Progress at Mom's

We have begun to work on Mom's yard. We went for a few hours each day on Wednesday and Thursday. There is a bulk trash pick-up on the 26th, and we want to have a lot of stuff out on the curb. We are sorting and organizing, filling trash bags and recycling bins that go out Monday. We assembled a lot of hubcaps that she thinks are valuable - we can take them to someone who trades in them, so she can hear what they are really (not) worth.

The kids have been working on raking leaves out of the bushes and flowerbeds, building a leaf composting pile outside the side fence. We have a good collection of stuff at the back of the driveway to put out for bulk pick-up. DD11 took charge of collecting all the artificial greenery and Christmas stuff that had been stuck into various crevices. We bagged it with a collection of 6 old rotted basketballs, and brought it home to put put out in our trash. She has an awkward by-the-bag trash arrangement.

It frustrates the kids sometimes, that we have to talk her into doing things that seem obvious, but she is more cooperative than I expected. No major blow-ups so far. I keep reminding her that she is at risk of enforcement action if her yard looks like she is collecting trash. We are making real progress. I think it helps to keep talking about gardening goals. We found a nice patch of Virginia Bluebells in the back corner. She has good boxwoods, dogwoods, and other plantings.

We are looking for a way to borrow or rent a chipper for a day, to make a pile of mulch with her yard trimmings. Kurt works in landscaping, and might be able to help us out. It looks like he did a good job of helping her trim the horribly overgrown pear tree.

There is room to do a lot of good vegetable gardening once we remove some of her stuff. She has some compost to get started with, although her dirt is horrible clay that needs a *lot* of amendment. She has been taking too much stuff down to the field to get rid of it - she needs to keep all the organics she can get to make more compost. I will get some more fish boxes for lettuce and greens for her - she has a real rabbit problem. But she also has a number of good places to put the boxes well off the ground.

We will go back this weekend for another few hours. I am buying a trash can to use for water collection, and a new clothesline. Need to clear a safe path under the clothesline for her.

If we go 2-3 times a week for an hour or two at a time, we will make progress, and keep her from back-sliding. Once the garden is established, she should feel good about it's usability. We can then move on to the back patio and get a table set up in there, so she can sit in the shady area when it is hot. The challenge will be to keep from re-filling the back yard with stuff when we start to work on the cellar and porch.

Hitting 80 on Friday!

Wow! This week is supposed to be in the 70's, almost 80 by Friday. Nights only in the 50s. That should really warm up the ground. The warmer days have had a dramatic effect on the returning perennials. The peonies are just about jumping out of the ground. There are violets in the grass.

I pressed some violets in a phone book the other day, along with some daffodils, hyacinths, and tulip petals. Never tried those before; can't wait to see how they turn out. I'm trying to press some of everything has blooms this year.

The green onions finally sprouted. I thought they weren't going to do anything. I guess they just needed warmer dirt. All we need to see now is the carrot and beet sprouts. DD11 checks every day.

I should get more planted. I am swapping some guy in Arizona for some parsnip seeds. We cleaned up some stuff in the yard today. Pulled some weeds and stacked some bricks, preparatory to laying out a new brick path. It will just be a temporary path, with the bricks set right on newspaper over dirt, so I can get into the back corner of the yard after things start growing.

The short breaks taken out in the yard have been sanity-saving lately, as I am yanked in different directions by competing responsibilities.

Lots happening now!

Weather: Clear and cool. Nights in the low 40s, days in the upper 50s. Occasionally warmer.

Things are cooking now! The peas popped out of the ground on the 11th. A few of the yellow onions have already sprouted, but many had to be replanted after cats dug them up - I guess the new plot looked like an attractive litter box. And now the bunching onions are also sprouting. The greens continue to do beautifully - developing second leaves. Will need thinning soon.

The jugs have not sprouted anything yet, but if the week warms up a bit as expected, that should change. I have decided to look for some broccoli transplants for the larger fish box. I need to get it off the ground and find a cover, to keep the cabbage butterflies away.

