is the top of Michigan. It takes awhile to get to some warmth.
We've had a bit over 2" rain the past two days and you can practically watch stuff grow.

Deb Arnold (my good friend!)-this is the varigated form of Sea Holly (Eryngium-I'll get you to use the Latin names sooner or later if it KILLS me!) It's LOADED with blooms-I'm looking forward to that.

The peas are beginning to produce heavily.

The broccoli is doing well in their little tents.

Still getting tons of salad fixings. The weather had been quite cold so they are still sweet and delicious.

The three new beds of strawberries that I ordered from Nourse. As usual, I'm extremely pleased with their order. Didn't lose a one, and they are all healthy. Cavendish, Northeaster, and Record-24 plants each variety.

The strawberries I already have are loaded so heavily. I'm just starting to have them turn. Looks like the freezer will be full and also plenty for pies and fresh eating. I'll be removing the Honey-O after they are done.

Blueberry bushes are all loaded .....looks like a bumper crop this year for the birds and chipmunks ahead. Hope they leave me SOME!

My Penstemon "Elfin Pink" blooming for the first time. I love them. They will be moved to the sidewalk border this fall. They certainly rate a space up there!

The flowers on the deck are all doing well.

The Nepeta "Walker's Low" is outstanding. The bees love it and so do I.

And I FINALLY got the drainage problem completely corrected, so the neighbors will be cheering the removal of the blue tarp (one of DOZENS in my yard!) and I'll be planting up this section with annuals for this summer........to be followed with perennials next spring when I'm sure all the Bishops Weed and grasses are completely gone. Hooray! Onto the next 10 foot section.

End of the Month Roundup-May

2011-06-15T03:52:00.002-04:00

Yes, you read that right. May. Because I have been without internet for TWO WEEKS. And Hughes Net (insert expletives!!!) has LOUSY customer service. And really, they don't CARE if you don't have internet for two weeks. But enough about that.

May saw temps ranging from low 40's to mid 80's for the highs. We had 21 sunny days, a total rainfall of 3.8" for the month and by far the BEST display of Lilacs and Apple Blossums in years!

I think we are going to have a HUGE apple crop this year---thank goodness, because we haven't had any in 2 years due to late frosts.

Dandelions didn't seem to last as long this year-3rd and 4th week of May and then gone-yea!

Biggest news for the month was the delivery May 26 of bees from the local Apiary in Manton. The fella is "storing" his bees at our place for the summer. Wow. It's very "buzzy" here. I'm not sure if we will do this again next year. Though the bees are extremely gentle, they seem to congregate at our cruddy old frog pond and this seems to freak a lot of people out. We're not talking a few bees here. It's more like hundreds and hundreds of bees at a time. On a bright note, I should have the best pollinated crops of anyone!

Got LOTS of spinach, salad greens and radishes from the garden.

Everything looks to be growing well. Weeds are at a minimum now that I'm in the third year of this garden, so there isn't any maintenance in the vegetable garden at all. I'm working more on prepping new flower beds than anything else.

Garden Update May 23-28

2011-05-29T04:41:00.021-04:00

Another busy week. Hubby bought me this gigantic hanging basket of petunias. I just love the striping on it. I must have done something right.......perhaps it was that chocolate cake I baked the other day? It's so very true what they say about the way to a man's heart. At least in this house!

Started planting the areas around the house, as all the concrete, etc holds a bit of heat and can stave off frosts a little better. Though these pictures are "blah", I like to take before and after shots of areas. It's a good reference for what works, what doesn't, and how many plants I need.
So, Planting bed by the garage door-4 Sizzle Geraniums, 5 white Alyssum, 2 Purple Alyssum, and 2 Dusty Miller. Not trying to bore you---again, it's for MY reference.

Sidewalk Border-Not done, but so far-9 Osteospermum, 4 marigolds, 4 Rudbeckia fulgida "Goldsturm", 3 Stachys, 2 Dianthus, 4 Impatiens, 2 Geraniums, 6 Dusty Miller, and a partridge in a pear tree. Just seeing if you're still awake.

