New *Improved* Berry Bed

It is so nice out today I decided to do some clean up and mess around in the garden.  the soil is still too cold for most things, but worse still, it is too wet to even touch!

I cleared out bed #2, to let the soil warm up a little and dry out.  I left the straw for later use in compost or mulch if it isn't too soggy.

I planted some mint in the "cabbage patch" so to speak, where the broccoli and Brussels Sprouts will be soon.  It is supposed to help deter the cabbage moth, which was a real pain picking caterpillars last year.  hopefully it helps.  I brought out the seedlings, and put them in the prop box.  I have been keeping an eye on them, and will have to watch the nighttime temperature and cover them if it gets too cool.  They are a hardy group of crops though, so I am hoping this sturdies them up and gets them ready to transplant.  I know that their growth will improve drastically once they can stretch out their roots.  I also took the lettuce that I seeded and put in the prop box as well, in hopes that it will improve germination.  I am trying ot use up all the old seeds I have and get use of them, while at the same time, not holding on to valueless goods!

So...I have also been coming up with clever ways to recycle trash from the yard, and just general ideas to make the yard look nice.

• I decided to use Mickey's old holey work boots as a flower pot. {why not? they'll just go to a landfill anyways, why not let them be fully rotten by the time they get there?}
• I took an old broken chair of the kids and sunk a flower pot into it, and added a gimpy trellis.  I plan to find something to plant in it, just as soon as I decide where I want it.
• I decided that I am definitely interested in vining hops up to the treehouse.  It is the perfect height and would give some much needed shade for the gardeners and skate boarders below.  I may do grapes up one side and hops on the other and put some garden furniture under the decking. Sounds pretty.
• I would love to make a hammock.  Or two, or four.
• I would love to make garden furniture from saplings, and stumps, etc. Then plant with vines!
• I want to put a Tee Pee up in my garden (not just the ones for my pole beans).  My mom gave me one made with treated 1x2 and muslin cloth.  It just needs to be set up.  I was thinking that by the end of the week, it should be less soggy out and we can do that!
• When I plant my corn, I want to make a maze. {Maize?  Anyone? tee hee}                               Granted, it will be a rather small maze, but who cares? Not my kids!  So, instead of just planting blocks of rows, I will have to make up a design, and incorporate that into my succession sowing plan.  It may complicate it a bit, but that seems to be the way I like things!
• Help Chas plant a real garden.  Since I stole his blocks.....well, I feel like he needs a small domain to master.  We will figure out what stuff he would like and get him growing, too.  Audrey gets the area around the swingset, until we decide to move it, and I am also going to occupy much of the space below his treehouse. (but hey, he gets a sweet treehouse, so fair is fair!) So he gets to decide.  Either that or he can take over the soon to be herb garden, that seems to be his favorite thing, MINT TEA!!!!
• Planting of Elderberries and Jerusalem Artichokes.....hmmm...this one is trickier for me.  First, I just read in the Wiki that elderberry plants contain cyanide.  Although the flowers and berries are safe to eat, the leaves, twigs and roots can build up to be toxic.  {I DID NOT KNOW THAT!!!}.  And honestly, from the talk of the Perennial sunflowers being 'like' potatoes, I thought the tubers were larger and/or perhaps the  plant would be larger.  HMMMM.....I just don't know which would be better in the garden area, if either.  I thought I preferred the elderberry because of it's ability to spread and fill quickly, it has a nice perfume to the flowers, the berries are adored by many native birds, as well as native people, and has been consumed, as such for centuries.  Not to mention making wines an jams....but I did not, however, know that the rest of the plant was a natural (aren't they all?) source of cyanide.  *I think I will have to think about it*

Yep, I thought all that up, today! And, I also got something done from my summer list!

I took away the old compost bin from between the Asparagus, and the Blueberries! YAY! =)

It worked out pretty well, with the "core samples" I "borrowed/stole" from Chas' garden of last year.  

The concrete tubes fit about right as the back of the bed, and they are officially "full sun" now....not that they were in dense shade before, but they are no longer sheltered at all.  I really like it and it is a real improvement aesthetically.  

(Picture of last years Bed)

I am sure that my round-up spraying neighbors, who have the most direct view of my lovely garden, will appreciate any changes in that department.  I am pretty sure that they do not value my pallet compost bins nearly as much as I (and my veggies) do! =)  But hey, all in good time. All in good time!

It is improving.  And I am designating directives left and right. this will be this, and that will be that.  Later this is that and that is this.....it's a fun daydream for me, to decide what is best for a given situation....and trial and error, as always! Like my Ajuga....a failure in the Box elder Bed out front...but success in the side yard to the east.  Same for tulips and other bulbs...they need to head east as well...it is all just a try and see how it goes adventure.  Sometimes it is all gravy....and sometimes it's a rock-hard biscuit! But it is just how you learn why things work and why they don't or how to trick them into growing anyways! Fun stuff.....and today is no different!

Oh, and speaking of today.....PEA SPROUTERS!!!  Audrey was so excited to hear that they sprouted! and from what I could tell, they have grown since this morning! Seriously! When I first saw them up, I brushed the straw away and they had just broken the surface and they are at least 1/2 " now, and probably taller later.  It is just amazing! If you actually had the patience to ( and I do) you could literally watch them grow.  And I have heard of Hops being even faster growing, and can, on a good day, gain a foot in one day! Awesome!

