It's Go Time!

 Let's get this (garden) party started!  So much to do.  Planting and pruning and mulching and mowing.  We had three beautiful days and we made the most of it.  Now we are entering a cooler, rainy period and we will be resting and recuperating for the next push.

I seeded my garden peas and lettuce on Monday the 15th.  I have discussed my pea planting theories at length in the past.  This will be the second year that I have covered them with burlap.  That is more for the benefit of the lettuce than the peas.  In two weeks when the peas are up, I will remove the burlap because the lettuce won't need protection from scavenging birds anymore.

Under grow lights I have some awesome sweet potato slips, hot peppers, dwarf tomatoes and micro tomatoes.  I figured I could start those tomatoes early and not worry about them getting too big.  I seeded my indeterminate tomatoes on Monday.

The cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage is almost ready to set out.  I booted this tray out to the cold frame today to harden off.  I already have some things out in the cold frame.

Due to the lengthy tree project, we are getting a bit of a late start on our edging and mulching.  We usually start mid-March and one year we had it all done by the end of March.  

We always start on the side with the neighbors and work our way back towards the house.  That way the new, fluffy load of mulch is in the beds that we walk by every day.  This old mulch leftover from last year is fine, but is harder to work with.

We had to put plywood down so the tractor wouldn't rut the lawn, but it was dryer than usual.

It was already nice sitting in the partial shade of the trees.

We started cutting a fresh edge on the rock mulched fence line.  This only has to be done every two or three years whereas the shredded bark mulch has to be edged and refreshed at least once a year.

My tulips are beginning to bloom.

This is the time of year when I walk around and look for bare spots that need spring color.  Below there is a large blank spot where the lilac bush was.  If I have to move or divide any daffodils, they can go here.  I almost always have some daffodil bulbs looking for a new spot.

Due to the mild winter, my arborescens hydrangea that only blooms on old wood, is putting out new leaves on last year's canes.  This means it will be one of those rare years when I have a lot of hydrangea blooms.

Spring Flowers

 It finally stopped raining and the sun came out.  It was a perfect day to enjoy all of the spring flowers.  We've begun our yard work and at the end of the day I do not have many words, but I do have pictures.

Primrose

Hyacinths

Hyacinths

Hellebore

Itoh Peony

Lemony Lace Elderberry Bush

Tulips

Tulip

Apple Tree

Winter Sowing

A peek inside

And that tree...

We put a chain on it about 10 feet up and pulled with the tractor until it snapped.  Don't worry, we were well back.  We used every chain we had to put the tractor about 75 feet away on firmer ground.

Then we cut it up and hauled it away.

Wind

 For days now we have had a lot of rain and now high winds.  It is nice to have all of those dead ash out of the thicket.  All of the dead ash are now in the woods.  But there was one more back by the burn pile area.

Well....... shit.

Total Solar Eclipse 2024

So much fervor has surrounded the coming of the total Eclipse.  Luckily, we were in a perfect spot to view it from our backyard and did not have to invest any effort or money into finding the perfect spot for viewing.  Yesterday would have been the perfect day for it, sunny, clear and warm.  But today was supposed to be cloudy and rainy.  And by 5 pm the clouds departed leaving us with a perfect, sunny evening,

During the actual eclipse, we were mostly cloudy here, thick, dramatic clouds, but with enough breaks of clear sky to really enjoy it. I think the clouds were actually more interesting than blue skies would have been, and the anticipation of the next cloud break was fun.  

The birds didn’t quiet down entirely, but the peepers did start up.  What surprised me the most was even with only a sliver of the sun showing it was still bright daylight.  These were just with the cell phone through the clouds.

The cloud cover was heaviest just as totality kicked in.  Luckily, with three minutes of totality, we did get a brief break in the clouds at just the right moment.  And then it was over and the light came back like dawn fast forwarding.

Spring Training Continues

Its hard to believe that this all started a whole month ago.  Right after we completed the first round of tree clearing we had a decent sized pile of unwanted Poplar wood.  We sorted that out of the "good wood" and posted it free on Marketplace.  By the end of the day we had given away the firewood and located and purchased a log splitter.  With the original stack of firewood that we had been burning a the firepit, we borrowed a log splitter.  Now we're all set up.  Last Monday we split our pile of Oak and Ash and today we stacked it neatly near the firepit.  That's a pretty nice looking stack of campfire wood.

In between the stacking, I also got back into the Thicket to pick up more sticks and cut Multi-Flora Rose.  Its looking pretty good in there.  I will take one more pass at it and then it will be time to plant some bareroot shrubs.

I am weary of being tangled up in rose bushes.

Milkweed

I am still taking advantage of spring sales to stock some plants for the naturalized area where the trees were removed.  There is already a lot of Goldenrod, Aster and Fern in the area and I am sure we will have a lot of "weeds" that are prepared to take over in there now that more water and sunlight is available.  But it does afford me some space to introduce some flowers that I have been wanting to add to my garden space.  In keeping with the wild, pollinator theme, I have ordered some bareroot Milkweed.  I am staying away from the brightly colored yellow and orange collections that are available and sticking with a more natural color pallet.

Cinderella Swamp Milkweed

Ice Ballet Swamp Milkweed

Eastern Bluestar

All of these are native, pollinator friendly, attract hummingbirds and are deer and rabbit resistant.  They should introduce variety of color and texture to the undergrowth.

Dirt Cheap

 Every year I save as much of my potting mix as I can in my Dirt Locker and Rubbermaid Totes.  Each year I lose a little through attrition either due to having to top up whiskey barrel planters or planting perennials in the dry creek bed or through giving away plants.  Sometimes when you dump a planter, the roots of the annual plants are so vigorous that there isn't much point in trying to retrieve any soil at all. So each year I end up buying a bag or two of fresh potting mix.  I keep a list of all of my planters and how many gallons it takes to fill them.  I make note of how much I have been able to save from last year.  The difference between those numbers is how much I have to buy.

This week our regional farm store Runnings has a great deal on Miracle Gro potting mix.  Generally I stay away from Miracle Gro products, but I can't beat their Moisture Control potting mix.  I've tried several other brands as well as mixing my own and nothing really compares.  I usually buy the 50 quart (1.67 cu. ft.) bags from Home Depot.  Back in the day they were $14.99  a bag.  Now it is $17.97.  Lowes and Tractor Supply sell the full 2 cu. ft. bags for 19.99  You can go nuts comparing prices.

Two bags for $20!  That's practically buy one get one!

Cheap Dirt!

As soon as we saw that flyer we headed out Saturday morning (and we never go to town on a Saturday).  I bought 6 bags.  They were out in the rain which made them twice as heavy and as unwieldy as wrestling a greased pig.  6 bags was a pretty full load for an SUV.  But the more we thought about it....  We went back today and got 4 more to stockpile for next year.