Deck planter--3 Wave Petunias, 6 geraniums saved from last year, misc. houseplants yet to be moved out because it's still dipping to the upper 20's at night. Yeesh. Mama Pea-quit sending it my way!

Old copper tubs on deck (3 of them) -2 Dark Blue Wave petunias and 1 veined wave petunia (I'm trying that veined petunia for the first time-I used to use a Diamond Frost Euphorbia, but it always got "lost" in the Wave petunias-hopefully this will work out better)

I can't get over how skimpy these look at first....but a bit of time and this planter will be so pretty and full.

The barrels by the road got done yesterday too. One each yellow , white, and a purple callibrachoa, 2 dusty miller, a silver and a lime green helichrysum, 3 sizzle geraniums, 2 Salvia and one Spike per barrel (2 barrels total)

The newly planted lilacs by the road are blooming despite their small size. I love them in this corner. They were in the middle of the yard and were a pain to mow around. Much better spot for them.

Don rented a stump grinder for the long holiday weekend and is happily ridding the yard of all those stumps we've had to mow around the past 3 summers. Rental was $100 for the 3 days, versus $450 for the average quote we received of removing the 6 stumps. Good going, Wonder Hubby!

The vegetable garden is doing well. I'm not planting the tender veggies until end of NEXT week. We're still very cold at night so there is no point in risking it. The tomatoes would just "sit" there cold and miserable anyway and since I don't know how to knit or sew little jackets for them, they'll stay in the laundry room at night for now.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend, and please remember the wonderful folks that made (and still make!) great sacrifices to keep us a free nation.

Blogger, Where for Art Thou..........

2011-05-26T18:26:00.006-04:00

As you are well aware, there are problems with blogger.

As it stands, I am backed up over 200 posts and am unable to comment to most.

This has left me frustrated and I'm taking the weekend to plant flowers and veggies.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

And Blogger---Straighten Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Garden Update May 10-22, 2011

2011-05-23T03:26:00.010-04:00

Busy Busy this past 2 weeks. Much progress has been made.
The geraniums from inside have been brought out to "toughen up" and lend a colorful air to the deck. Right now, it's the ONLY thing of beauty that's going on here.

We have once again made the neighbors wonder if it is EVER going to straighten up at the
place. Our yard has been ripped up in various LARGE pieces every year for the past 3 years.

Well, this summer is no different. Why stop making a mess now?

But , as dear hubby would say, this is the "gooder-est " mess yet. I have water in the garden.

THREE YEARS I hauled water the 300 yards to my vegetables. THREE LONG YEARS. And

now that is done. I am one very happy lady.

And of course, since installing that water, we have had plentiful rain. We have received a month's worth of rain ( 2.7" ) since my last post less than 2 weeks ago.

I've harvested lots of spinach. The radishes are abundant. Lettuce, though a bit small yet, are sweet and delicious.

Planted in the past 12 days--all potatoes, onions, celery (my first attempt ever at this one!) , broccoli, cauliflower, carrots,brussels sprouts (again, a first for me) , and just yesterday 2 rows of green beans.

I've done remarkably well this year with succession sowing. Every time a row of peas, etc. pops up, I sow more. I should have a steady supply of produce this summer. The first two years , I had a one bumper crop (can you say OVER-WHELMING!!) of each crop. Not this year. It takes me a bit to get smart.

I train my peas with an old window screen pushed against them-it will be removed as soon as they can reach that first rung.

The new guardian of the garden. Hubby got him for me at a flea market. I love that it was carved to sit on a corner.

The sidewalk border has been mulched heavily with "donkey-doo" and topped with a thick

layer of grass clippings. The perennials have responded with a healthy burst of growth.

I haven't potted up herbs for the ladder yet, or planted any annuals. We are still going to get heavy frosts this coming week. No planting of "delicates" until June 4.

I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone's gardens online. We are all in such various stages of growth. For those of us in the far north, it's wonderful to be able to see flowers in bloom and vegetables being harvested. I just have to be content with pictures for now.

