snowfall

Yesterday it was 80°. Today it is snowing.

I moved my three pots of herbs on the deck into the greenhouse (which is still holding at 38°) and brought all the seedling trays inside. Some of them- the tatsoi and tokyo bekana- could probably be fine out there, but I prefer not to take chances. Not now, when I'm still getting back into managing the plants and taking care of all the tasks.

I put the seedling trays into shallow boxes and affixed wire mesh over, to keep my cats from messing with it. The wire is in narrow strips that used to cover my planter boxes on the deck railings (which I removed last year, they were cracking and sun faded and split apart) but it seems to be enough- kitties have stood up to sniff at it but not tried to jump on top or stick their paws in.

A few in the wire cage are under the bench too.

They are all safe from the cold and getting enough light (to survive), and in a few days I can move them back out again.

sticks and seeds

Italian heirloom tomatoes sprouted, and a few of the garlic chives- and now there's seedlings in every single tray I sowed. Not all varieties grew, but something of each. My expectations were too low, this year! Outside I planted carrots, turnips and sugar snap peas today. I trimmed the viburnum and that gave me a lot of sticks with little twigs going every which way for pea supports.

Put a makeshift shield of wire shelving and old fencing mesh over the carrot bed, and scattered hot pepper flakes and coffee grounds on the other two, to deter the squirrel from digging. (That's turnips sown in bed 10 left corner background of the photo).

Squirrels have obviously been all over burying stash in the mulch. I found a lot of empty and half-rotted peanut shells, some halved walnuts, a few acorns, and one sprouted almond!

That's a first.

new project

My dill has come up! 

And I have been painting bricks (cinder blocks) to replace old rotted edges on beds 7 and 8. I thought I was all set with five or six days of dry weather to work in, plenty of time to take it at a casual pace and have the hours of drying time between layers needed.

Then the forecast changed and now it's going to rain on wed so I have to haul all the bricks inside and move them back out on friday when it dries up again, bah.

It was hot today- 85 degrees. I've been taking the seedlings out of the greenhouse each day now to sit on the table in the sun- but I had to move them into shade this afternoon.

leggy

Seedlings have sprouted in most of my trays now. Lettuces came up yesterday, and tomatoes today. There's blank spots, but at least something for each. The tokyo bekana is awfully leggy- not enough light- I put them all out on the deck this morning (tomatoes got sunlight their first day!) and will either sprinkle more soil around the stems in the tray, or just plant them deeper when potting up.

Bah, the camera didn't quite focus on them.

early plants

I haven't done my usual walk all around the property to see what's growing, but here's a few pictures from the last couple days minor work outside. In the garden, one plant I moved to shade spot on the inner ends of beds 3 and 4 the year before, survived: a catmint.

I made no extra effort to protect plants from the severe cold we had this winter, so pleased and surprirsed to find that both lemon balm

and sorrel survived (though tarragon, winter savory and bunching onions did not. And sage is gone. Remains to be seen if my sculpit will regrow).

My lavender looks okay, if reduced. Both rosemary plants are browned and bronzed in the upper foliage

but some green remains on the lower parts of the plants, so I hope with a trim they'll be okay.

Similar with my potted thyme, which I really thought would die in the greenhouse this winter! (camera refused to focus on the green leaf)

Chives

and parsley are also still alive.

Also my happy thing- a new tree! Pictured from my bedroom window.

In the fall, I planted a young redbud out front (don't remember if I posted about it here). I've long wanted a redbud out front. I don't know how old this one was when I bought it from the local nursery, but it's about the same size as the one I've had for years on the sideyard, and a better shape. I am hoping it blooms this year. I put it where a tree died not long after I moved into this house, and the stump was left there (on purpose) for years- I think more than five years- with those yellow-flowering sedums planted around/over it. 

When I put this tree in, that stump had rotted out enough that I literally just pulled hunks out of the ground. Very little effort. It was super easy to spade up the soft humus and soil- easiest hole for a tree planting I've ever done. And I hope the rotted wood will feed this young tree well.

caged

Two days later and my first seedlings have sprouted! Some tokyo bekana and a few tatsoi. Both of saved seed from my own garden- plus a few tokyo bekana seed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (none of the SESE tatsoi sprouted yet). I'm guessing my saved seed sprouted first because it's not as old, and thus more viable. But glad to know that putting the seed containers in my basement room worked just as well as the fridge- at least for some.

