Garden Walk

Some pictures were posted yesterday that show the overview of the garden.

FRONT YARD
By the mailbox, the peony is a deep, burgundy red and about 8 inches tall. We have some pink and vanilla gerber daisies, pansies, sweet pea and violas around the mailbox as well. The spring bulbs are starting to poke through the ground. We have daffodils, freesia, ranoculous, muscari, narcissus, and one blue hyacinth. I divided the tulips, and replanted them, although I doubt we will see them again this summer. Up along the front porch we have a latham and a heritage raspberry, as well as a amber gold raspberry. The heritage are leafing really well. The yellow has me worried, because the one leaf is dry and withered (even though I know it isn't lacking moisture). The bumblebee-attracting flower seed mix is growing well in the front bed as well. Some of the flowers are 4-6 inches tall already. Okay, not flowers yet, but the leaf spread that will someday have flowers as well. We have 4 horseradish roots in a container that gets moved around to get moisture easily.

The peppermint plant got moved out to the side bed, to take advantage of the lovely weather we have been having. I hope to encourage significant root growth, so it can spend energy reproducing and spreading this spring. I see buds on our lilac, indicating that come spring we should see new growth. Our hydrangeas are showing nice, healthy growth of leaves and buds at ground level. (They were pretty heavily pruned this winter) I don't see any evidence of the money plant germinating yet.

BACK YARD
The beds are all built, but keeping them lined is a pain in the butt. The newspaper dries out, and when I get home, it is blowing all over the yard. Hopefully we will get some dirt this weekend and it will hold the newspaper down. Anyway, the apple tree is alive, but it has reddening and drying of the outer edge of the leaves. The garlic around it is doing really well. I fertilized all the fruit trees today with Citrus-tone, which is an organic fertilizer for fruit and nut trees by Espoma. I love that brand!! I buy it almost exclusively for fertilizing purposes.

The bleeding hearts burst into bloom last night, with tiny little hearts on one branch. I was so excited that I dragged Richard outside in his PJs to go see, even though I know he could not care less.

I pulled up the (dead) plum tree, and will include it in the refund package from Burgess. (If I ever get ahold of them, that is). But the garlic that was planted around them are all up and doing well.

The blueberry patch is undergoing extensive amendments. I pulled up the pine needles and (on the advice of the Clemson Cooperative Extension) sprayed it with a solution of aluminum sulfate, which is supposed to be fast-acting. I will repeat the process again tomorrow too. Once the soil is at a high 5 pH, I will buy another couple blueberry bushes. After a couple months when the soil sulfur kicks in, it will drop it slightly more, so I don't want to overdo it. The best varieties to buy for our area are the rabbiteye blueberries (Clemson extension). So, I will watch out at Woodley's for those when we do our plant shopping.

The strawberries are doing well after being cut back. They all look green and healthy. And there are 4 garlic plants mysteriously growing in with them. Also in the strawberry bed are a few early pea plants. Just to hold impatient me over until Spring. :) And a healthy-looking baby hollyhock is hanging out in that area as well.

The compost heap is still sitting there reminding me of the horrible compost failure this last year. I am about half done shifting it into the beds. But it sucks, so I am ignoring it for now. The venus fly traps I think are gone for good as a result of trying to move the compost bin, and its contents.

I supplemented the asparagus plots with 3 new Jersey Knight crowns. No shoots yet, but it is only February.

The cherry tree looks dead, but I know it is not because the trunks are definitely green. Plants that are dormant can be deceiving. I can't wait until spring when it starts blooming! I love cherry blossoms!!!

The honeysuckle is still in its dormancy, so I haven't seen any new growth yet. The tangerine was dead so it got pulled up. Amazingly, the lemon and lime are still alive!! After a winter outside unprotected. We will see how they do over the course of the spring and summer. If they don't grow, though, they will get pulled up. The lavender is still little. All three plants seem to be alive though. I replaced the rhubarb with 2 new crowns, which are getting pretty big.

The pear tree still has bunches of green leaves at its base. It is definitely alive, and I hope it will grow rapidly this summer. Our grafted trees definitely seem to be the most vigorous trees we have.

CONTAINERS OUTSIDE
Right now we have a bunch of seedlings that are hanging out outside pretty much all day and night. They would be planted out except that there's no dirt in the beds. We have some bell peppers, cauliflower, peppers, popcorn, one of each of the potatoes, Swiss chard, some lettuce...

INSIDE
We have 5 flats of seedlings in the living room, as well as our seed potatoes that are chitting. The seedlings seem to be doing really well in there, and we have even moved things out of the trays already. I am psyched because we have 2 luffa sponge plants that have sprouted. I don't know why but I had this feeling like it wouldn't really work. Like some obstacle would come up that would make it so I don't get to grow luffs. Upstairs we have a tray of tomatoes and peppers, as well as more of our curcurbit seedlings, peppermint, echinacea, chives, stevia, more peppers, and broccoli. I am excited because one of our peanuts just pushed through today as well. I will use these trays every year. They are wonderful!! I am a little bothered though, because some of our seedlings are pretty leggy. We have cantaloupe plants that are close to a foot tall. We have to rotate the trays, and switch their locations to keep them from growing crooked. They turn their heads toward the window like this every day. Also, I found seeds for German chamomile and globe artichokes. They have both been sown, but only the chamomile has germinated at this point.

MODIFICATIONS
I can't think of anything that stands out as needing to be modified.

TASKS
The biggest thing that needs to get done is that the beds need to be filled. Gardening is largely at a standstill at this point until we get soil in the beds. Secondary to that, some kind of trellis system needs to get put in place along the fence for the climbing flowers. I decided that I will drive the posts for the beans into the ground now, and fill the dirt in around them so that they are securely anchored. (We also added black beans to the roster too, I am unstoppable)...

BIGGEST JOYS
The bleeding heart makes my soul just incurably joyful. The trays of seedlings are full of hope and possibility and I love to see how much they've grown just since the day before. I cannot wait until Spring!!

So, the unmade garden bed count is down to 3. We built 3 new beds this week, and now only have 3 more to go.

Everywhere is starting to put out their Spring veggies and springtime plants. It is so exciting and the world feels so fresh. I love it. I broke down and bought some Bibb and Romaine lettuce at Wal-Mart the other day. I wasn't going to get plants like that, but I could use my food stamps and I was just so excited. I also got some new raspberry bushes, and a grapevine there too. (and some horseradish for the potato beds).
I still haven't found sweet potatoes anywhere.

I am pumping myself up, despite common sense, to open a roadside farm stand. I doubt we will be at that point, but it feels good to daydream about.

Another note, our relatively new neighbors across the street have taken an interest in the homestead, and offered their help. I was outside gardening the other afternoon (still in my pajamas) and she called my name and came and introduced herself. She asked to see the garden, and I pensively obliged. (Our backyard looks atrocious!!) She was very pleasant, and seemed to ignore the rotting vegetables, and newspaper and cardboard everywhere, and the partially dug up sod. It felt good, because she treats me like an expert, and it feels validating.

I am excited to build a friendship with her, and she seems excited for me to teach her daughters about sustainable agriculture. I offered to help build her a garden bed, and tend it if she wants. Granted it will be Richard putting it together, but he loves me and said he didn't mind. She offered her daughters to be 'harvest helpers', and I will utilize that whenever I can, of course. Possibly even to help at a farm stand ;)

She brought up a good idea, and it was that I should see if I can possibly teach sustainability and urban agriculture at local schools. I used to teach Junior Achievement, and figure a similar model would work. It is something to look into, for sure.

Anyway, we put some Jersey Knight asparagus and rhubarb in their spots to supplement. Also, I am not sure if I wrote that I had put in a honeysuckle and a bleeding heart. That was a while ago, but the bleeding heart is doing well, and leafing out.

The beds that are left to build are the pepper bed, sweet potato bed and greens bed. We need to buy 21 cubic yards of soil to fill it, and we should be able to do that soon. I am scheduled to plant the curcurbit and melon family of plants this weekend. I found some heirloom watermelon seeds that I am excited to use. And we had to buy more cantaloupe because Zenny scattered them around the yard.

Next year I would like to do all heirlooms, so I can save the seeds and continue the family no matter where we go. I plan on getting some heirloom tomato plants this season from Woodley's (they say they will be in early March). I like being able to reproduce from saved seed. Feels more personal, I guess.

I am planning to do the garden walk this Saturday, when I will be excited from planting all morning. That is the day I am expecting to get dirt too. And in all reality I may be trying to put it off until then, because it will look so much better.

Another entry coming soon. Love you guys!!

No garden walk, sorry!!

I know that today was supposed to be the day I did the garden walk. But I will have to do it another day.

The entire house has a virus. And we are gross, oozing, and barely mobile.

On top of that, it has been raining consistently for three days now.

So, garden news: Zenny's cucumber plant was transplanted into a computer part container. It was beginning to get rootbound, and one of the leaves was starting to yellow at the tip. While we were transplanting, we learned the cucumber roots smell like cucumber. (It was very exciting for Zenny)

**On that note, almost all of our plants are showing the same sign as the rootbound cucumber. When the first true leaf has grown, the cotyledons start to pale and yellow. It makes me worry that I am going something wrong. They all look healthy and fine until it gets the true leaves. The true leaves seem to be darker though, so I was thinking that maybe they fall off eventually. I will have to ask**

Today, we planted the chives (regular and garlic), echinacea, and thyme. On the calendar it says that a lot of things should have been done by now. Beds should be built, lined and filled, and our spring greens should have been sown outside. I have had to adjust a little to things not being exactly the way I would design them to happen. And that is another life lesson the garden is giving me. It won't hurt to plant things out a little later than expected. One of the two tomato plants I set out for a couple hours (like 3) died. I think of damping off. I will wait until they are bigger before I try that again.

Also, I think rather than starting all the seedlings in egg cartons, I may start more out in plastic yogurt containers (which fit perfectly in the windowsill). Plus I like those yogurts better than in the packs that you have to snap apart.

I just worry about stuff. It seems like I kill off as much or more than I successfully grow. We will just have to see, and learn, and revise, and do it again.

Garden walk will be posted soon, with pictures!!

Change of plans

So today is definitely the dirt-under-the-nails kinds of day. Last night there was an amazing rainstorm. It made the night refreshing and peaceful. I even had Richard leave our bedroom door open as I fell asleep. The smell of the rain, and its peaceful drumming lulled me to sleep wonderfully. The last few days have been gray and droll. And waking up today was glorious with the sun shining brightly. It's like the world got its cry in and this morning it felt much happier.

However, our glass table outside was a casualty of the storm, being knocked over and shattering in the wind. Mom said she would put a new piece of plywood in it, so that it will be usable. I think I will make a mosaic on the top of it, so that it is beautiful and full of intention.

Anyway, today the cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, jalapenos (with the exception of a few) and a few of the bell peppers got transplanted into their Yankee Candle pots. And we sowed a case of peas, and 3 types of lettuce (Romaine, Simpson, and Mesclun), and the Harmony hybrid Spinach. We moved 12 of the tomato and pepper plants down to the windowsill in the family room. And now there are so many plants, that they don't fit in the growing station, or laundry room combined. So now I have taken over the coffee table in the family room as well. I can tell how happy mom is going to be about this... (at least we can plant a lot of stuff out in a month and a half) And this summer she will really appreciate all the effort and sacrifice.

But it is becoming evident that I will need a far more extensive setup for seed starting in the future. Even the large light stands that I see in catalogs probably wouldn't be sufficient even. I think if I built a standalone shelving unit I could make one large enough to work. But where on earth it would go is beyond me. If I got a bunch of heating mats, it could go in the garage. But at this point, that is not financially viable.

On the homestead front, though: Richard and I cam to a very important decision yesterday. We decided that the long-term plan is to move to New York. I think it will be perfectly feasible to make a homestead work there as well. The way that impacts the SC homestead is that I will not put more significant financial resources into the garden here than is necessary to achieve the needs for the short term. For instance, I won't buy the maple tree or nut trees, that won't be expected to bear for 5 years. Because we won't be here. Additionally, we need to be concerned with reselling the property in the future, so large renovations need to be as buyer-neutral as possible.

I will still plan on Maple and nut trees, and wonderful perennial gardens, and everything, but in New York. And there, we have the possibility of chickens, bees, and whatnot. So be prepared, someday, the SC Suburban Farm will be the Carlsen Homestead.

Either way, it is still my intention to live fully in this home while we are here. To grow, learn, and love with everything I've got. And the change of plans will, in no way, damper my enthusiasm for the SC homestead. It will be great, and a wonderful experience. And someday, it will be a wonderful start for someone looking for a homestead of their own.

I think I will also try to do a roadside farm stand if our yields can support it. Get some income, in addition to getting some publicity for the Homestead. Be more active in the revolution, you know...

Anyway, that's about it for now. Otherwise, I'd be rambling. Saturday there is a garden walk scheduled. So expect a large post, with pictures!! Hopefully there is, by some miracle, tons of progress by that point.