Garden Update May 1-10 and Stupidity Rears It's Ugly Head

2011-05-11T02:56:00.010-04:00

Stupidity has reared it's ugly head in the fruit garden. My, how dumb I can be. I put raspberries in the fruit garden, arrogantly assuming that corraling them in boxes would stop them from doing what berries are supposed to do---TAKE OVER THE WORLD. I am completely overwhelmed and find myself ignoring this portion of the garden because I just don't know what to do. I can't "spray" them---I refuse to use chemical "goo". I can't dig them. Well, I could. But there are MILLIONS of them. Ignoring them really isn't an option either, as eventually they will swallow the whole garden up. It's times like this I wish I had a magic wand. Or maybe a stiff drink.

I've started "rocking" the pathways in the sidewalk/kitchen window beds. I made drainage "ditches" in the paths to funnel water away and hopefully this will solve my problems with wash out in rains. The rock was "re-purposed" from the old pond area.

We've removed the Octogon garden and the Arbor/garden area and I've made calls to various people to FINALLY get water lines run to the garden (yea-no more hauling water!!) and to the future mystery project area. We stored the rocks and timbers for future projects.

Now, into the vegetable garden. The garlic is doing great.

The salad beds are doing fine too. I had Don watch me eat some freshly plucked spinach, in case I went into convulsions from FINALLY having some vitamins! Boy, it's been a long winter!

We picked up our annual batch of trees for the yard at Dutchman's Tree Sale this past weekend.

Other "Doings" so far this month:

I've finished edging around the entire vegetable garden.

Sowed all the Heat Lovers (melons, squashes, etc) into peat pots for transplanting in June

Potatoes arrived from Vermont Bean --I have to get those in soon.

I actually mowed a couple spots in the yard (for the clippings--to use for mulch)

Cleaned up front borders --transplanted some perennial splits in

Moved some perennial splits into the new East Border. (and on that note---I do NOT LIKE "sheet-mulching". Despite a winter buried under 8 inches of Donkey Doo/leaves/grass clippings and a thick layer of cardboard-when I went to dig holes for the perennials-I had to "cut" through the old grass layer. I'm concerned it will still grow into the new plantings)

The Winter Sown perennials are popping up and doing quite well. I'll transplant them into "nursery beds" for one year till they reach a good size to transplant into that new East Border.

The seedlings I started are having some "issues" that are making me question why I even bother starting my own. I like starting peppers/tomatoes, etc....but flower seedlings are frustrating. Many are weak, spindly, and not doing as well as I had hoped. I looked up in my journal from last year and I had noted this last year and put a reminder NOT TO BOTHER with the annuals. But , do I listen? Nope. Well, it's been noted yet again. We'll see if NEXT YEAR is any different.

Temps are FINALLY normal-but there has only been one day of rain since April 28th....and it was a LOUSY 2/10ths of an inch on May 10. I really need those water lines. Now.

End of the Month Roundup-April

2011-05-01T04:06:00.011-04:00

Why look-SOMETHING of color in my yard.
What a month. Cold. Snowy. Endless.
Only NINE sunny days this month.
Five days of snow totaling 2" or more.
On April 10th , we had our first thunderstorm of the year--2 rumbles of thunder. Whoopie!
But it rained enough to green up the lawn.
And then it snowed some more.
Our third week had a 2"snow, a 4" snow, and 2 days of snow that melted right away.
Fourth week-Don and I took off for a couple days and it rained a whopping 3 1/4 ".
We only had 3 days (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) this month that were "normal" temps-the rest averaged 15-20 degrees BELOW NORMAL. NWS forecast for this summer--well below normal. Good for Sue but guess that means no tomatoes . Out of 4 years of living here, I only got tomatoes ONCE. Sigh.

The heavy rain revealed a flaw in the new raised Kitchen Window border. That's one of the reasons I NEVER plant up a bed the first year.......I need to see what is going to happen first.

Bed that was "donkey-doo" prepped last fall is ready to plant up this spring.

A gift from a neighbor--doesn't look like much right now, but this is 7 HUGE clumps of Karl Foerster ornamental grass---in the nursery , this would run about $100 for plants this size.

My cost? Don plowed them out when the came back from wintering in Texas. Deal!