One of my biggest hurdles with gardening this year is how to do the seedling stage- because my method for years and years has been to use warmth of the fridge top for germination, and natural sunlight from windows for growth. (I just never had any desire to buy heated mats or grow lights when I already have sources of heat and light) That's why I built all those long benches to stack them up by our one large window that gets good light. But now my cats think they own that bench, it's their sunning spot. And they are very destructive to plants, and like to mess with everything (it's why I only have two house plants now, kept very high up. Sadness).

So I put my seedlings in a cage. 

An old, too-small hamster cage. It's only big enough for a few trays, if I make a shelf in there. The germinating trays are on top of the fridge in large boxes- so the cat can't jump there (one of her favorite high places). I have some wire shelving removed from a closet years ago, I'm thinking of having the boxes open top with the wire shelves across it and something to weigh or lash it down, when they need light.

Of course the best place will be out in my little greenhouse, so I'm trying to conscientiously start things later than I used to, so they can withstand the night temperatures and stay out there 24-7 sooner. But am expecting that some will have to come indoors on colder nights at times, trying to plan ahead for that. Also growing far less than in previous years- I'm planning on filling only five of the nine garden beds (tenth has the permanent rue). It still feels like a lot! However I'm feeling energized for it and seeing these first green sprouts lifting their seed coat heads cheers me immensely.

working the dirt

I sowed beet seed today. Remembered to soak it. I don't recognize this packet, must have got it at a plant swap during one of those years I wasn't planting the garden. It's not from any of the seed companies I used to order from. Detroit dark red.

I pulled off the straw mulch from half of bed 3 (the other half will have leaf beet chard and green beans on the trellis is my plan). There were just a few wheat sprouts, easy to pull. I turned the soil over with a trowel, picked out some of the heavier lumps, made shallow furrows and dropped the seeds in, spacing them by hand. Swept the soil back over top with my fingers, patted it all down firm and watered. The work so dearly familiar and soothing. I should have gone back inside at that point but then set down to pull weeds from behind bed 1 against the house wall- where I've been dumping pistachio and peanut shells as mulch.

While none are coming up yet in the front yard around the mailbox, there's one borage plant come up in bed 1,

and another in the mulched path behind it. Debating if I will try to dig them up and transplant elsewhere, though I think they're too far grown for that.

And then I sat with the fire pit, letting pieces of downed tree branches turn to ash (which I will feed to the lawn later) reading a book I have been dragging my feet to finish, while doing another pleasant thing I have avoided for too long (fire). I felt like I had forgotten how to start a fire- after going through five matches and the flames smoldered and died twice, I went inside and hunted up the very last of those lint/egg carton/dipped wax starter lumps once made for camping. One left. I used it to get this fire going, and then even with my wood slightly damp it went merrily for another hour or two. And I finished my book.

1st sowing attempt

I really want to plant the garden again this year, even though don't quite feel up for the task. Last time I tried, I couldn't even face the planning stage. The year before I had half a dozen pots of herbs on the deck, and only half of them survived. My concussion PT said I should just focus on growing one plant at first, and if that started to feel manageable, then do two next year, slowly build it up.

I had in mind to just try tomatoes and green beans, two that seem easy to do, very familiar plants. Sat down at the table with my folder of notes and past years' garden maps, containers of saved seed. I read through all my notes, sorted through the seed packets, made a list of plants. Got a bit ambitious, even though it is far less than I used to grow.

I sowed twelve trays with

• Lettuce romaine/ceasar cross (saved seed)
• Lettuce, leaf type (saved)
• Chives, garlic (from my sister's garden)
• Dill, Mammoth
• Dill saved from 2023
• Dill saved from 2017
• Green bunching onions, evergreen hardy (saved)
• Green onions, Nebuka
• Tokyo bekana (chinese cabbage) saved from 2021
• Tokyo bekana from Southern Exposure Seed exchange
• Tatsoi saved from 2021
• Tatsoi from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
• Lettuce, crisp mint
• Lettuce, Webb's wonder
• Lettuce, Grand Rapids
• Lettuce, Paris island
• Tomato, Italian heirloom
• Tomato, Cherokee purple
• Tomato, sweetie 100 cherry
• Tomato, black cherry
• Tomato, beefsteak
• Tomato, brandywine 2011 (bought)
• Tomato, brandywine (yellow packet)
• Chard, leaf beet
• Chard, swiss
• Collards, blue, saved from 2020
• Collards, blue from 2019 (bought)
• Collards, yellow cabbage

It took four hours. Felt like a lot more time than I used to spend on this task. I tried to do the steps carefully and thought I had remembered it all, but I made several mistakes already. Forgot that it's better to sow the chard straight in the ground, and soak them first. Forgot to evenly moisten the seed starter mix first, and the moisture is not soaking down into the trays. 

So I will probably have to redo a lot of them. And I expect a high failure rate because my seed is two years older, and it wasn't stored in the fridge. I had pulled them out and put downstairs in the basement storage room. Which is cooler than the rest of the house, but not as temperature stable as my fridge was.

Also the reason I sowed so many varieties. I don't need seven kinds of tomatoes and six of lettuce- and probably don't have space for all that anyway. But I expect a lot of it won't grow, so I marked the seedling trays clearly then I'll know which packets are too old, to throw out.

I did make a list at the beginning, of what plants: we ate the most of, I miss the most and were easiest to grow. Happily everything on my list, I still had seed packets for! The rest include sugar snap peas, turnips, beets, carrots, green beans, amaranth, sage, hyssop, basil and summer savory.

Here's to a new start.

tiny acorns

Forgot I had taken this photo a few weeks ago, at the tail end of collecting acorns out of the yard. The ordinary majority are about the size of my fingernail, and sometimes I find ones half sized- just as wide, only flatter:

But this year I found quite a few very tiny ones as well. Perfectly round, and little neat caps, but very small. I am not sure if there have always been tiny acorns and I just never noticed them before, or if some are underdeveloped because the trees were stressed? We had a very dry, hot summer. Small ones-

pictures

Well I didn't get any of the work done the other day- beds cleaned up, stuff moved around in the front. But I did take a few this morning- one of the mature beautyberry - so bright with color when a lot else is turning brown- this is why I want some across the front

Like my ostrich ferns here on the sideyard- mostly dry fronds now, just one or two still green.

Here's a delightful surprise. A few weeks ago I filled a low spot in the back yard with dirt from that haul, then scattered thickly grass seed mixed with compost and potting soil (it's just what I had), and a layer of shredded dry leaves and straw on top. Watered every day for two weeks, then paused when it rained two nights in a row and forgot to continue. I went out later to water again- and found it's all sprouting! Way thicker than I expected. My first thought was one of happy shock: it worked! (As if it wouldn't, planting grass seed). Though I don't know if it will be established enough before winter, I did this kind of impulsively and late in the fall.

work!

I made a list of tasks for the garden, and surprised myself by getting more than half of them done today. Plus a few other things that I just started to do while out there. Spent much of the day outside, it felt great though my muscles are very sore now!

Broke apart a straw bale and spread it over the garden beds. I had four bales and was surprised that one was plenty for all eight beds- and a good two inches thick, at that. That stuff is really compact! I already like this better than dry leaves as winter mulch- it doesn't blow off and around the yard again when it's windy. Got to figure out how to store the other bales to keep dry. If I don't have any problems with the mulch (mildew, or tons of wheat sprouts ugh) I will happily use more on the beds in spring, around the plants.

I cleaned up the smaller sideyard today. Cut back joe pye weed where the dead leaves had blackened (from aphids I think). Pulled out flopped over gladiola foliage that was going through fence into the neighbor's space. My black-and-blue salvia is so lush and thriving over there! It had spread to almost completely cover the lamb's ears (which are nearly all gone- or dormant- only one sad plant could I find) and somehow, I don't care. I trimmed the blue salvia a bit, and gave it leaf mold mulch, and pulled up vinca around it much as I could.

