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| I have pre painted the lumber for the second of two new cold frames. |
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| I like to add handles on each side for easy movement for the frame. |
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| I will try to add a screening compost video below... |
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| Blueberries planted in EarthBox planter. |
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| Time to forage for Ramps. |
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| And then cook them - They are great eating. |
After what has seemed like forever gardening
weather has finally arrived. The newest cold frame got a paint job and is
in use with plants already. I got the current and blueberries in
the mail this week and so had to make the decision as to where to plant the
currants. The blueberries are going into the Earthboxes as way to ensure
the soil can be amended to acidify the pH.
Luckily the compost was thawed so that I could screen enough to use that soil and peat moss to mix a soil to plant these small bush types in. I use a wire screen and do this to the compost bins in spring - putting the big stuff that needs some more time back into a new bin. I mixed the compost and peat about half and half and added a 7/7/7 fertilizer mix and later I will add some ammonium sulfate around each of the plants. The smallest variety - Northsky - I decided to get another plant to have a total of two in one planter. The other planter has one Northcountry and one Northblue and I hope to find one of these varieties that does the best in this planter experiment.
Luckily the compost was thawed so that I could screen enough to use that soil and peat moss to mix a soil to plant these small bush types in. I use a wire screen and do this to the compost bins in spring - putting the big stuff that needs some more time back into a new bin. I mixed the compost and peat about half and half and added a 7/7/7 fertilizer mix and later I will add some ammonium sulfate around each of the plants. The smallest variety - Northsky - I decided to get another plant to have a total of two in one planter. The other planter has one Northcountry and one Northblue and I hope to find one of these varieties that does the best in this planter experiment.
The Rovada currants I decided to put in part of the old perennial bed just off the path leading into the garden for easy
picking. I really like red currant jelly
– some of the easiest to make because red currents contain great pectin and
jell almost by themselves.
The fig trees have been in the greenhouse for at least two weeks and have not sprouted yet - I think they are done for. If I have to replace the Chicago turkey fig, I am going to carry the experiment with figs into the ground - literally planting them in the ground as close to the house as I can. The cloning experiment did not yield a new plant as I had wished. I think I tried to plant the clones too soon and they both sadly did not have enough roots to survive. But it was a good learning event.
Seeds seem to be more difficult than normal to sprout this year - or maybe it could be the old gardener! Parsley and lettuce seem changeling as well as some pelletized onion seed. This year I did ship in some set of "Candy" onions which I got in the ground this week. I also had some blanks in the garlic patch so I tried to replace them with some to last year’s garlic harvest that was sprouted and maybe will grow. This week I should get to the flower seeds and herbs and maybe tomato transplanted. The peppers need at least another week before they have true leaves - the marker that they are larger enough to be transplanted into a larger pot. Remember don’t go too big with transplants keep the intervals small so that the little plants are not lost in a big pot.
The fig trees have been in the greenhouse for at least two weeks and have not sprouted yet - I think they are done for. If I have to replace the Chicago turkey fig, I am going to carry the experiment with figs into the ground - literally planting them in the ground as close to the house as I can. The cloning experiment did not yield a new plant as I had wished. I think I tried to plant the clones too soon and they both sadly did not have enough roots to survive. But it was a good learning event.
Seeds seem to be more difficult than normal to sprout this year - or maybe it could be the old gardener! Parsley and lettuce seem changeling as well as some pelletized onion seed. This year I did ship in some set of "Candy" onions which I got in the ground this week. I also had some blanks in the garlic patch so I tried to replace them with some to last year’s garlic harvest that was sprouted and maybe will grow. This week I should get to the flower seeds and herbs and maybe tomato transplanted. The peppers need at least another week before they have true leaves - the marker that they are larger enough to be transplanted into a larger pot. Remember don’t go too big with transplants keep the intervals small so that the little plants are not lost in a big pot.
With the weather continuing to get
better we will try to use the rototiller and get the garden space on its way.
Happy Gardening
What a great idea using an old door as a screen. I am a professional gardener/landscaper by day and have often wondered how to screen soil onsite in large quantities. This is it ! You could even sit it on a couple of saw horses and park the barrows underneath. Thanks for the great idea.
ReplyDeleteDear Auckland:
ReplyDeleteWell- its not quite a door but a screen door would ,as you note, work nicely - this is hardware cloth which has larger openings for screening but not big enough for most rocks and woody debris to pass through. Mine was on top of the wheelbarrow for easy movement to the next spot of work - glad I sparked an idea.
Happy Gardening