The cold frames, which I WAS happy with until going to
http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/ and seeing how wonderful her garden is coming along.

The onions I ordered from Dixondale were waiting for us when we arrived home this week. I planted 175 of them and covered them with my bridal veil material to foil the birds. Last year, the Blue Jays had a blast plucking them out. Not this year-evil Blue Devil!

The garlic continues to get larger, despite all the snowy setbacks.

I've used the same material to protect my sugar snap peas that popped up the 29th.

This stuff is so sheer, it gets all the light and rain, but protects from the birds.

The baby snap peas. Ooooo-I can't wait.

I sowed a row of Tall Telephone peas on the 29th when I saw these popped up. I'm trying to do better with succession sowing this year. Too many open spots in the garden last year.

The house is filled to overflowing with flats of seedlings. Usually by now they are spending their days out on the deck, but it's been much too cold this spring.

I'm behind on a lot of things, but did manage to sow a flat each of zinnias and cosmos yesterday.

I'll be sowing pumpkins/squashes/morning glories and other warm weather lovers in the next week to meet my June 4th planting day.

April 1-15 Garden Update

2011-04-15T01:32:00.019-04:00

Temperatures have finally reached "normal" for here--upper 40's and that means SPRING!!! The only "color" around here is in this pots on my windowsill. The rest of this post is still our early spring shades of brown and gray. Sigh. The garlic has popped up in the past week --I thinned the straw covering it, but did leave a good protective layer. This is Northern Michigan , after all, and they are calling for snow showers this weekend. The cold frame I sowed April 1st. Radish, Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots, and Bunching Onions. It's grown a bit since I took this photo 2 days ago. I finished edging the west side of the fruit garden and most of the north side. Good thing we grow a lot of stones around here. That cruddy old pond I've been griping about (and ignoring!)---well -THIS IS THE YEAR! I hauled four truck loads of stones from here....some went to the fruit garden, some of the big ones will be used for the Kitchen Window bed, and the rest were piled in storage for later projects and the "new" pond. And the pond area cleaned up with all the rocks and plastic removed. Don just has to move the biggest rocks for me with his tractor bucket. The smaller "big rocks" I'll move to the Kitchen Window border when I recover from this project.

The Donkey Doo in the Fruit Garden that we brought in last fall has composted down nicely and is ready to grow some pumpkins this summer. I ran the tiller through it and gotta say-I hate using a tiller. Noisy, difficult. Glad I don't have to use it but once a year tilling "doo".

And since it's Spring, that means another Hauling Day . The neighbors' Donkeys have been extra busy this winter and we had extra. So , we made one pile that is 10'wide and 20' long that we put behind the vegetable garden. And the rest got distributed to (new)flower borders...............

I'm having to extend the new East Border before I even have it planted. I don't know what I was thinking--with the plans I had made, it's going to have to be much wider. This load of Donkey Doo is a start. I'm still proceeding with planting in the bed I had set up last fall--I just have to work around the fact that right now-it's not wide enough.

And in the Front border, I laid out a cardboard base to help smother weedy groundcover from previous owner on the west side of the front porch. I hadn't planned on getting to this bed until next year, but with extra loads of Donkey Doo this year, I figured what the heck!

Topped off with 3 loads of fresh Donkey Doo. Will top that with heavy layers of grass clippings

once the mowing season begins and let that break down until NEXT spring.

End of the Month RoundUp-March

2011-04-01T04:36:00.005-04:00

Arrived home March 18 anxious to get the cold frames set up and get a good start on seed sowing this year. Biggest mistake of my life. This was a brutal March and a good reminder to stay out of Michigan for the ENTIRE month. We did manage a good 15 days of sun. We had three days of light snow. We had 3 days mid month that hit into the 50's (that FOOLED me into thinking we should go home early-BIG MISTAKE) On March 23rd, we received our biggest snow of the entire season-12" of heavy wet snow. It had no trouble sticking around--the temps since then have been 10-20 degrees BELOW NORMAL. FIVE DAYS LAST WEEK WERE BELOW ZERO TEMPS. UGH! Yesterday-March 31st FINALLY warmed up , reaching a balmy 47 degrees-I was thrilled. Actually got out to the garage to clean up my potting bench. The cold frames are still frozen rock hard and the yard is full of snow though so not much else accomplished. REPEAT-----NEVER , EVER (!!!!!) come home early. March SUCKS.

