Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
I’m suffering from a total lack of interest today. It rained through the night just a little and I’m not really in the mood to be playing in the garden mud this morning. I rolled out of bed a little later than usual and had an unappetizing breakfast of healthy cereal which tasted a lot like cardboard. I knew it was going to be one of those day when I left a kitchen cabinet door open and then proceeded to walk into it a few minutes later putting a small notch in my head. That’s what I mean when I say "One of those days."
The next thing was the damn alarm system. It’s nice to have technology in my life but when I have to put up with a smart ass alarm system telling me how stupid I am, it’s kind of embarrassing. After screwing around for ten minutes I finally set the alarm, got in the car, and left the garage. Five seconds after the garage door closed I realized I’d forgotten my camera and telephone. Back to the house, turn off the alarm, get my stuff, and then back to try and set the alarm once again. If the burglars have as much trouble getting in as I had getting out we should be completely safe.
I then headed to the first of six nurseries trying to find cayenne pepper seedlings. For some reason unknown to me or the nurserymen, there seems to be a shortage of cayenne peppers this spring. I normally can buy a six pack of the plants for a couple of dollars but not this year. My last stop was at a nursery well known for it’s impossibly high prices for just about everything. They had only three cayenne pepper plants, each planted in separate container, with a cost of $3.99 a plant.
BS I tell you!
As I was leaving empty handed I had an uninterested employee ask me in that awful politically correct tone, “Have you found everything you were looking for sir?”. I nicely told her no. I was looking for a few decent prices but couldn’t find even one.
Double BS!!
I’ve also been looking for a new garden bench for the last few weeks with no success. I stopped at Home Depot today after checking out their website which listed close to twenty different types. I searched for twenty minutes through that huge building and was beginning to get a little frustrated. Depot has never been known for it’s customer service and that hasn’t changed a bit. After tracking down a store employee who did his best to avoid me, I asked about the benches. He explained to me, the pain-in-the-ass customer, that they have no benches in inventory. He gave me one of those smarmy smiles and told me they were an online purchase only.
Triple BS!!!
Screw them, I left in a huff after wasting most of my morning. I revisited my reliable local nursery and purchased a few additional Ghost pepper plants and a six pack of orange bell peppers. Total cost, $5.20. I never did find a effing bench but I’ll sit my butt on the ground before paying $199.99 for one.
This day has sucked soooo bad. I guess it’s time for me and the cat to kick back and relax on the deck. I can sip a drink and relive the last few hours of this stupid day and try to smile. The cat could care less either way. He just lays there like he always does thinking about what cats think about. He’s not smiling either.
The final plants are being planted and within a week the garden will be left to grow and bloom on it’s own. It may require fertilizer one more time in mid-summer and steady watering but the hard work is mostly over for me. I’ll be back at it sometime in October for the final harvesting, cleanup, and soil preparation for next year.
Even though we had a frost scare the other night the plants are doing fine. A few of them were nipped by the cold but should survive without a problem. Feeling a little motivated this morning I was in the garden early to do some final plantings. It was another chilly night last night and the winds haven’t lessened in the least.
The better-half recently purchased a spaghetti squash plant and I planted it today. We love spaghetti squash but have had no luck growing our own. Maybe this year will be different.
I decided to plant another basil because our original plantings look terrible. They may ultimately recover but I thought another large plant should be planted just in case. If they all take off like I hope they will, we’ll have more than enough to dry and store this Fall.
I planted another dozen marigolds around the perimeter of the garden which will hopefully keep those annoying critters away. It’s a win/win because they also add a nice touch of color to the garden.
We’re also trying to grow leeks for the first time. I don’t anticipate them growing too large due to our short growing season. We’ll probably be eating them half-grown like scallions for use in soups or salads. I may even be able to freeze some for our winter meals. I’m crossing my fingers on this one because I love the flavor of leeks.
So we have another garden almost completed and the waiting can then begin. Barring any unforeseen catastrophes we should have great results in the Fall.
It appears that the weather will finally permit me to get back into the garden. I’ve been monitoring the long-range weather forecast for a week and it looks as if the chances of a hard frost are behind us. Most of the night time temperatures for the next two weeks are in the high forties and low to mid-fifties. Today is the day that the majority of the garden will be planted.
I’ve had a lot of plants in my cold frames for more than a week letting them get accustomed to the weather and cooler temperatures. I collected my three dozen hard boiled eggs, a bag of fertilizer, and headed to the garden.
