More weekend fun...

This weekend started off gorgeously.

But mighty Nature bounds as from her birth;

The sun is in the heavens, and life on earth:

Flowers in the valley, splendor in the beam,

Health on the gale, and freshness in the stream.

Lord Byron

So it was a good day for harvesting!

Morning dew on the grass.

The Large things are beets, to the right is red and green leaf lettuce and spinach.

radishes ripe for the picking.

Pac Choi that seems to think it too hot to grow normal.

We caught a nice grub in the middle of its breakfast.

Lots of delicious edibles, now we just need to figure out what to do with the beets. Due to an ... well some sort of problem in her upbringing, my wife has never ventured far into the culinary fields. So beets have never been on the menu. I have never cooked them myself, so we have a slight problem. It's like long ago when George Washington Carver told everyone to plant peanuts to help out their fields, but then when the peanuts abounded, no one knew what to do! Well, we aren't quite so bad off because out neighbors like them and actually know what to do! A third to one, a third to another, and now the problem is manageable. My mom also sent us some recipes and you tube provided a few more ideas. We'll try one a night this week and see if we replant, or just plan on giving the rest to friends (of course we'll pretend we grew them just for them!)

On such a sweet day and with the latest Fine Gardening in hand, it is impossible not to think of what the next area of improvement will be. If you get this magazine, there is an article on making a smelly garden! or as they put it a fragrant pathway. I guess that does sound a little nicer. I am going to do my own version of this in the front yard near the front door so that we can have the nostril's delight come wafting into the house on nice days in spring, summer, and fall.

What I would appreciate, if you haven't just rushed off to start your own heavenly scented garden, (or fallen asleep reading my post) is to give me any recommendations you have on the below mentioned plants. Specific varieties for the PNW (majorly amended clayish soil, lots of rain, and zone 7-8) and even less specific will all be greatly appreciated. Also if you have any insider tips from the stable about care, planting, or even just success stories I would enjoy them as well. In advance, Thank You! (now you feel really obligated, I hope)

Daphne
Abelia
Harlequin
Chaste tree (this may be too large)
Viburnum
Wintersweet
Sweet box (this might need more shade than I can give it though)
Lilac
A steppable ground cover
Wisteria
Lilies of the valley (little ones to line the path)

Possibly also mock orange or choke berry.

These were a few ideas from the magazine...
Carol Mackie Daphne (I've heard Adora is supposed to be the most fragrant, but not seen it in action)
Bridal bouquet Abelia
Harlequin Glory Bower
Black negligee Actaea
Pink Dawn Viburnum
Miss Kim Lilac
Corsican mint ground cover

Hope your weekend was as pleasant, pleasurable, pleasing, playful, picturesque, and pretty as mine!

Mostly about week end fun...

After a bit of light reading and researching, I took our dogs on a walk. Winter is definitly here. It doesn't bring snow, but just the dull, drab, grey, wet, murky, boy this couldn't get much worse type of feeling. However there were a few things to take pictures of so I took them.

a bit of light reading

When I got back, I checked, watered and took pictures of the plants in the cold frame.

Spinach Sprouts

Radishes

Red Leaf Lettuce

Green Lettuce

Then planted the next side of the cold frame. This is a much more condensed planting, and I hope they won't crowd when everything gets bigger. I guess only time will tell.

2nd Planting of all of the veggies

Weekend Work...



Who's a big helper?



As always, there was a small list of things my wife wanted done: install two new can lights, change some light bulbs, clean up after the dogs, etc... then the fun began. My mom sent me some Oriental Lilies, Tulips and Daffodils. It is later than I would usually plant them, but I didn't want to sit in the garage all winter and possibly dry out, so I planted them anyways. Being as it doesn't get really cold, it shouldn't be a problem of freezing 6" underground. I added some bone meal and magic dust (made of worm droppings and other delicacies) to concoction and then recovered the area with leaf mulch.

We already have 4 or 5 clumps of thee lilies along the border of our kitchen garden, so these added to them. If they bloom like they should, it will be nice addition come next year.



Group of Lily bulbs



8" deep hole with bone meal and magic dust.



 

After that I went after a trouble area in our back yard. It seems like there are some areas that you can try to control and fail all spring and summer, but in the winter nothing grows as well so you can get it back in order. The idea is to keep it that way, but we'll see how next year goes. Along the fence line dividing our neighbors and our yard is an area that positively seethes with morning glories. Every year, they laugh at my attempts to keep them on the other side of the fence. By winter it looks more like a group of morning glory bushes than a line of rhododendrons. Black berries thrive there as well. As of now, I am the victor, but they probably are hatching nefarious plans as I write this.

Last of all it was time to check up on the winter garden. We have signs of life! The radishes are starting to sprout. Everything else is still making up their collective mind whether this will be a success, but I have hope for a brighter tomorrow.