There is NOTHING cuter than baby geraniums!!

The geraniums from the basement..........really not doing so well. NEXT YEAR(!!) I WILL take cuttings in the fall and grow on the windowsills. It works out much better.

The perennials I sowed indoors have poor germination. I'll be curious to see how the winter sown ones did. Last year I had EXCELLENT results that way. I may stick with that for perennials completely next year and just concentrate on the annuals indoors.

This was the "Sidewalk Border" on March 31.

The Vegetable garden is a bit more clear of snow-I'm assuming the dark wood of the raised beds helped to radiate heat out and melt the snow. The cold frames are STILL NOT READY to plant-that is MUCH later than the past 2 years--I always managed to plant by April 1. Not this year.

March sucks.

The "Kitchen Window Border" is melting nicely and some rocks are finally appearing.

I hate March.

March 23 Snow Storm Dumps TWELVE Inches of the White Stuff

2011-03-24T04:24:00.003-04:00

Note to Self

NEVER EVER come home a week early in March. NEVER.

Sowing seeds can wait.

Sigh.

Home-March 18,2011

2011-03-19T02:10:00.024-04:00

View to the Fruit Garden and the Donkey Doo Pile

A Cold Frame set up and ready to warm things up!

Sleeping Garden

A Nice Homecoming Surprise

I arrived home late Friday afternoon after three long weeks on the road. I was VERY disappointed to see that quite a bit of snow remained. After literally throwing our luggage into the house, I headed straight out to the garden to check on the raised beds. The snow was gone there, thankfully, but the ground was still frozen solid. I got a couple beds clear of mulch and set up two coldframes. Hopefully they will warm sufficiently by next week to get some greens planted. I am dying for some good spinach and lettuce. It's been a LONG winter without.

In the house, a nice surprise awaited me. The two flats of flowers I sowed the day before we left had started germinating. I had left them covered, on a windowsill. Most things sprouted. I was thrilled that the geraniums were coming along well. I've never grown them from seed before. I moved them to the shelves we have set up with grow lights. They were a bit "tilted" from trying to get light from just the window.

Today I will be sowing broccoli, celery, peppers , and Salvia "Fairy Queen". I also have to drag up the rest of the geraniums from the basement, take cuttings from some geraniums that were upstairs, repot a few things and organize my seed box.

The wintersown stuff is still frozen solid on the back deck, as expected. Jealousy jealousy over my good friend Deb Arnolds wintersown stuff that has started to sprout already. I must console myself with the fact that SHE has to put up with Hellinois. I'll take my frozen seeds any day.

Gotcha girlfriend!

Also, I have eliminated comments. So sorry about this, but I have had one heck of a time with Blogger and problems with some comments. And to anyone who receives an email FROM me with nothing but a link on it----DO NOT CLICK on that link. It appears my email contacts list has been hijacked-tampered with.

End of the Month Roundup-February

2011-02-24T13:18:00.009-05:00

A Mid-Winter Wish

and The Sad Reality

Yes, yes, I'm early for the End of the Month. But, with Mama Pea (http://ahomegrownjournal.blogspot.com/ sending batches of the white stuff my way, we are heading out early for the annual Spring Fling (also known as Trying to Find Sun and WARMTH SOMEWHERE!!!)

So far this month-EIGHT fully sunny days, and 4 Partly Sunny days --a huge improvement over the past two months. Six days fell below zero (and they happened on the sunny days!), with our lowest temp at -11. Blech.

We also had a "spring(haha)thaw Feb 16-18 with temps raising into the upper 40's. We lost an incredible 2 feet of snow in just 3 days. Of course, it was replaced soon after, but it felt good to feel warm. I got out and rearranged my garden workspace, just to have an excuse to be out. It was much needed.

