Well dear garden friends, we had the first nice weekend in awhile here and as a result I sit here typing this with sore leg muscles, and aching back and weak fingers – it’s amazing how pulling weeds can affect your fingers!
And here is what I have to show for it outside:
I showed you this area a month ago thinking I would get to it soon…humm…let’s just focus on the fact that they are cleaned up and ready to go for the new season, why don’t we?
Whew.
I finally planted the bed of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I left one chard plant so I can harvest for a few weeks longer, then it will be pulled.
And yes, those are weeds in the gravel. Grrr, we bought the wrong gravel (you want the kind with NO FINES) so there’s a nice little layer of sandy soil the weeds love. We learned our lesson, and our later paths have the right gravel- and no weeds to speak of.
Learn from our mistakes: say it with me, “No fines, no fines, no fines.” That means clean gravel, by the way- no little pieces and/or dirt in it at all.
After my first attempt at growing celery last year, I am growing more this year, along with some “Bright Lights” chard.
There was way too much chard, so I planted it close together and am planning on harvesting the “baby chard” to make room for 8-10 full grown plants that should provide all our chard needs for the season.
I was seriously discouraged by the amount of “poppers” (aka, Bittercress) after years of pulling.
This bed was FULL of them, so I’m killing them with black plastic as I didn’t have time to pull them. You can see they’re still under the fence line- I’m leaving that up to Brian to take care of.
Probably why we still have so many, huh?
I actually got two of the strawberry beds cleaned and composted.
But the biggest one is still in need of some attention.
Oh, what have we here? Gee, it looks like the new shelves and hanging light Brian made in our mud room so I could start our seeds in here instead of the kitchen.
What? You don’t seed any seeds being started? Sigh. My reality is this:
First time in more than 10 years that I do not have any seeds started. No tomatoes or peppers, no broccoli or cabbage. Nothin.’ I don’t know what happened, really. I waited for the new area to be finished (why I couldn’t use the old area, I can’t tell you), then we had our vacation, and life is really busy right now.
I tried to tell myself it’s OK, no biggie…I’ll just buy starts.
Ugh. Talk about sticker shock! I thought a six-pack would only be $1.99 – but they were all $2.99, which added up real fast last weekend- along with the potatoes and onion sets I normally buy (and need to plant, as you can tell by the bags in the picture).
And I haven’t even bought the tomatoes and peppers yet. Ouch.
Did you get anything planted last weekend?
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
Looks like you took advantage of the great weekend weather and accomplished lots outdoors!
Love your raised beds and your lawn is so green and lush. We gardeners always are in a hurry; don’t worry about it, it will all get done. I’m not familiar with bittercress but have been troubled by several invasives over the years, namely comfrey, mint, Queen Anne’s lace, campanula, and tiger lilies. It’s discouraging, isn’t it? Still, we love our gardens! A little slice of heaven on earth.
Blessings, Beth
Overrun by campanula? They don’t get out of control for me here- at least they’re pretty.
But I have a hate relationship with violets, so I understand when they’re out of control, no amt. of beauty will make it better!
I started seeds for the very first time this year. I hope I don’t kill them. It is sticker shock for sure to buy established plants. But I was amazed how much I spend on seeds too…oh well! Hopefully, the little tomatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts I have in my basement will make the transition to the outside world seamlessly.
I linked up a post on what I found in my old garden that’s left over from last year! I’d love some experienced gardeners to pop over and take a look and explain a couple things to me!
http://www.simplifylivelove.com/2012/04/leftovers-in-last-years-garden.html
Thanks for hosting and have a great week!
I left a comment on your blog which hopefully helps! Good luck with your seeds- just remember to harden them off gradually, that’s always the tricky part for me.
Hi Jami!
here is my question: We are going into our fourth season with our strawberry bed. The first year we planted it produced a little bit. Then the second year it produced quarts and quarts and quarts of berries (it was awesome!). Last year it produced, but not so much. What should we do this year? We only have one spot that we can put them in. It is a big bed, but we don’t know if we should add more plants, dig up the starts from our own bed and replant? I’ve googled it, but haven’t received a good answer.
Oh – and seriously! If you are coming up north and in the Salem/Albany area, I have a ton of awesome heirloom tomato plants that I started this year and I purposely grew extra so I could share. I have Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, choc cherry, legend, and stupice. I didn’t have the space for big boy or mortgage lifter so I’m just going to buy them as starts. I also have poblano peppers and sweet red peppers. Let me know, I would be happy to set some aside for you; you have helped my gardening and home life so much I would be happy to give back!
Shannan, you sweet thing!! I’d love to just meet up with you and view your garden first-hand, let alone be given luscious veggie starts! OK, problem is- how to figure this out. Let me look at the calendar and see if we’re heading north anytime in the next few weeks. I’ll email you.
As for the strawberries: yes, they are short-lived and I’ve heard three years is when you need to revamp the bed, so I think you’re right on target.
Now- are they everbearing? I didn’t have any luck replanting the babies from everbearing plants – tried two years and only a few would take off. Finally just bought some new ones (they aren’t expensive if you get them early in the season).
I have much better luck using the starts from June-bearing berries. If the mother plants aren’t producing anymore, dig them out (ouch- so hard, ’cause they’re still ALIVE) and replace with the babies that should’ve rooted around them. I do this about now as I’m cleaning up the beds.
I feel like I’m way behind this year. I just cleaned up my beds this past weekend. I haven’t planted a thing yet…maybe this weekend.
Hi Jami: I spent the weekend trying to figure out the best way to prune a huge grapevine, and that is what my post is about today. But, my wonderful hubby redug a couple of the vegetable beds for me, so the one for peas is ready to plant, but we had to stop on the potato bed because we ran out of fertilizer. Went and got more yesterday, so I’m back in business! I’m trying to get done with the veggis so I can get to a couple of flower beds I want to rejuvenate, but just haven’t had time yet. And this year, I did start seeds, but could not get a single pepper to germinate! I’ll probably have to buy a few starts, but it’s hard to find anything that will actually ripen in time before summer runs out here. It appears that I will be experimenting in this regard this time around!
Ah, peppers always take a really long time to germinate for me. Sorry to hear about your no-shows there. Maybe I’ll get my peas and potatoes in this weekend!
I’m definitely behind this spring. My dh usually has all the vegetable beds tilled by now, and I have lots of plants in. Not this year. He has 4 beds to go. The seeds I planted are not coming up, and I’ve lost several broccoli plants to the drought, plus I got really sick. Actually, I’m still really sick; I just can’t sit still while there’s gardening to do.
Sorry to hear that, Barb! I hope you relax enough to get better- the garden will always be there, but you gotta take care of yourself.
I haven’t started seeds in years. And yes, it’s spendy to buy the plants. I justify it by the fact that I don’t have new shoes, purses, clothes, etc.
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I hit up Fuchsia Saturday this weekend and got some fuchsia starts, a few geraniums and a couple other odds and ends annuals. I know it’s too early, so I used my restraint.
I think that we gardeners ALWAYS have a huge list of to-do’s that will never end! Your lawns looks so green & lush =)
Ha- you’re the second one who commented on the grass, which makes me laugh ’cause everyone’s grass around here looks like this- we’ve been inundated with rain (literally record rain). One of the “benefits” of all this rain, harumph.
Things are looking good in your garden! I’m with you. I let the year get away from me and didn’t plant any seedlings early on. I finally planted some last week. It’s gonna be an expensive year buying all the starters. :0/
Jami- Wasn’t it great to get outside in some sunshine this last weekend! Like you I am still a bit stiff and sore but it was all worth it. Don’t get too bummed about not getting anything started from seed. On the bright side, maybe having to buy all of your starts will force you to try a new variety or two that will become new favorites! Thanks for hosting!
Yes it was, Lexa! And I think we’re in for another beautiful weekend (one weather report I read said 78 degrees on Sunday- whoa!), so I’ll be checking a few more things off my list.
And thanks for the encouraging words – who knows what varieties I’ll find, huh?
I love your seed starting area. I used a window, not sure how that’s going to work but I figure worst case scenario I have to buy seedlings at the farmers market.