Dig a five inch deep hole, drop in an egg, crush the top, drop in a little fertilizer, and set the plant in place. Do it about ten more times and you have a nice patch of jalapenos peppers to harvest later in the Summer.
Next came the cherry tomato plants. I decided to double the number of plants from last year because we eat so much salad during the Summer months. We came up a little short last year and I don’t want that happening again. What good is a salad without tomatoes.
I planted the zucchini, yellow squash, and kohlrabi’s next but ran out of eggs. I plan on picking up more eggs tonight and tomorrow I can plant all of the remaining cucumber plants. Twenty minutes of sprinkling completes the planting for today. Hopefully we’ll get some rain in the next few days or I’ll be running the sprinklers again.
I was a little surprised to find that I had two areas in the frames where I could add some miscellaneous plants. The better-half and I will decide what else we need and have them planted over the weekend. My goal was to have everything planted before the end of the Memorial Day weekend and we’re right on schedule for a change.
With Spring underway in Maine the plants can’t wait to get out of the ground. With such a short growing season no time is wasted by either Mother Nature or the people who live here. As I posted a few weeks ago people were on the beach already wearing bikinis. That’s even early for native Mainer’s but it didn’t stop them.
The tourist season in Maine is huge and it’s important to keep the visitors entertained and happy. That’s why during Spring and Summer months there’s a steady stream of festivals, farmer’s markets, fairs, and individual town celebrations.
Last weekend my better-half returned from her week long trip and we were able to get out and enjoy the sunny weather on Saturday. We were making our way through the city of Sanford to visit a nursery further south in North Berwick. We happened upon our first town gathering of the year. It was some type of farmer’s market where booths were set up by neighboring farms selling their homemade products and plants. We immediately parked and began to mingle.
It’s always fun to visit with the farmers and to purchase a few products while also snapping a few pictures. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful day and the excellent company. It was one of my first visits back to the city where I lived for eight years and I was glad to see things hadn’t changed at all. People were as friendly as I remembered and welcoming of any and all visitors.
‘It was a great start to what will be a great Summer.’
I’m happy to announce that a peace treaty has been reached in my eight year struggle with the squirrels. Every place I’ve lived and gardened over the years I’ve been forced to deal with those little delinquents who insist on driving me insane. I’ve tried just about everything but I’ve never gotten the upper hand.
Seven years ago we were inundated with a population surge of red squirrels. They’re much more aggressive than the grays and caused a great deal of damage to my deck and feeders. I spent some money for ammunition and was able to thin the herd a little. After tons of research and the expenditure of more money than I care to think about, I found feeders the little bastards couldn’t get into. They continued to visit my deck and tried over and over again to piss me off without much success.
One side of our property faces a wooded area where gray squirrels dominate and on the other side of the property the trees are filled with reds. I was beginning to feel overrun like the last guy at the Alamo. I hated shooting them so I continued looking for a way to make peace.
Earlier this year I decided to try misdirection on them by installing a squirrel feeder behind the house. It’s easily in reach by both factions but it also keeps all of them away from my house and deck. Now they can battle amongst themselves for the food I supply and I get to sit back and watch the fun.
Finally I have a little piece of mind. I had to buy the feeder and the corn to put in it but I can live with that. As you can see from these photos these little guys have no fear of humans, especially this human. I walked around taking these photo’s and he never blinked an eye.
His new routine begins every morning around 7:30 am. He shows up for his breakfast and then climbs back into the trees. I’ve made peace with the reds but the grays have yet to attempt a visit to the new feeder. The war will continue between them but for a change I won’t be stuck in the middle. It’s worth every penny.
I love the Spring of the year. It rejuvenates me like no other season can. I can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning, go outside in the garden, and just mellow out. I’m sorry if I sound a little like a hippie or a New Ager but it can’t be helped.
With the better-half still out of town I decided to get as much done as possible with the garden before she returns home. I traveled a few miles down the road to my favorite nursery yesterday. It’s rather small and family run but the plants and seedlings I purchase there always seem to do better than the stuff the big box stores are peddling. This small nursery takes a great deal of pride in supplying their customers with the healthiest and happiest plants they possibly can.
I arrived at the nursery the day after Mother’s Day and the place was cleaned out. The staff was busily restocking the greenhouses and repotting seedlings as fast as they could. The owner who’s become a friend of sorts over the years told me that this Mother’s Day weekend was the best weekend they’ve had since opening the nursery almost fifteen years ago. I love hearing things like that. It seems people are once again finding a home garden something they want to do and do properly.