I have sowed two flats of perennials indoors today that have germination times of 21+ days, so those will be hopefully starting to show themselves when we arrive home. The wintersown stuff on the deck is safely frozen-no action expected from them.

That's about it.

I will be posting a lot on my other blog ( http://thestuffthatkeepsmeawake.blogspot.com/ ), especially the first 3 days of March when we will be in Nebraska for the spring migration of the snow geese. I'm hoping to catch GOOD video of it this year. It's a MUST-SEE. Then it's on to sunny and WARM Mesa, AZ to see the grandson. From there, it's wherever the wind blows us. The housesitter is inhouse, the truck is packed and we are set to leave first thing in the morning.

Have a great month, everyone and Happy Trails to you!

: )

End of the Month Roundup-January

2011-02-01T03:10:00.009-05:00

No, we don't have flowers or hummingbird moths around here. No. Just grey and gloom, and cold and a SERIOUS case of the mid-winter blahs. This January is going down in the books as the hugest disappointment. I'm glad it's over.

Bunny made a snack of the bottom half of my Autumn Clematis

Temps-average, Snowfall-well below normal. Three snowfalls of 4", lots of "dustings" of snow.
Started the month at 48 degrees---which fell rapidly--but, still.....how odd.

We had 6 nights that fell below 0---on the 23rd we hit 16 below (but no wind, my good friend Deb Arnold!!) For the most part, though, temps were mid 20's. We managed a whopping 4 fully sunny days and 3 partly sunny days. (THAT is why I won't buy a greenhouse-can you imagine trying to heat that night AND day??)

Winter Sowing is in full swing. The rack on the deck is filling up rapidly with "flowers".

The vegetable garden plans are complete. With food prices expected to soar, I'm more dependent on the bounty than ever.

I've never really "planned" out the flowers bordering the veggies, but even that is going to change this year. I'm hoping that will help me better use my time, as my request for more hours in the day have not been fulfilled.

I'm also PLANNING to do better with keeping beds full. I should have kept up with sowing more things after pulling stuff that was done. I had a lot of bare spots by August.

Well, that's it for now. I'm enjoying watching the southern gardeners getting their yards in shape and starting their seeds. Though I can't join in the fun for a couple months yet, it helps to watch others. AND ---Hopefully February will fly by.

March will be our usual month on the road...........and then the cold frames will be started---YEA!

Fruit Garden Plan for 2011

2011-01-27T13:20:00.011-05:00

The plan for the fruit garden this year includes the planting of three additional 4x8 boxes of strawberries-Record, NorthEaster, and Cavendish. I already have a box of Northeaster in the vegetable garden--they are incredibly sweet and I want a LOT more. The Cabot were planted last year and will be allowed to fruit this year. The berries are GIGANTIC and firm. I also have a bed of those in the vegetable garden---none of them made it to the house.
:D

Nothing is changing as far as the blueberry patch. I will continue to plant alyssum at the base of the bushes-it looks so nice, keeps down weeds, brings in pollinators, and seems to keep the plants cool and moist. I am changing out the portulace at the end of the rows though---too much of a clash with the alyssum.

The Donkey "Doo" we got in October has been composting down all winter and will be applied to the south,west, and north borders here in the fruit garden. Lots of good stuff for the flowers I will plant once again around the whole garden.

The sunflowers that I had running the 30 foot length along the north border will be moved to the west border this year. I had grown several varieties mainly for seed for the birds. The mammoth ones did not have enough time to mature before frost, despite the hot weather we had last summer. I'm hoping to get suggestions for an early maturing sunflower that produces lots of seeds. Ideas????

This year along the north border will be used as a "nursery" for baby perennials I'm growing this year from seed.

This was the west border last year--44 feet worth of zinnias-spectacular in full bloom. They will be moved this year to the south border . Gotta keep stuff rotated!!

I grew 5 different kinds of them--my favorites were the cactus zinnias. Such odd color combos.

I did raise pumpkins at the corners ---but won't be doing that again this year--it ended up clogging up the aisles, making it difficult to walk through. I'm growing Small Sugar Pie again this year-they will be planted where the donkey doo composted all winter.
The Howden pumpkins are going to go in the compost area with a fence around it. I had no idea last year that deer would eat green pumpkins.

