spring, spring, spring

The maple tree I planted in the front yard a few weeks ago is coming out of dormancy, as are the crabapple and dogwood in the back. I'm still waiting to see about the crape myrtles, but I did see some green on my blue rose of sharon bushes. I am so excited about those. I am going to plant shasta daisies around them, and I think they will look so beautiful in the summertime.

When my other saplings came a few weeks ago, I received 2 free forsythias from the Arbor Day Foundation. I wasn't sure I wanted them though and didn't get around to planting them. However, the forsythias around town have been so lovely this week that I regretted that. I had shoved them in the pantry, and I went to look at them, and they were coming out of dormancy. Any shrub that hardy deserves a place in my yard. So, I planted them. Hopefully, they'll be all right and produce beautiful yellow flowers next spring.

No frost forecast yet, but it is supposed to get down to 35 on Tuesday night. I'm going to investigate my options for protecting my tomatoes. This article has a lot of good ideas: Protecting Plants from Frost. I'm hoping the forecast changes by then. If it doesn't, I will try covering them with newspaper. My tomato seedlings are very small.

Speaking of that, I saw at Lowe's many large, lovely plants for planting in the garden, including large specimens of Early Girl, which I have growing. They were cheap. It made me wonder why I bothered starting my own seeds... Except that I enjoy it.

My tomato towers finally came, and I have them installed. I had bought bamboo stakes since I was convinced the towers wouldn't be here in time, so I'll have to find another use for them (shouldn't be hard).

I feel like my asparagus should be here by now. I will have to check on it.

One of my houseplants, my "aluminum plant" got very "leggy" and ugly in the low light situation that my parlor palm and spider plant do not mind. It also prefers its soil to stay moist, whereas they prefer a wet-dry cycle. I moved it upstairs to the office, where it could get more light, and I could water it more, but it is just ugly. So, I am going to root a cutting of it and then compost the poor thing. I think the dry winter air upset it. This will be my first attempt at rooting a cutting.

So much waiting! Waiting for asparagus crowns, waiting for spring vegetables to grow, waiting for the weather to warm to put in later plantings. I'm already planning for fall, winter, and spring as well. Thinking of naturalizing daffodils in the front lawn since my crocuses croaked/bulbs were likely eaten by squirrels. (Here's a link I liked on Naturalizing Daffodils.)

Tomatoes out in the garden

Maybe I'm crazy, but I am pretty sure we're not even going to get close to having another frost. My tomato seedlings looked unhappy, and I decided it wouldn't hurt to put one of each kind of tomato out in the garden. If they die, I have a back-up for each. If the weather stays nice, I think they'll be much better off.

I may not plant the back-up of all of them, if the ones currently out make it, especially the hybrids. I marked each with a little wooden plant tag. I guess I'm going to go to Lowes and get some stakes since my tomato towers STILL AREN'T here. I would cancel the order, but they were a good price, and I will just use them next year.

The tomatoes I planted:

Early Girl (hybrid)
Glory (hybrid)
Container Choice (hybrid, bush)
Brandywine (heirloom)
Pineapple (heirloom)
Green Zebra (heirloom)

The cherries:
Jenny (non-hybrid, yellow)
Ladybug (hybrid, red)
Snowberry (heirloom, white)

Depending on the forecast, I may plant my peppers out within the next couple of weeks, at least one of each type.

I think next year, I will probably start an early variety this early but save my mid and late season varieties to start 3-4 weeks before the last frost.

watching my plants grow

Every day, I check my little plants. The lettuce in the Earth Box is looking pretty tasty. I imagine we'll have some great harvests of that in about a month.

My tomato seedlings aren't looking the greatest. I think I am overwatering so will watch that. Next year, I will not start them until about March 15th.

Peppers continue to look nice.

My broccoli seems happy planted out in a bed.

Very excited about the arugula. I keep eating the thinnings, and they are so damn tasty.

My mints on the porch and my garlic chives look wonderful. I got pots today for my St. John's Wort and my regular chives. Soon they will join the other herbs on the porch. My herb pots look cool from the street, or so I think.