Moved some plants around in the front bed, under the house windows. I dug up and moved forward the two small newer azaleas, and moved to the back the one young beautyberry that's doing great, and put in the same row two more beautyberries. They had been in the back side bed flanking panicle hydrangeas, and must've got too much shade or competition, because just thin slender bits compared to the one that's been in front. So hope they will grow more here, and grace my front yard, I can just picture them draping lovely over the edging onto the lower bed (it's two tiers kinda). There's two very cut back little evergreen shrubs in between the beautyberries, maybe they will show some green when I cut the beauties back. Or maybe they will get overwhelmed, not sure how that will work out.

I pulled up and cut back more yellow salvia in front (not so fond of it anymore). Yanked out some sensitive fern- likewise loosing my admiration for that plant. It just looks dead half the year- from heat especially it suffers. I mulched the two young arborvitae- they're actually doing well! Dug up and moved a few pulmonaria, and dug up and moved (divided also, to spread it out) the calamint  that was in front right by the porch (an azalea has taken its place now). I put it along side bed 4 in the garden. Except- there was something else there growing up new sprouts already. I don't remember what else I took cuttings of and stuck in the ground here. Wild geranium?

Broke up the bottom end of last year's leaf pile- the thick mulchy stuff that's (just like my compost pile) full of tree roots. I did a rougher job of it, this just for feeding plants. Gave plenty to the black-and-blue salvia (two bucketfulls), a bucketfull spread around the new redbud out front, and half a bucket each to the young trees on the larger sideyard (redbud and japanese maple hybrid). Also fed one rhodedendron, the smaller forsythia, spicebush, all the plants I moved around in the front, the larger established beautyberry (I had to prop up trailing branches off the ground- it's going to need a good cutback later this winter!), the row of boneset, the oakleaf hydrangeas, and my three surviving ferns in the way back. There's maybe two bucket's worth left to break up and decide who gets it.

I also cut back seedhead fluff off the larger 'chocolate' joe pye plants and the boneset, and scattered in places where I would like more to grow.

Sorry no pictures. Maybe I will get some tomorrow to add in.

I have been spreading mulch

 from last year's leaf pile, turning over and shoveling out the compost pile to spread on the garden beds. Doing it in smaller stages than years before, over several days. The regular compost pile, I don't think I'd turned it in two years. Bottom foot was completely infiltrated with masses of fine tree roots. I found the easiest way to deal with these, was chopping the compost/root mass into segments, flipping them over and whacking with the shovel blade over and over to loosen up the mass and knock all the dry sediment out. Tossing the now mostly bare root masses aside, I actually filled nearly twenty buckets full of compost. It was very fine and crumbly and dry, no worms or tiny critters at all. In fact I wonder if it has any nutrient value left, or if the tree roots took it all. Regardless, I spread it on the beds over the rough soil/clay layer recently added. 

Then on the third day, upended my smaller under-the-deck bin (an old metal trash can with holes punched in the sides) which has had a lot more use (I add to this most frequently, as it's covered tightly and vermin can't get in. It gets most of the kitchen vegetable waste, whereas the larger yard bin gets plant trimmings and dry leaves). Complete opposite experience: this compost was heavy, dense, moist, full of crawling worms, had a rich odor. I portioned it out among the beds (about three heaping shovelfuls each, mixed with the drier stuff from the larger backyard bin, spread it all out. Tomorrow will cover the beds with broken-down straw as winter mulch. (A neighbor wanted to get rid of some straw bales they had used for Halloween decoration- my gain!) Then hope it will all be well-mixed and softened by nature's work come spring.

I've also been mowing over the dry leaves several days a week, since it hasn't been damp this is possible and it will help feed my poor lawn. And picking up all the acorns. I realize now that my strategy actually worked: the squirrels have quit frequenting my yard because I'm removing the main attraction. Every few days when I have enough nuts gathered, I fill my pockets or a small bag and take a walk, throw them in the woods behind the neighborhood. The deer can eat them there. 

more cleanup

I have been attempting, this week, to clean up the garden beds and get them in shape for coming winter. Mostly because the compost bin in the back is full up and has been sitting there for over two years, and I hate the richness to go to waste. So I am working on pulling weeds, digging up and transplanting some perennial flowers into other spots in the yard, and spreading loads of dirt that I hauled home from someone's yard project over a month ago. One bag per bed. It doesn't cover with much depth, but tops it off enough that when I add the compost and then a layer of dry leaves, the beds will be full and can break down more over the cold season. So then in spring if I actually have the mental energy to plan and start a garden again, it will be ready.

