Spring day 2

Not as lovely a day as yesterday, but still a good one to be outside. A bit more raking in the back garden. Put out the trellises next to the shed, all ready for morning glory plants - the seeds have sprouted! Speaking of sprouts, some sungold tomatoes have sprouted too. And the first sowing of sweet peas are growing like mad.

On to the lawn. A full bag of corn gluten weed killer/fertilizer went down on the front lawn. Still raking the back lawn

And the buying season begins

Home Depot's coupon for $5 off a new pair of garden clippers worked like it was supposed to. It got me in the door of the store and I ended up spending far more than I planned. Well, I knew it would happen, so maybe it wasn't really more than I planned?

Clippers, some dahlia tubers, seed potatoes, pansies, a rosemary plant and a patio tomato plant.

Have also been raking the lawn and garden in bits. Time for the corn gluten weed killer soon.

Seed Planting Time

It's very late to be planting seeds. But I finally put up the plant lights and got some seeds planted. The sweet peas I planted last week have sprouted and are growing fast.  I also put in:

• Sweet Peas - Matucana (?)
• Morning Glories
• Sungold tomatoes
• Yellow Stuffer tomatoes
• Some very old Columbine seed 
• Parsley
• ??

Put some spinach seeds in some pots outside.

Spring?

Spring crocuses

Photo upload seems to be working again? testing preview.

Winter's over - I hope!

It's been a long, snowy winter. I haven't seen this much persistent deep snow in quite a few years. Wonderful for all the perennials happily buried beneath it, keeping cosy and resisting the heaving thaws of spring. But very hard on the growing deer population around here. And as a result, hard on my back garden. The deer have stripped all the low growing rhododendron buds and many of the leaves. The huge rhodie at the back of the garden has been 'trimmed' a bit higher than normal. One low branch is nearly bare and since it's not very healthy to begin with, we'll cut it off this year.

But worst of all, the deer unearthed my hellebores. Yep, hellebores, those tough plants that deer aren't supposed to like. Well, they're gone. There are some buds deep in the leaves, hopefully they'll survive a few more weeks. And my new fledgling hedge of Roseraie de L'Hay rugosa roses have even been chewed back. Here's what I'm dreaming my hedge will look like someday.

I was helpless to get out there and do anything to deter the deer this year due to a knee injury. But next year, I'll try some temporary deer fencing and see if that deters them a bit. Here's to a nice summer first!

Photo Credit: amandabhslater

Crabgrass Chronicle

My flickr pic of crabgrass is very popular, I've seen it on lots of other websites. It was time for me to get some use out of it! :-)

My summer has been spent obsessing over eradicating crabgrass without resorting to scary chemicals. To remind me of what I did, here's the list:

• Early spring - a double dose of Gardens Alive corn gluten weed killer. It did a good job. But I should have applied it again after about 6 weeks. The remaining crabgrass seed took over all the bare patches by mid-summer.
• All summer - hand pulled weeds whenever I was out in the garden. No serious back breaking weed pulling sessions, just a nice way to spent some time in the sunshine whenever I wanted a quick break.
• All summer - mowed at least once a week, mowed as high as the mower would allow and mulched the clippings right back into the lawn. Though while we were out of town, there was one far too low mowing by a neighbor, followed by a drought, left some areas brown and nearly dead.
• All summer - while mowing, pulled up clumps of crabgrass as I mowed. Was hoping the mowing would keep the crabgrass from going to seed. No such luck, it finally went to seed and there's a ton of seed waiting to sprout next spring.
• August - while digging up some good lawn to expand a garden bed, I transplanted the sod to some major bare spots. After 6 weeks, it seems to be growing nicely.
• Late August
• Got really serious about pulling out the weeds. This was the back breaking version of the chores. Big swaths of weeds of came up, leaving lots of bare patches. 
• Gradually lowered mower height over several weeks, till I could do one last really low mowing right before reseeding. 
• Also a good deep raking and scratching up of the soil to give the seed something to grow into.
• September - Time to reseed! Used a mixture of Hewitt's Sandy Soil seed and Gardens Alive Northern Turf seed.
• Sept 4 - Reseeded the back yard - lots of watering!
• Sept 11 - Reseeded the front yard - lots of watering!
• Sept 18 - Weeded, regraded and seeded swath of neighbor's lawn that we messed up when new wall went in. That area was covered with my seed mix and topped with lawn patch stuff to keep it moist. That area wasn't near our sprinklers, so it needed help staying moist.
• Results?
• Back lawn - some areas in back are still a bit thin, competing with freshly sprouting clover. But areas I covered wtih a bit of topsoil and the area in shade of house are doing well.  Mowed lawn for first time after 3 weeks.
• Front lawn - again, some areas coming in nicely. Others a bit thin. Added some more seed and some of the lawn patch stuff in bare areas on Sept 25. 
• Side patch - amazing! Watered it once a day, even though it probably didn't need it. The patch stuff was way too thick, but the seed underneath grew like crazy and pushed the patching right up. I've broken up the patch stuff a bit and it looks gorgeous so far. I suspect the seed IN the patch mixture didn't really add much to the mix, but the moisture retention was terrific.
• Etc: 
• Sept 25 - Used some lawn starter fertilizer out back. 
• Sept 30 - decided to try making my own patch mix by shredding newspapers and mixing with water. Used that and more seed on the bare patches out back.
• Sugar - this may sounds nuts, but I figured it couldn't hurt. People have suggested that adding sugar to your lawn helps it. Who knows. Will the squirrels start racing around like they're high on sugar? Wait, they already do.
• Will use Fall Lawns Alive in a week or two.  

Next year!

• 2 rounds of corn gluten weed killer with fertilizer in spring and early summer.
•  New battery powered mulching mower. Happy Birthday to me.
•  Spread lots of compost on the lawn. I have enough of it! 
• More overseeding in the fall.

So why have any lawn at all? I know, it's totally silly to grow lawn. What's the point. I could have one gorgeous veggie garden out front, it gets tons of sunshine. Can I admit that I actually like nice green lawns? Kind of like getting a tan, I know that's not good for me either, so I do try to avoid it, but I still like the way the way it looks. So, if I do everything I can to do the lawn organically and with very little watering, can I reduce my guilt?

Hot summer weather

• Took the wall-o-water off the tomato plant. And brought the other tomato plant outside. Hope they both survive and we have tomatoes in early July.
• Planted the kale & basil plants in the veggie garden.
• Added more broad bean and pea seeds to the bean tower and put up a barrier - hopefully the bunnies won't try to get in there and eat the seedlings again.
• Dug out the compost bins and shifted the contents. Added compost starter to two bins. 
• Still haven't mowed the lawn and it really needs mowing!

Spring flowers

Spring garden,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

Thanks to the cool weather, the spring flowers have lasted quite nicely. These tulips have surprised me, coming back for several years now. And the bleeding heart is beautiful. Funny, I don't remember planting it, but there it is, so I must have planted it.

The crabgrass is starting to sprout, so I've put another layer of Garden's Alive WOW corn gluten weed killer/fertilizer down. And I've been scratching at the big bare patches to keep the weeds disturbed.

Also put down some organic grub killer. Hope that will start to control that problem, though the lawn really looks terrific right now. In fact, it looks like a lush green forest. Time for the first mowing.

I know where you planted the parsley!

I know where you planted the parsley!,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

It's hard to hate this bunny. She (he?) is spending lots of time eating clover in the lawn right outside my office. She's out there right now. But I suspect she is also the critter that ate all my new parsley plants. Fortunately, she hasn't found the peas or beans... yet. Time to spray with red pepper!

First weekend in the garden

It's been a weekend of beautiful weather. Sunshine and warm. The daffodils are blooming and the forsythia burst into full bloom today. The peas and beans are planted, as are the morning glory and moon flower seeds. And one lonely tomato is in a big pot, surrounded by a warm plastic wall-o-water. The deck is scrubbed and has been christened with the first glass of wine of the season. Being outside and pottering in the garden on a fine day is my idea of heaven.

