Spring Planting

Oh, it feels so good to sit down in freshly tilled soil! Today I planted 3 rows of Half Danvers carrots, 1 row of red onions, 1 row of Swiss chard, half a row each of lettuce and broccoli.

I also purchased a St. Patrick yellow tea rose for my mother. I'll plant it this week.

Are you interested in learning how to start your seeds - NOW?

Catnip doesn't care what the weather is like ...

My catnip has weathered the winter storms pretty well. The neighborhood cats periodically come by for a whiff.

January 2011 - A little frozen lake

When the snow started melting off the carport, I used the bucket to catch some of the water. When it warmed up a little this week, I dumped out the bucket - this is what I found --- a small frozen lake!

Fall 2010

Summer 2010 was the hottest on record, so I didn't get outside. Now that temps are in the 50-70 range, and the bees are gone, I'm getting my fingers in the dirt.

I cleaned out my little greenhouse and have put my citrus, herbs and geraniums in there. The catnip garden is all tidy - and I have two plants left - gave all the rest away. I harvested some seeds and scattered them so I'll have a lush bounty for neighborhood kitties next spring.

Now I have lots of trimming and pruning to do - lots.

July 2010 Update

Well, I was busy the first 7 months of the year. A neighbor tilled a portion of my garden and I laid down some black plastic to control the weeds. Historically, they grow higher than the plants.

I'm fortunate to have very black, rich soil that I feed on a regular basis.

So I got about a dozen tomato plants and half that many peppers planted. In a small planter, I have some herbs. The rosemary is still in the kitchen sink because 1) I never had time to plant it, 2) bought it midsummer and 3) it's been too darned hot to be outside. I have to be careful.

So now, it's harvest time. Joel has made two batches of banana pepper relish. Oh, it's so good. He first made it 4 years ago. Now, I'm relishing my relish. Will it get processed in the canner? Maybe. It's really good!

The guy who does my yard has been working for his parents at their beach house, so my grass and weeds are growing. Today, I tried mowing, but both lawn mowers are going to the shop. I'm stranded. YIKES! I'm overcome with weeds and need to get them out of the way so I can harvest.

In the meantime, I am working the soil to stop the blossom end rot. That's a simple fix, but you do lose some fruit along the way.

But the glowing star in the garden is our globe artichoke. I planted it last year.

Lime

I dumped lime on the grass and in the garden today in preparation for a good rain tomorrow. Lime not only neutralizes the soil, but also gets rid of white clover in grass and helps prevent blossom end rot on peppers and tomatoes.

I use the pulverized lime this time of year, because it breaks down quickly and is absorbed by the soil and plants. I anticipate sometime in the next 10 days someone will till the garden and prep it for planting ...