It has felt satisfying to see the beds clean and dark soil again. It's mostly clay with some lumps I have to bread up, but I did throw a handful of compost with a few worms into each bag when got it home, so it's already started loosening up some.

I left a few nicotiana and borage in the corners of beds 1 and 4.

And the lovage is looking better now that the weather has cooled down.

I've been lifting off, digging out soil that sifted and straightening more of the edging bricks too, though most of the rows are not completely straight and still have a few crooked. You can see gaps here and there between them. Working on that gradually, a few at a time.

rewrap

I re-skinned my little greenhouse. 

Not sure why as I haven't been using it, which is the reason it sat with a panel completely missing from one short side, half the back torn, and most of the roof. It tore from age and weather, and I just hadn't had the motivation to go out and fix it. But with more possibility of rain in the coming months, I didn't want it to get into disrepair. Some of the smaller wood pieces are starting to rot, but most of it is still in fair condition, standing up and staying dry. It was satisfying to see the temperature immediately swing up to over a hundred degrees in there, once I had all the wrap fastened on!

I used medium weight mildew-resistant clear plastic shower liners again. I didn't get it on as straight and wrinkle-free as usual, and had to patch some gaps with tape. Also the support up across back of the roof panel came off, and I lazily just held it back in place with duct tape instead of going to find a screw and screwdriver in the garage. I can work more on it later.

sidetracked

Today I went out intending to straighten another line of bricks on the garden edging, some are still wonky. But I got distracted by doing things with plants instead! I guess that's a good sign of my interest reviving. I cleared grass and spreading bugleweed from the stone edge on the side bed in the backyard, pulled most of the violets out of the front bed, yanked out all the 'autumn joy' sedums in that area (they look diseased), dug and planted in their spot a few lungwort babies, cleared some weeds and sensitive fern (dying back) from around the young arborvitae on the sunny sideyard, pulled up the milkweed over there (it looks sickly too, and I still don't have any monarchs visiting), turned part of the leaf mulch pile and mulched all of the front bed. Whew! 

I wore my skating knee pads while doing the work. It really saves some aches.

My canna lilies died this past winter too. They had never flowered, so I don't feel that's too much loss.

The beautyberry are looking fantastic! I should get some photos (might edit to add later). Even the young ones I dug up and transplanted few years ago, are looking nice (though not making decorative berries yet). I have one in the front bed and am really looking forward to how showy that will be someday soon.

reckoning

There's a lot to re-evaluate as I start working in the garden again. I found out which plants can't survive the winter without extra mulch and care. I've lost my potted figs, chocolate mint, green onions, tarragon, some stinking hellebores, the hyssop, winter savory and probably more that I can't remember now. Or have forgotten their names. 

I was surprised to find that both rosemary plants are still alive- doing better when I ignored them. My shady sideyard has been overwhelmed by the joe pye weed and black-and-blue salvia (which pleases me). The salvia crowded out the lamb's ears and gladiolas. Somehow I don't mind loosing some glads- I'm not as fond of them anymore- but I do miss the lamb's ears. Mabye I will try to move them to a different spot, because I love seeing the blue salvia thrive. I even saw two hummingbirds fighting over the space this week! 

I find I'm not too keen on the yellow salvia under my trees anymore, or the sensitive fern that looks terrible half the year, or the 'autumn joy' sedums that the deer munch on so they don't look great and have very few blooms. My lilac appears to be suffering, some branches have died, and my lavender is much reduced in size, but I cut out a lot of dead stems and hope it will grow back.

