What Happened to April?

I guess it wasn't noteworthy or I was busy. I think it was cold. It was. We had temps in the low 30's on the 15th and two days before. So, blah. That's gone, though. It was almost 90 three days this week. We need rain. It just drizzled a bit. The next 5 days all have chances for rain so the last day and a half I spent busily planting everything I could. It was probably a record for getting the garden planted.

Big Garden:
Row 1: carrots, Dutch shallots, fennel, parsley, wild arugula, peas, bush beans, pole beans, Mexican sour gherkins, a few onions
Row 2: onions, 2nd yr parsnips, zucchini, winter squashes, chives, adding picotee Cosmos
Row 3: Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, volunteer verbena, garlic, tomatoes, added a few red okra seeds
Row 4: 34 pepper plants, 11 eggplant, onions
Row 5: volunteer garlic & borage, tomatoes, marigolds, walking onions

Old Garden:
Basils (3 kinds), broccoli, Walking Stick Kale, Rat tail radish, lettuces, parsnips, nasturtiums

East side Orchard bed: back to front
3 kinds of maters along the fence- Ivory Pear, Gezahnte, Purple Russian
Melons- cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew
Cucumbers- Hmong Red, Parisian, Pepino
Nasturtiums & White Four O'Clocks

Orchard beds:
Kale, lettuce, arugula, collards, forage kale, cabbages, borage, dill

 Zucchini planted- Fordhook

First hilling of the potatoes

 New labeling system: clothespins.
Also notice the white dust on the plants- diatomaceous earth. Last year I had a problem with the pillbugs eating my young pepper plants so I'm trying this.

 Dusted peppers

 Beauregard Sweet Potatoes (6) planted in the chickweed

Garden ready!

Potatoes in a pot. 

I had several small, sprouting potatoes leftover so I tossed them in this large pot. I've noticed a lot of these on youtube. 

Below: the difference 2 weeks can make. I already had to raise the soil level. It will be full soon. I think this means I will have an early crop. 

My unscientific experiment.

The pot on the left contains compost and a Cali Wonder Bell Pepper Plant.

The pot on the right contains compost with 1 coffee can of "biochar" and a CWBPP.

Biochar is wood that isn't completely burned (charcoal). It is suppose to provide a great habitat for beneficial microbes and is slated to make for healthier & more productive plants.  According to many sources, the practice is 2-3,000 years old. Here is more info on it and how to make it.

I can say that the plant on the right has already been nibbled on by something- probably pillbugs. 

This year I bought Remay or "floating row cover" for the first time. While the tulle I bought from the fabric

store was successful I wanted to compare it to something you wouldn't use to make a prom dress. I can say they both tear easily. Also, I'm having initial concerns about water penetrating the remay. I tested it and it puddled up on the top of my eggplant cage (here). Not good. I uncovered the plants for some impending rain, but worry I will put them at risk of flea beetle infestation. 

The new asparagus bed.

Needs to be painted and tops & bottoms attached. 

I think I counted 20 of 24 plants up. 

The "old" garden.

 The difference a week can bring in spring.

Rain, warmth, longer days.

And today these lilacs are finishing.

 Side yard. Two weeks ago.

Side yard meandering.

New native wildflower bed. 

Fire pinks, Gray Goldenrod, Erigeron, Jacob's Ladder, Columbine

Woodland Phlox, Spigelia, Woodland Spiderwort, Skullcap

and Alpine Strawberries (ok, not all native). 

I just liked these colors & textures together- spirea & hosta

I feel a lot more organized and on top of the gardening game this year. Early on I drew some maps, made a plan and have actually followed through with it this year. Feels good to have it all pretty much in and ready to go. Let's hope the weather cooperates. 

Happy Gardening.

There's Something Going On

What it is ain't exactly clear.

• January 5, 30
• February 2
• March 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
• April 2
• May 3, 6, 7, 24, 27, 28?

What do these dates have in common in 2012? They all tied or broke records for high temperatures. That's nineteen days and we aren't even done with the fifth month of the year. 

I'm wondering about the changes I've seen in plant development and how bloom times and early plant death will impact the insects and other members of the food webs. The National Weather Service is predicting above normal temperatures for the rest of the summer and below normal precipitation. Wonderful. I've already watered my garden way more than I ever have at this time of year. That's ugly. 

How 'bout a quick pictorial view of what's in bloom since it is a holiday or something. BBQ day?

Flowers in Bloom

Datura- before

Datura- the morning after. She's already weeping.

I'd really like to do a series of 10-20 minute pics of this flower opening. It's starts emitting it's lemony smell before it opens. Delish. 

Illinois Prairie Rose in full burst (left)

Illinois Prairie Rose upclose
beloved by Honeybees and Bumbles

Lily #1

Lily #2

Lily #3

Lily #4

Variegation Obsession

Being a plant dork I was obsessing over the patterns in variegated leaves on my back porch last night. Nothing better to do. Kept me mostly out of trouble while the hub was away. These were some of my favorite individual leaves. In awe. 

Caladium variegation

Scented Geranium variegation

Elephant Ear- variety Mojito

Oh ya, Back to more Flowers in Bloom

More Sunflowers planted by the chickens. (came with the compost from the chicken coop)

Flower from one of my desert succulents. Coolness.

Gesneriad- front porch

Peruvian Spider Lily- ooohhh. First time for this one. Got some old bulbs at a box store. 

And one for the ridiculous file

Why yes this IS New England Aster (a late summer/fall bloomer) blooming in late May.

Scenes from the Wild Kingdom

Back porch collection

Brick path to back porch- blue thing is the rain barrel

Hosta bed

Cuttings and Seed Starting

Sedum cuttings for the hellstrip in town

(in a 50-50 sand/potting mix)

Clitoria (shhhs) and 3 types of Basil starting

(nothing will germinate in the soil- too dry)

Oxalis depressa bulbs sprouting

"Autumn Mix" pumpkins and squashes (right) 

Luffa gourds (left)

Other happenings and Experiments

Mortgage Lifter (will it be my first large mater of the season?)

My hundredth attempt at growing Eggplant organically. This time using tulle (only 90cents per yard with my coupon- cheaper than buying garden bug barrier)

Newest attempt at surviving the drought. Kitty litter buckets with 2 pinholes each on the bottom. It takes almost all day for these to drain slowly releasing water into the soil. Straw as mulch also for water preservation.

Same practice, but in my containers using a grape juice bottle:

I like insects

Found this very interesting critter on my bathroom curtain. It looks like it mimics the scale of a pinecone. It tucks its 2 front legs in so you can only see the 4 with crazy feathery projections. I'm thinking it is related to the assassin bugs. I also think that I may have seen it squirt something out its rear end. 

Camouflaged Dragonfly on the lime green feverfew.

Free Stuff 

I made 16 pints of Strawberry jam from all the free strawberries I could pick. The owners were out of town and asked people to pick as much as they could. 

Happy Memorial Day Ya'll.