To do, this next week or so:

Find broccoli transplants
Get more seed potatoes (killed the first batch by forgetting to plant them)
Find tires for potato tower
Find 5-gallon bucket for sweet potato
Get parsnip seeds to plant in toilet paper cores
Lay out the brick path
Get the abandoned pallet behind Turkey Hill to use for a bed paths
Spray the peonies with baking soda water

Ohh! I found out when the spring Master Gardener Sale will be - Friday May 2 is the first day. Yay! Loved it last year - must put money aside.

On the ornamental side, a few tulips are blooming and I pressed a few daffodils and hyacinths to see how they turn out. Most of the perennials are showing good signs of new growth, some faster than the others. One peony is definitely racing ahead - could be a different cultivar than the slower ones, or the others could just be weaker plants. It's the only one that bloomed last year.

Taking the kids to work in Mom's yard on Wednesday. Should prove interesting. Have stopped in and looked at the things I transplanted in the fall, and they all look good. Getting her to make room in the back yard will be a priority, as well as clearing the junk out of eyeshot just inside the gate.

Taylor Bean propagation disappointing

Nothing much happened with the Taylor beans. One looked like it was thinking about germinating, and poked out a little thing that might be a root one day. I stuck it in a pot of dirt. Maybe it will grow, maybe not.

I need to find something else to try. I want shell beans and dried peas this year. Some snap beans and garden peas will be okay, too, but I want the dried ones more. I need to find out what grows well around here. I posted to the PA forum at GardenWeb, but it doesn't seem to be getting much traffic. A woman did give me a good method for intensely planting peas and beans - dig a wide shallow trench and plant the seeds all across it, 1" apart in all directions. Then cover and insert twigs for pea fencing, or supports for pole beans. She said it came from an old Victory Garden book - and she never soaks them first.

Maybe I should look for the things I buy in cans! Cannelinis, garbanzos, northern whites, black beans, etc...

Herbs and more Onions in

I made six milk jug hothouses - hot jugs? Heh. I now it's late in the "winter-sowing" season, but there is still a good danger of frost, and stuff will sprout faster in the jugs.

I over-watered one jug and have to wait for it to drain, but I planted the other five: Lavender "Munstead" from a swap, Cinnamon Basil, Genovese Basil, Thyme (unidentified variety from a swap), and Sweet Marjoram.

DD11 planted a whole quarter with yellow Stuttgarter onion sets. The white onion quarter is doing well with little sprouts all over, but the bunching onions don't seem to be doing much. Maybe I will try them again in a fishbox, since they don't need a lot of depth.

11 also asked me to dig a patch just for her to plant whatever she wants. She said she doesn't want any help - she will look it all up on the internet. I will dig a rectangle at the edge of the grass next to the brick path. DD15 and I need to finish the path this week.

I filled a big fish box with soil, but didn't plant it yet. The spinach and lettuce are doing well, and I could use this box for the next succession of planting in a week or so. Maybe romaine. Planted Japanese Blood Grass in a bagged meat tray. If it goes well, I can use it for swaps. (Note 5/31/08: the JBG never sprouted at all. Could have been bad seed - came from a seed swap.)

Also filled two clay pots from a yard sale - but I may empty the big one and use it to pot a dug-up guara. I need to move the largest one away from the mulberry stump. The stump is sprouting again, and I am going to paint the leaves with Round-up, repeatedly, if necessary. So I don't want any keeper plants near it until I kill it once and for all. (Note: The guara is doing well in a pot, and the stump was susccessfully dug up; no chemical intervention needed.)

Sprouts Up, Seeds In

DD11 planted 5 rows of Nates Coreless Carrots and a row of Detroit Deep Red Beets in one the veggie quarters. It will be warming up this week, and raining off and on toward the weekend. We will get more stuff planted this week.

I took some photos of sprouty-things that I need to put up when I get time. All the lettuce and spinach has come up, and the little white onions are growing. No sign of peas yet. I thought I saw one, but it was a purslane sprout.

First sprouts: Mustard!

The mustard in the little meat tray is coming up, only 5 day after planting. Yay! Nothing yet in the regular beds and boxes.

Madelyn's little pot of mixed seeds is also sprouting inside its ziplock. I think she planted wheat (!), peas, and English daisies, all in one 4" pot.

I planted blackberry lilies in another tray of mixed dirt. I must get more bagged soil!