Taking stock

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day in our region. We hit a high of 78 in our area with periodic clouds. Given we have had mostly unseasonably cooler weather recently, it was a nice surprise that felt really nice. As I walked to the garden with a mental list of what I was going to accomplish, I decided that it was actually going to be a day of minimal input on my part where I would just soak up the garden. Not sure what triggered the change of heart, but I just went with the flow.
So, I grabbed a garbage bag and walked the garden while gathering up the various limbs and other debris that has been deposited by my tree through all the storms we have had. Then I checked the various plants and watered those that needed it. I had a pile of cardboard that I have been working on periodically to shred for my composting. So, I finally finished that process under the shade of my tree. I put the cardboard into my one empty bin and covered that with a heaping of leaf mold. I watered that all down and went about the rest of my meanderings. 
Overall, at this stage of the gardening season, I came to the conclusion that my garden is coming along quite well. I am growing many new plants that I never had. New to me are peas, onions and potatoes. While I nurse them along, I have many plants that are also coming along nicely. Is it worth the effort? Absolutely.
Despite the challenges that this Spring season has presented, the garden is doing about as well as can be expected. There will be more issues I am sure. But that is part of the allure of gardening for me - overcoming the obstacles.
Speaking of issues, our weather is on a projected downward trajectory this week. We have freeze warnings being talked about for Mother's day this Sunday. And the outlook for the rest of May is for colder weather than normal with rain. So much for Spring eh?
But I will continue to dig in and garden. Sure, I'm going to have to adapt to the circumstances but don't we all. Today is a new day and there is lots to do in the garden. And that will keep me moving along. So I'd better get going as the new week is ahead and there's plenty to do. Take care everyone. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!

Moving forward

Posted on May 1, 2020 6:14 PM

Yesterday was quite a wet day for most of the east coast. It started out windy with strong gusts here. I could see the approaching storm to the west but it wasn't raining when I woke up around 6AM. I waited until it got lighter and poked my head out. It was rather warm and despite the winds, really not too bad of a day. I gathered myself and went to the garden and decided it was time to transplant my onion seedlings. I did notice that a crew was delivering shingles by crane to one of my backyard neighbors. Glad it wasn't me as the winds were increasing in intensity.
So, I assembled all my tools and opened the structure where I decided to plant them. As I kept an eye on the approaching storm, I dug the holes and transplanted the 11 seedlings in about 45 minutes. I watered them down, took the picture below and closed off the structure as a little rain was starting. I then closed everything up and went inside as the winds picked up a little more and it began to rain steadily. That's what I call just in time planting. Here is the result of my endeavors.

The storm hit way too hard for me to do much else the rest of the day. We had areas around us that flooded with over a foot of water or more. We received about an inch of rain overall but the winds and the high tides combined to push the local rivers over their banks. Not a pleasant experience for all those involved.
Wednesday, I assembled my fence garden pots in order to seed in more Spinach. I had 5 existing plants which I just cut back on Tuesday for salads. So, I planted in the remaining 7 units with Spinach seeds. I used a mixture of the Miracle Grow Organics soil, sifted compost from my composter, and some seed starting mix at the top to place the seed in. This was a unit a saw on sale last year at our local BJ's. It worked pretty well last year so I am hoping it will do the same or better this year.

Also on Wednesday, I planted in my recycled shoe holder. Yes, I am one of those people who saves things not knowing if I'll ever use it. I just look at the item and, if it is unusual, I more than likely will keep it. In this case, both the tubing and the shoe caddy were saved from the garbage by me. You just never know.
After I hung it on the back wall of my greenhouse, I cut holes in the bottom of each pouch and inserted tubing that I had saved for future purposes probably 3 years ago. I then filled the first container with the dirt and wetted it down to see if the water would empty into the container below. The test confirmed that indeed, the water did flow through. I then proceeded to fill another 7, each time testing to be sure of the drainage. Once that was finished, I had my wife pick out the herbs she would use. She picked the 8 she thought would be used by us. No sense in growing something you won't use. Never understood folks who did that unless a neighbor or other family member were going to use it.

I did check on my beans and cabbage plants. All seem to be coming along fine. With regards to the beans, I used some bean seeds that are probably 4 years old along with brand new beans I just recently bought locally. The older seeds are still quite viable when compared to the newer seeds. I have other seeds from 2010 that I planted early this year that gave me near 90% germination.

I attribute that to the fact that I keep my seeds in a small "dorm" refrigerator and that I keep them in photo cases. I simply pull the proper colored container for the seeds I need and leave the others in the fridge. They are in the container that signifies the season that they are planted. For instance, the yellow and green are for spring. I have the seeds that are typically planted in that season stored in those boxes. Along with this, I have an excel spreadsheet that lists the various 265 seed packets that I have and what year they are from. And, each line is color coded to match the color of the boxes. I bought this at my wife's urging as they are really made for keeping photos. Yes, there was some upfront labor involved, but I haven't bought any seed packets that I didn't know I already had anymore. And this is so much more time efficient than my previous storage system. I say its worth every bit of time I have saved.

Much to my delight, when I looked at the area where I planted my potato starts, there was one that already broke through the ground and evidence that another 6 were beginning to break through too. If that holds up, I will be very pleased by that. I say that because the potato is probably far and away the most caloric and nutritionally dense vegetable. They are rich in carbs, fiber, vitamin C, B6, potassium and manganese. When processed, they lose a fair portion of everything. So, I am cautiously excited as I had a little doubt about the potatoes I received. Apparently, looks are deceiving. Here is a look at my first ever potato plant. LOL!

That's about all I have for this Friday. Much still going on in the garden so I am hoping the weather can moderate. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone.