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Garden Update
The past couple of weekends have been busy in our back yard. Last weekend Joe buried a water line out to the garden. This weekend we mulched the area running around the side and the back to expand the area to include several mounds of strawberries, melons and squash that were previously in the wild. The mulch and brick perimeter tidied up the area and more than doubled the size of the garden. We did not supplement or weed the…
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First Pick
This morning I picked my first broccoli. One of the broccoli’s flowers had begun to open and I knew the others would be close behind so I cut the center stalk from most the plants. It would appear that someone(s) else thought the broccoli was ripe for picking too as there were score of small green worms working their way up the heads. I’m really hoping I picked them all off! I guess a little extra protein wouldn’t hurt and…
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First Blossom of the Season
Yesterday, on the day we celebrated Life and the Resurrection, I went outside to enjoy the greenery. I was completely surprised to find one of my pea plants had dared to send out a blossom. I planted the peas with beans and spinach in the middle of February. While the beans rotted in the soil because it was still too cold, the peas have been doing well and are looking for things to climb on, including each other. When I…
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Peppers Planted
I found an interesting method of growing peppers called “Pillar of Peppers“. To construct this, Joe lined a tomato cage with chicken wire and landscaping cloth, pushed the cage into the ground and filled it with a vegetable potting soil. Today, I cut slits in the cloth, dug out small recesses for my plants and tucked them in. I thoroughly watered pillar and will wait two days to see which peppers survive and replace those which don’t. The peppers are…
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Tips on Saving Money in the Perennial Garden
I am not a very experienced or skilled gardener. However, there are a couple things I have found to save money while building up a perennial garden. 1) Buy plants on clearance after their peak. Last year I bought (at 50% off) several containers of Easter Lilies that had lost most of their flowers. I planted them, let them die back and they have multiplied this spring. 2) Cut and root clippings and replant. I have a huge Black and…
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Container Gardening Tips
16″d, 20″w plastic pots and saucers from Big Lots: $11 ea. Last year I grew several containers of tomatoes and peppers. The Anaheim, Cayenne, and Jalapeño peppers (in 10” deep pots) did great. The Patio Tomato (in a 16” deep pot) was very bushy, produced well and didn’t need vertical support, but the birds often beat me to the crop. The better boys (in 12” deep wood barrels) were no good and gave me only 1 tomato, likely because they…