Bean Tower

Doug has often mentioned how, as a kid growing up in England, he loved broad beans fresh from the garden. So this year, broad beans it is! And of course, that was a great excuse to try out this bean tower. It assembled quite easily and looks like it will be a space saver. Seeds ready to be planted tomorrow are:

• Crimson Flowered Fava/Broad Bean (Thompson & Morgan)
• Stereo Fava/Broad Bean (Thompson & Morgan)
• Oregon Sugar Pod II - Sugar Peas (Thompson & Morgan)
  

First foray into the compost heap

Today was the beginning of compost season. Yay! I moved all of the fresh debris out of bin 1. That left the bin about 2/3rds full of good compost, though some of it was still frozen. Still, I got most of it out and ready to use. Spread some on the transplanted rhubarb plants and the rest went into the hole where the beans will grow.

This 3 wire bin system came from Gardeners Supply and hides behind an old stone fireplace & wall. It's a bit awkward to get to the bins, so someday we'll pull down the old wall. The wall, remnant of previous owners, is neither lovely nor functional at this point. Tomorrow it may be compost day 2! Need to move the contents of the other bins, harvest the good compost in them and then rebuild the heaps and get them cooking!

Seeds Sprouted!

After only 72 hours, the Sun Gold and Yellow Stuffer tomato seeds sprouted. A day later, the SunGold tomatoes and celery root were catching up the next day. Amazing.

Let the battle commence....

The crab grass battle that is! 120 pounds of organic corn gluten based WOW Supreme went down on the lawn today. I have another 100 pounds in reserve. That will get spread in a few weeks as a backup to this application. Right now it's really easy to see where the worst of the crab grass was last year. Lots of big brown patches. And also easy to see where the new grass seed took hold nicely last fall. I have tons of grass seed waiting to be overspread later in the summer. Thanks to Gardens Alive for all these great products that help keep my lawn and garden healthy and non-toxic! Of course, a wildflower meadow would be much more natural than a lawn, but even that would be hard to maintain in this pure sand pine-bush area that I live in.

Seeds Started Late

I finally started some seeds - a few weeks late, but it's worth a try. If they don't get big quickly enough, then I'll give in and get seedlings. Some of the seed packs were left over from 2009. I didn't get a chance to start any seeds last year, hoping these will do ok this year.

Seeds Planted:

• Bloody Butcher Tomatoes (from last year)
  
• Sun Gold Tomatoes (from last year)
• Yellow Stuffer Tomatoes (free packet from Thompson & Morgan)
• Celery Root! Found a packet of seeds from Italy at Adams Fairacre Farms last week.
  

Spring!

And so it begins. I stopped at Adams Fairacre Farms yesterday and  bought two tomato plants! I want to see how early I can put them out and how they survive. The first one will go out at the end of March, the other in mid-April. Both in pots with heat capturing walls of water around them. Also bought parsley and some lovely lemon thyme to put along the front path. And so it begins.... another gardening season. hurrah.

Fall Planting

Just to keep track of what I planted this fall:

Along the edge of the new wall:

• winter hardy pansies (lowes - 75% off in early November)
  
• Allium unifolium (WFF - #50 - 10-12" - may/june)
• allium spaerocephalon (WFF - #25 - 24-30" june/july)

By the front door

• Allium Christophil (WFF - #12 - 18-24" - June)

Two patches out front

• Allium Purple Sensation (WFF - #12- 20-30" - May/June)

Along the front walkway

• Naricissus Sweetness (WFF - #24)
• Daffodil Bold Beauties Mix (WFF - #50)

In front of Rhododendrons out back:

• Mixture of daffodils from Lowes - about 100 (on sale 1/2 price in early November)
  

Fall colors

Fall colors,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

A farewell to the lovely colors of autumn. The nasturtiums didn't do great this summer, but this one blossom was gorgeous. And it was growing up through the purple chrysanthemums. Gorgeous sunny day.

nutella waffles at 10,000 feet!

nutella waffles at 10,000 feet!,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

Yum!!!!!!!!

Fall blooms

Fall blooms,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

my garden yesterday