April wrap up

Started digging up the new flower bed near the mailbox. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was. I had it covered with cardboard for a few weeks (I should have done that last fall) I uncovered about 2/3 of it and dug up squares of sod and turned it over- it took about 6 hours. I didn't get to the last 1/3, it rained yesterday and was pretty cold (we had a fire in the stove). I'm still undecided about what to plant in that bed. I was going to go with purple and red but I'm thinking that's going to be really garish. Now I'm thinking pastels (that will go better with the beds closer to the house). If I go in that direction I will dig up Hippolyte (rose) and move it down there and plant the red flowers up by my Winchester Cathedral rose. I also may move Distant Drums down there where it will get more sun. I'm also going to plant some veggies in that area since the space is so big. I'll probably put in some GWR tomatoes and maybe the lemon cucumbers and a squash or zucchini. Captain Sam isn't looking so good, the roses in that bed are being attacked by a little brown worm that's boring into the emerging leaf buds. I'm hand picking them and squashing them but the leaf buds are being destroyed in the process. Russelliana and Clotilde Soupert are holding up better than Sam. I'll try cutting him back and see what happens. I might move him out of there and put Gruss an Aachen there. I need to move Gruss because DH wants it's space to put the woodpile. I have a lot of work to do.

Volunteer Borage is coming up in the veg garden. Peas and fava's are getting bigger. Last years chard is still going. Spinach and onions are looking puny.

What's blooming: grape hyacinths, forsythia, cherry trees, azaleas, narcissus, primrose, tulips, bleeding hearts, creeping phlox, lilacs are just starting (about 2-3 weeks early)

Today
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers through early afternoon...then becoming partly sunny. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 mph or less...becoming north. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tonight
Partly cloudy. Cooler with lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 mph or less...becoming north and increasing to 10 to 20 mph.

Tuesday
Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. North winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming northwest. Gusts up to 30 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph...becoming west.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 50s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s.

Thursday
Sunny. Highs around 60.

Thursday Night
Mainly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.

Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows around 50. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Lows around 50.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s.

Tea Time!

I've been wanting to fertilize my yard & garden for years but wasn't really sure how to go about it. The "traditional" way, of course, is to mix up a funky blue chemical with some water and soak the plants with it. When I moved into my first house the previous owners left a big box of miracle grow in the garage. The color of the stuff freaked me out. It freaked me out so much that I still have the box, brought it all the way from NC. I don't want to throw it out, I don't want to use it. So it sits on a shelf in the garage. I use composted manure and leaf mould in the veg garden every year but I'm looking for something to use in the flower gardens as well as the veg garden.

Along comes the Helpful Gardener Forum and their sticky in the organic section about aerated compost tea. I started reading and googling and a few days later I have made my own compost tea brewer for super cheap. It's happily perculating away and should be done later this afternoon. I plan on having a few "control" plants. Since I have several Arugaman's Eggplants, basil, rosemary and Cheverna chuska peppers, I'll do 2 mixed pots of each and one will get the tea, the other just water and we'll see what happens.

I still have a TON to learn. Biology isn't my thing but I'm reading and making notes. I figure as long as I don't kill my plants with it (they say that's virtually impossible to do) I should be ok.

I also potted up most of the remaining pepper, eggplant and tomato plants. I still have a few to go but the main work is done. I've been hardening off the plants outside during the day. It's still getting down in the low 30's at night so I bring them in in the evening. Things are looking good!

What's blooming now: Forsythia, primrose, daffodils, cherry trees, scilla siberica

April!

It's been a scorcher! I took Friday off to work in the yard. We broke a heat record 86! No shade. Brutal. I planted the favas, peas and spinach. Friday was veg garden day: I put up the pea trellis, laid out cardboard on the paths. I also cleaned the grill- a 3 hour job that I wasn't planning on. Saturday (also brutally hot) I started a new bed by the mailbox. I mapped it out with the chewed up soaker hose, dug a trench around the perimeter and laid out cardboard. I also weeded the front, side and back flower beds and raked up some leaves. Big winds came in on Saturday night, blew over the pea trellis and blew more leaves into the side bed- I can't win! Yesterday (cooler, sunny highs in the high 60's) I put the plants that have been wintering in the sunroom out on the deck. Ghislaine de Felagonde has little buds on it! I really need to pot up some of the seedlings. I found the pots that I thought DH had thrown out (In a tub behind the kayak). The attached pic is one I took this morning of the lady's mantle. I found several volunteer lady's mantle when I was weeding this weekend- cool!

Mon04/05
70°
Breezy, Risk of a Few Showers
50°
Mostly Cloudy

Tue04/06
70s°
Mostly Cloudy, Showers/Thunderstorm Risk
50s°
Mostly Cloudy, Couple of Showers Possible

Wed04/07
70s°
Few Showers/Storms Possible
40s°
Risk of a Few Showers

Thu04/08
50s°
Cooler, Showers Possible
40°
Mostly Cloudy, Shower Risk

Fri04/09
50s°
Partly Sunny, Risk of a Few Showers
30s°
Partly Cloudy & Quiet

Sat04/10
50s°
Sun & Clouds
40°
Scattered Clouds

What's blooming now: Violets, Daffodils, Primrose, Forsythia

Winter and Spring Battle it out

What a wild week! I had to go to Connecticut last week for work- rumor has it we had beautiful weather here while I was gone. I came back late Thursday night: the lawns had turned green and I saw my first Daffodil on Friday (4/3). Then the winds picked up the temperature dropped and on Saturday we had rain/sleet/snow and back again. Sunday was nice: sunny and in the 50's then the wind picked up and I woke up at 1:30am Monday morning and everything was covered in snow! We got about 2-3 inches, it snowed all day but it warmed up enough that it didn't stick to the roads and it kind of melted. Today it snowed a little bit but everything has melted.

The forsythia is about ready to bloom. Scilla siberica the little blue star-like flowers are blooming on people's lawns. I think they are beautiful- probably my favorite early spring flower. I have one in the side yard. I think he needs some friends! I potted up some more tomato seedlings today. I have 50+ and still potting. I have to take inventory of what I have and who wants what. 10 are going to my pottery instructor. I have his picked out already and put them in their own tray. I need to save some for my nieces and nephews and a coworker or two and my friend Patti in Ithaca. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest. NOTE TO SELF: Tomatoes have an excellent germination rate- don't plant more than needed next year!

Pretty much everything I have started from seed has sprouted except the 4 o'clocks (old seed, not properly stored) and the cilantro (used seed from my kitchen cabinet-I thought I'd take as stab at it!) and my pepper "Cherneva chuska" or something like that. The pepper seed is new this year I'm not sure what's wrong with it-bad batch I guess. Jury is still out on the Shasta Daisy's (also old, not properly stored seed) and the cucumbers -that is also new seed maybe planted too deep? Not enough time on the heat mat?

I'm looking into winter sowing for next year. I am using every available flat surface and am running out of room. I won't even start about the heat mat and shop light rotation. I've read some forums where the people swear by wintersowing. I still have some more seed to start for this year, I wonder if it's too late to try it this year....

Above picture is Sedum "Autumn Joy" emerging. Picture was taken on 3/28