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Before the Last Frost (5 Weeks)
We are now five weeks ahead of the statistical last killing frost of the season, and looking ahead on my weather app, we aren’t out of the woods on cold evenings. Last week I shared about the importance of supporting pollinators. One way I do this is to plant flowering perennials. This week I’m writing about finding perennials on a budget. Garden Steals If you are a seasoned gardener, you probably already know which nurseries have the best discount tables…
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Before the Last Frost (6 Weeks)
There are now six weeks until the statistical last frost of the season, but looking at the weather this week, you’d think we were solidly into spring. This week we remember our pollinators. In our yard, there is a patch of clover that the bees love. Earlier this week I just seeded more dutch clover, and back in the fall I planted red clover in the vegetable beds. I’m considering letting those go to flowers rather than turning over the…
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Before the Last Frost (7 Weeks)
This week we are talking about cold frames. A cold frame is similar to a greenhouse, except that it is only used in the cold season to help tender seedlings grow before optimum climate conditions by trapping in heat overnight. A cold frame is not climate controlled. My previous “greenhouse” was really just a large cold frame. Here is a great article explaining the two: The Differences Between a Greenhouse and a Cold Frame Our old cold frame Do you have…
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Before the Last Frost (8 Weeks)
Here in Raleigh, we are about 8 weeks ahead of the last killing frost of the season. Last weekend was so cold and frozen that I did no soil prep until yesterday when I picked up some bags of soil on clearance at Walmart. I don’t often have to add new soil to the garden because we compost a good amount of the old plants, but anytime there are tomato vines suspected of disease, the go down to the curb…
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Before the Last Killing Frost (9 Weeks)
Nine Weeks Before the Last Killing Frost This week is about soil preparation. There are tons of methods to preparing the soil, and some of those resources are listed below along with places you can find supplies locally. I prefer to use Black Kow and Black Chicken Compost and apply them early enough to give the chicken compost time to cool. This year we have our own source of chicken poo! This link lays out exactly what and how much…
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Before the Last Killing Frost (10 Weeks)
Ten Weeks Before the Last Killing Frost In Raleigh, NC (Zone 7b), there are approximately ten weeks before our big outdoor planting weekend. If you buy mostly vegetable starter plants for your home garden, this countdown may not be very significant (ten weeks seems far off ), but if you enjoy starting your plants from seed, this is a reason to scurry to action. Some plants require sowing seeds indoors 10 weeks before the last frost. Have a Dream and…