Vegetable Garden Plan for 2011

2011-01-24T04:49:00.003-05:00

The plan for 2011. Honey-O strawberries will be removed after harvest. It will be their third year-won't be saving starts-these are not that great.

Salad Beds layout-top bed showing beds WITH tomatoes, second bed shown without tomatoes.

Salad fixings sown every 10 days----after 60 days, tear out oldest greens and repeat!

This guarantees very fresh/non-bitter greens all spring/summer/fall.

Lettuce--Burpee's Mesclun mix in spring/Black Seeded Simpson in the summer/Red Sails and Buttercrunch for the fall.

Tuesday's Mail-A Gardener's Delight!

2011-01-19T05:28:00.002-05:00

Well, didn't THIS brighten up a drizzly winter's day?

The order from Heirloom Seeds that I placed on December 15th FINALLY arrived. I have to say I was a little surprised at how long it took. Last years order arrived within a week. This year it was over a month.

This was the first time I have ordered from Select Seeds and that went well. The only thing left to come in is my order from Thompson and Morgan and a packet of Snow Crown Cauliflower that Vermont Bean had backordered. (see above pet peeve!)

I have begun my winter sowing of flowers-the deck is filling up quickly with trays of soil and very frozen flower seeds. What a great space saver it is to be able to start my perennials outside and save my room under the flourescent lights for the tender veggies and annuals. For those who are unfamiliar with winter sowing , here is a great site www.wintersown.org

I also pulled some of the geraniums up from the basement, trimmed them back and stuck them in a sunny window. Only one so far has greened up. I'm wondering if maybe three years is the limit on doing this. Last year all of them "came back". Oh well, I'm not out anything. Perhaps a different shade of pink is in order this year!
:D

Garden Plan--East Border

2011-01-06T06:31:00.006-05:00

The plan for the new East Border

The border is 32 feet long, and 4 feet deep (for now--I will be expanding that later)

It is for dry, sandy soil (except for the Phlox, which I clustered together for easy watering) and is primarily geared for hummingbirds/bees. I kept playing with "cut-out" pictures of all plants I really liked until I got an arrangement that looks nice and makes sure all "fussy" plants are together so maintenance is cut down. I'll probably have to weed/water 1 hour per week.

I priced these plants on the website from whose catalog I cut these pictures. To do this border would cost me $314.61 --not including shipping. My budget WAS $100. I have all the seeds ordered for this. I have some of these plants already in the "nursery" bed that I will be dividing. I also have saved seed from a few plants that I will be sowing....so I think I might be able to get this whole border done for even less.

The plant list-broken down:

Cleome-x5-saved seed (0$)

Echinacea Bravado-x3-divisions of my own plants ($0)

Echinops x1 -seed ($3)

Miscanthus-Purchased last year on sale ($9)

Phlox-Purple x3, and Phlox-David x 3 Divisions of my own plants ($0)

Agastache Rupestris x3 seed ($3)

Echinacea-Lucky Stars-x3-purchased 1 large last year on sale-will divide to make 3 ($9)

Perovskia-x1- bought last year as a starter plant on sale ($2)

Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm x6 -divisions of my own plants ($0)

White Swan Echinacea x3 -seeds ($3)

Rudbeckia-Prairie Sun x6 -seeds ($3)

Physostegia (white)x1-moving from other garden bed ($0)

Solidago "Fireworks"x1 -purchased last year at close-out--($6)

Hyssop-x3 --seedlings from saved seed ($0)

Salvia-Silver candles x1 -Will purchase ($9) ((hopefully I can find it cheaper!!)

Geranium Rozanne x1 Will Purchase ($5)

Stachys-to fill in-~x6--divisions of my plants ($0)

Misc. ornamental ribbon grass-~x3 -divisions of my plants ($0)

Total doing it MY way--- $52. Wow. That's about $250 cheaper than just ordering it (the easy way) Can't wait to see how this progresses.

Oops-Forgot- I'll have to add about $15 for potting soil. I have all the pots I need.

Now, spring needs to hurry along!