Today I pulled out a ton of mock strawberry in and around some garden beds, and straightened out one whole brick row of edging, on bed 4. I thought I was lining the bricks up straight enough, but then when I got to the end the last brick wouldn't meet the corner one square. So I took them all off again and ran a string line from one end to the other. Redid it- much straighter! Packed the clay soil in tight underneath and hopefully I won't have to re-do this one for several years (the clay gets pretty solid). I'm pleased because this bed has always had a crooked edge where the stump of an old tree never came out. I finally broke up and removed most of that. Then planted some calamint (nepitella) along the edge- which I'd pulled up when trimming in the front bed. Stems had rooted where they trailed on the ground. Easy to move and put in more areas. Such a bright, sharp scent.

The lovage there at the end wasn't doing too great but a few weeks ago I cut out yellowing foliage, weeded around it, mulched and watered. It's perking up a little bit.

In bed 1, I yanked out all the mock strawberry but left half a dozen of this plant that's growing there as volunteer (or weed) also. I've always left a few of these around the yard, they seem to get eaten more by the insects - so I view it as a decoy or trap plant. I still don't know what it is!

I was also pleased to see that the little broken stone "mowing strip" I dug in along the outside base of bed 1, is mostly still in place! There were some weeds in the cracks but once I pulled those up, it was far easier to make this a clean edge when mowing. Encourages me to continue with that project (I have a lot of rocks stacked on my bench intended for this). There are more edging bricks to straighten too (as visible on the left).

Here's the few herbs I have: parsley, thyme and chives. All bought as starts from the nursery months ago, I didn't do anything from seed this year. With my cat Eliza in the window.

She was meowing at me.

I had basil and mint also, but they died. I forget to water sometimes, still. I've removed and dumped the soil from the planter boxes that hung on my deck railings. One was badly cracked and spilled- I'd fixed it with duct tape years ago but it wasn't holding and looked awful. Another was warped, and all four the plastic really faded and discolored. Not sure yet if I will replace those or use them somewhere else. 

It's a lot of work but I'm trying to just do a little bit at a time. Mostly focused on rebuilding and fixing structures in the garden, improving the soil again (when I pulled off the bricks, nice to see the soil was still dark and healthy-looking under the dried crusty top inches), and getting rid of weeds. Have to figure out a fencing solution too, or the rabbits will just eat everything I grow. Oddly, I have not seen many squirrels in my yard this year. We do have red-tailed hawks, an owl and foxes that come through regularly, I wonder if they have just reduced the numbers. Or if they don't have as many nuts to bury, or if they aren't interested in digging in my garden because the soil got so hard and compacted without me working and amending it.

tiny frog

The garden is still neglected, though I have begun to work in it again. Clearing weeds, spreading some light mulch, hauling extra dirt in from a neighbor. It's mostly clay so I mixed in some old potting soil and a handful of compost with live worms, per bag, letting it sit for a while. One bag didn't get the compost. Will see if it breaks down and improves a bit over the next few months (I'm not ready to spread it yet, going to straighten some of the garden edging and maybe transplant a few things out first).

Nicotiana and borage are still self-seeding, and the plant I think is shiso but never confirmed.

I looked over the railing the other day and saw something on a leaf. 

Went down and looked closer: a tiny tree frog. The size of my thumbnail. 

So cute. Of course it kept hopping away from us, but I called my kid down to see and we took pictures and got it to sit on our hands a moment. (Washed them well afterwards).

four years

That's how long I've had Tucker.

I think it's the longest I've kept any paradise fish. He's the only fish I have now. With lots of snails.

I think he looks pretty good.

I think my cats

are best buddies now. They have two cat beds side-by-side, but try to fit in the same one together. It's snug!

Mabel wouldn't look at me when I squeaked to get them both facing the camera. 

baby snake

Found along the edge of garden bed, when I was trimming back the grass. After spending hours out there (or so it felt like) pulling the weeds from the beds. I saw this wriggle away and thought it was a large earthworm, but it moved differently. I actually saw three of them- and caught one (gently) just to take a picture.

Tiny Northern brown snake! (my best guess at identifying). I am fairly sure it is the same species I saw years ago as adult- I'm glad to know they're thriving in my yard. This one so small it's the width of my wedding ring. Literally.

I show nothing of the garden yet because it's in such terrible shape. But there are a few flowers lingering even though the heat- from a mixed packet my sister sent me last year. (I don't know which these are)