I also got today a couple of hanging baskets to grow nasturtiums. I have high hopes that they will look quite striking.

My crab apple tree is coming out of dormancy, as is my sugar maple.

My little dwarf blueberry bush is leafing out like crazy. I love it.

I am getting a little antsy waiting for April 15th. I think it will be very safe to plant out everything by then, particularly with global warming.

I turned my compost today, both piles from last year, combining them. I was going to use more of the older one, but I really didn't think it looked quite finished enough, so I just used a few shovelfulls. It looks pretty good though, and I think after the hot summer, with a few turnings, it will be beautiful, finished compost that I can probably work into the soil late this fall. I am very proud of it. I even liked the way it smelled, a nice earthy smell. Interestingly, I saw absolutely no unpleasant creatures in it, just worms. I only seem to see gross bugs in the very fresh stuff.

Our yard is so pretty with blooming weeds, purple, white, and blue, and the yellow dandilions. I read that clover draws nitrogen from the air into the soil. We have plenty of that--free fertilizer for our lawn!

I am devouring gardening/farming books.

more seeds in the ground

I planted more radishes, carrots, and arugula yesterday. I planted the carrots and radishes together, as was recommended, since the carrots are SO SLOW at germinating, and the radishes supposedly break up the soil for them. Carrots really are slow to grow. Really, really slow. That's my third batch of carrots and radishes. I am guessing I'll have some radishes to eat in a week or two and carrots maybe in a month, maybe more. The peas get a little taller each day, but they are still small.

I now understand why a lot of people just go to the store, buy young plants, and stick them in the ground. (Not that you can do that with carrots and radishes.) But still. Starting from seed takes a lot of patience and a lot of hope. And a lot of making sure the soil stays moist.

Garden update

Well, things are going well. The six new beds are in, along with all the soil. The surrounding area was mulched by my wonderful husband this weekend, including a large area in front of the beds to be used for melons, winter squash, and pumpkins. We had the mulch delivered in a truck, just like our soil, much cheaper than buying by the bag, and we were glad we could support a small local business.

I am beyond excited.

My carrot seedlings are finally making a mass appearance. I am doing my best to stay on top of watering, unlike last year.

I am confused about what is growing in one bed. Of the two cabbage seedlings I planted, one perished, and the other seems to be doing okay. Radishes have sprouted. I think arugula has sprouted. Broccoli may have. I was suprised that the watercress I planted didn't come up at all. Weird.

We lost one seedling of tomato pineapple to my toddler.

My seedlings that I'm growing indoors are doing great. My cockscomb is sprouting in its pea pots, and I can't wait to see how that looks in our front yard this year. I should have blooms by early summer!

There are a few things I can do, but so much of it is just waiting until late April/early May to really get stuff planted. I have some supplies ordered that have not been shipped yet, which is making me nervous.

My lettuce continues to grow in the front. Herbs doing well.

Need to plant some more spring vegetables this week, more carrots, radishes, and arugula.

I'm wondering when my asparagus will be shipped? I'm ready for it.

All the pine tree saplings I planted died. I plan to try container saplings this fall instead of bare root.

The compost that I turned has sunk several inches. I love decay.

I've got big plans for incoorporating (easy) flowers in and around my vegetable garden, as well as all along the back fence. I'll just plant as I have time.

some recent garden pictures

Pretty Weeds in our lawn

pea seedlings (maestro)

radish seedlings (organic radish sparkler)

ornamental pears in bloom

6 cubic yards of soil (well, some had already been wheelbarrowed to the backyard)

Snow day! You can see my 6 beds and the compost pile. The peas, radishes, and carrot seeds all survived the snow.

Composting paper (including glossy)

I thought these links had interesting information about composting paper. It seems like a lot of information and misinformation is repeated on the Internet, until something seems true, even if it isn't.

http://earth911.com/garden/composting/13-common-myths-of-composting/
http://mailman.cloudnet.com/pipermail/compost/2000-November/007651.html

I'm going to start using all types of paper as mulch because I need vast amounts for my backyard flower garden.