It's a boy!



Here are some tips when planting Oriental Lilies:

Lily bulbs may be planted in spring or in the fall, usually from mid-September through mid-October. If you find hardy lilies growing in containers, you may add them to your garden throughout the growing season. When buying locally, select firm, plump bulbs with roots attached. Plant them as soon as possible. Bulbs never go completely dormant so they must not dry out before planting. Plant mail order bulbs as soon as possible, also.

Asiatic and Oriental lilies grow best in full sunlight. They'll grow taller, more spindly, and floppier in reduced light.

For best effect, plant lilies in groups of three or five identical bulbs. Space them eight to twelve inches apart, keeping groups three to five feet apart, depending on the vigor and size of the lilies. Plant small lily bulbs two to four inches deep and large bulbs four to six inches deep, measuring from the top of the bulb. Divide and replant large clusters of bulbs every three years or so – or when it seems they are not blooming as well as originally.

Never plant lilies where standing water collects after heavy rainfall. Well-drained soil is an absolute must. Add lots of organic matter to clay soil to create a raised area with improved drainage. Incorporate organic matter into light, sandy soil also, to help hold onto nutrients and prevent it from drying too rapidly.

Before winter, mulch over newly planted bulbs with four to six inches of loose, weed-free compost, leaves, or wood chips. This delays soil freezing and allows roots to continue growing longer. Mulch also insulates the soil against fluctuating temperatures, delaying the emergence of frost-tender shoots in spring.

Hardy established lily bulbs don't need winter protection where good snow cover is dependable. Wait until some time in November when the ground begins to freeze, before spreading it.

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Building a Cold Frame

It has been cold, wet, and windy all weekend... in other words, perfect weather to build a cold frame. If you have been following the last few weeks, I have been heading in this direction. The culmination of all the efforts are on a video posted at the end of this. I hope you find it enjoyable and maybe even entertaining.
The problem with actually doing things and not just imagining doing them (which I am very good at) is that now it had better work. If an imaginary plan doesn't work, you don't feel too bad. However, when I spend the money, time, and energy to do the project, I spend the next few days thinking of ways I could have done it better or smarter. It is done and now we wait for the organic harvest to begin.

 

In case there is anyone who may want to build one of these, I will be happy to give you as detailed of info as you wish. However, as the vast majority of mankind will never even think of building one, I will not bore you with the steps here. You may e-mail or comment and I will respond.

Happy Gardening!

Mostly about Planting Seeds...

Radish Seeds

  My Johnny’s Seeds have arrived! Well almost all of them…all but one package (which is back ordered a few more days) and the potatoes. It was enough for a beginning.

Lucy "helping" plant seeds

    I want to talk a little about the goal of this venture because it may make the process I am following clearer. I think that anyone can grow lettuce, carrots, etc. (though I have failed even at that) However, I have a grander scheme. I don’t just want to plant, watch them grow, eat, then start all over. We must eat more than once every three months, so I think I have come up with a sustainable system. I am planting based on a two adult/two children appetite. Counting in the variable that my wife doesn’t like the taste of anything green and Lucy is just as happy with rice and beans, we may need even less. This works out in round numbers to 12 Lettuce, 12 Spinach, 6 pokchoi, 12 beets, 36 carrots, and 36 radishes every two weeks. I devised the “divisible by six plan” because the basis will be egg cartons. Starting today, I am planting a few egg cartons every 2 weeks. Once the harvest starts, I will then have harvestable, all organic, loved, cared for, beautiful vegetables every two weeks, with none of those terrible, toxic, deadly pesticides you hear about (although we've eaten our share of non-organic and haven't died yet :-) This is, of course, marring natural disasters, inquisitive dogs, forgetful gardeners, and other phenomenon.

   The process: #1 Steal the egg cartons from the recycle bin (you should have seen the look on its face when it realized it had been swindled) #2 Plant in rows #3 Mark rows #4 Watch and water.

   Once I begin to see sprouts, I will plant them in the hoop house and cold frame. The carrots and radishes should be able to just grow through the packaging, so I can plant their whole cartons. The leafy specimens, I will separate and plant with adequate spacing. Then marking the cold frames and hoop house by dates, I should be able to track them with mathematical precision and watch the cornucopia of organic goodness fill up! (Aren't I "poetical"?)



Egg Cartons filled with Dirt



Radish Seeds getting planted



Cartons ready for transport

Notes: There are a couple small but important notes here for the few weary travelers who have made it thus far.
1) If you buy johnny's seeds, they come in these really nice resealable packages. Don't rip off the top before reading the label.
2) You can buy "pelleted" seeds, which means they have a clay around the seed that will break down. This helps when trying to plant one seed at a time. They are a little larger and easier to handle, though about a dollar more per package $3.95 instead of $2.95. I plan on buying all pelleted from now on.