No carrot sprouts, as of yet.  I plan to plant out another patch in succession and pray that the first still sprouts.  If not, I will get back around to their turn again.  I put in a few more spinach in a little cellpack, as well....just keep sowing, sowing, sowing.....OH! I am so excited Spring is finally here! =)

Here is my yellow squash, that I thought would never flower. I have been checking on them everyday, so they don't get too big....but they are about the same! But hey, at least I know if it is a zuchinni or a squash.
Here is a few Amish Paste. I really like their tear drop shape. they aren't booming in production like last year.
This is a HUGE cluster of Romas. I didn't get this kind of production last year and this particular plant is just REFUSING to be average! There 7-8 large tomatoes and a few new flowers dropping, which means MORE on this same cluster! If they ripened at the same time you would likely get enough sauce for at least one pizza! Maybe 2!

I am still just waiting for anything to ripen. I put in a few cucumbers in the potato bed, and some mesclun lettuces. I figure I will be pulling those taters out soon enough.....

This week I also sprayed the apples, and bluberries, and I fertilized the blueberries with hollytone. I am beginning to notice that the Elliot blueberries are the ones that show the worst symptoms of Chlorosis, and they have put on the least amount of growth and shown the least amount of improvement. I am remembering that they were the last varieties we picked, they were bearing fruit in their pots and they were scraggly and stunted to begin with....HMMMMM....this could be a sign of previous neglect....they were scattered in with random plants at Lowe's.......

still thinking on that one!

picture update 1 of 2

this is leaf chlorosis on blueberry....this worries me because I read in blueberries, that iron deficiency can cause this. What causes iron deficiency??? The PH is too high, and therefore iron is unavailable. This is an early warning sign, and that is why I am monitoring closely and adjusting as best I can! Check out these links:

Here is a PDF Pamplet on Blueberries

And The Blueberry Bulletin from Rutgers U. in NJ and some Info from Michegan State
This is an aparagus fern that has apparently gone to berry. This is common on old varieties (that are open pollinated and have both male and female plants), but I planted Jersey Knight, and they are supposed to be an all-male hybrid. You can barely see the lowest berry is turning a sort of red color. I haven't decided what, if anything, I should do. I considered trying to grow the berries to give away or plant in any gaps in my bed. We'll see! :)

OOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!!! The strawberries are flowering!!! There is only 3 flowers, but I bet that is enough for little Audrey to get excited. I am assuming they are everbearing, since they are called "eversweet".....mmmmmmmmmm yummy!
And here are my beautiful lilies. There is a belladonna lily in the background (aka: naked lady) and my double bloom on this new stargazer. I can't eat them, but they sure are pretty! And they smell like heaven! I have decided lilies are in my top 10, maybe even top 5 plants, even though they have no purpose other than making me smile!!!! These also fit into my mmmmmmm! yummy! category, because they smell so so so so so good!

How to Put in a Raised Bed for Blueberries

Today I started, and have almost finished putting together a raised bed for the blueberries we purchased months ago. They have been residing all this time in a thick bed of chopped and moistened oak leaves to keep them from drying out in their measly 1 gallon pots. I had removed each bush from their pots and loosened and moistened the potting mix, then amended it with my own mix of peat moss and fertilizer. I was hoping to counteract any raising PH level that might occur from water leaching since they were at the nursery. (I use the term Nursery VERY loosely, they were purchased in the garden center at Lowe's.....could be worse I suppose, I could have bought them at Wally-World!)

I have also sprayed them with a foliar spray of Iron. I noticed that the new growth is pale yellow-green. And I wanted to ensure that they did not have nutrient deficiencies. So I have been trying to make due, and keep them going "as is".

Today I mowed over my pile of oak leaves, bagged it up and moved it away to the compost heap (starting a new pile). Then I had to bust out the tiller. I left a layer a few inches deep of the chopped leaves and "duff" layer under the leaf bin and tilled it up. I then added my opened bag of peat moss, dusted the entire surface with sulfur and dumped a bag of soil acidifier in there. I then raked it all up to mix it in, and tilled it again. I added a full bag of peat and tilled some more. I wanted to be sure to thoroughly mix the soil with the peat and left over leaf mold.....and make sure that the amendments were thoroughly incorporated. I dug a few holes and popped the blueberries in the homes. I haven't removed their buckets yet, but only because I am letting the soil and amendments mellow and I may add compost, or other things before planting. I am trying to be patient, but I would like the job to be done! I busted my hump on this bed today. I probably put in 5 or 6 hours so far.

The Garden Lately

These are my Ever sweet Strawberries, as you can see I am trying to root the runners before planting. And the next pic is the Blueberries; two each of three varieties: Elliot, O'Neal, and Chippewa. They currently reside in a thick mulch of chopped oak leaves until planting. This is also where I found my Giant Worm, if I ever get a chance to post a pick of him, I will.

These are the two "rotational" beds the one with the bird bath is Potato and Peas. The other bed has Tomato in the cages, peppers in between a few of them and broccoli down the front and side. I also seeded carrots in front of that, and cantelopes behind the tomatoes against a fence, but alas, no sprouts! :(

And finally, this is the Asparagus bed. I have been waiting YEARS to plant this. As it takes 3 years minimum to reach harvestable maturity, waiting is the last thing you want do. These are "Jersey Knight" hybrid, male crowns I purchased from Burgess (in Bloomington, IL) I believe it was something like $5 for 10....so I jumped on it. I water it, mulch, feed and weed it like the rest of the garden, and sometime in 2011, I can eat some! :)