I can thank my parents for my interest in gardening. My late Mother was really into growing a large assortment of flowers and her knowledge of herbs was amazing. She passed that knowledge on to me and I thank her everyday. To me she’s always seems to be hanging around my garden talking with the plants and checking things out as she always did.
My Dad was more into growing vegetables and I picked up a lot of information and tips from him over the years as well. He also educated me on the proper curse words to use when describing deer, groundhogs, and rabbits. His war with them was epic and never-ending and it gave the rest of the family a lot of laughs over the years. Just as a point of fact, he never won that war.
‘Culpeper’s Complete Herbal’
This is my favorite book on herbs. I’ve had my old copy for more than thirty years and for me it’s a real connection to the past. Some of the information is outdated but in it’s day it was the ultimate source for herbal facts and remedies.
I purchased a few dozen marigolds yesterday that I intend to plant around the perimeter of the garden. They seem to magically keep the deer and other pests away and it something we’ve done for years. Many of my neighbors complain constantly every summer about the wildlife that comes to visit and damage their gardens. I’m not sure just why marigolds keep them away but they do. I’ve been told it has something to do with their fragrance but who really knows?
Tomorrow my garden work continues with a general clean up but I won’t be planting anything else for at least the next two weeks. The fear of a hard frost remains a real possibility until sometime after Memorial Day.
I can’t wait to get up and get going.
The excellent weather will be ending tonight if the forecasters are accurate so I’ve been scrambling to get a few things done before the rains arrive. The second wave of plantings were finished yesterday. I spent some time removing a few dead plants from the herb garden and then replanted twelve others. I put in extra parsley and basil plants and after drying in the Fall we should have enough to last the winter.
‘Lots of Oregano’
I replanted all of my Sage plants because for some unknown reason they all died. I hate losing plants that I’ve had for years but there isn’t much I can do about it. I really thought the heavy snow cover for most of last winter would’ve helped keep them healthy and happy. As usual it appears the apple-mint, spearmint, peppermint, catnip, and oregano will be huge. In just the last few weeks those plants have grown four inches and are spreading everywhere.
‘More Basil’
The new mower arrived last evening and I spent this morning going over all of the equipment and controls. I finally fired it up and spent an hour learning to operate the machine. It’s much smaller than my last tractor but it cuts very well and is easy to steer around the many obstacles on the property. Next week I’ll pass the older tractor over to my step daughter’s husband. They should with a little TLC be able to use it for a few more years and possibly even longer.
‘We Always Need Rosemary’
Next week with the better-half out of town I’ll begin purchasing the next batch of plants and place them into the cold frames. Cherry tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, cucumbers, and pea pods lead the list. Just after Memorial Day I’ll get everything else planted as quickly as possible. Then it’ll be time to retire to the deck to relax and watch things grow for a month or two.
‘There Are Chives Everywhere’
I’ll stock up on some good brandy and a case of Chardonnay and that’ll be my contribution in helping Mother Nature in getting my garden to flourish.
The sunshine and deck beckon.
Almost a week of beautiful warm weather and I think I’ve made the adjustment quite nicely. The expensive to run heating system has been shut down until sometime in late October (Yeh!) and my winter wear has been stored for another year. I actually had a weather related orgasm yesterday when the temperature reached eighty degrees for the first time. I have to admit it was really good for me.
‘Red Cabbage’
I made a visit to a nearby family run nursery to make the first of many upcoming purchases for this year. I was looking primarily for lettuces and cabbages which can stand the cold nights we’re still having. There’s nothing better than strolling through a smoking hot greenhouse. There are times when shopping at this nursery is like going to Walmart. You start buying this and that and eventually find it hard to stop. I wanted to fill my car with plants but my better-half helped keep me under control.
‘Delicious Rhubarb’
Since we eat a great deal of salads I loaded up with four different types of lettuce. We should have more than enough to last us until Fall. Throw in some cherry tomatoes and a few onions and we’re good to go. On a whim I purchased and planted twelve purple cabbage plants. We’ve never tried growing them before but there’s nothing better than cooked cabbage. I hope they do well.
‘Assorted Lettuces’
I returned home and couldn’t wait to get planting. It didn’t take too long as you can see. The next stage will be the new herbs I purchased. I picked up a quantity of parsley, sage, basil, and rosemary. Some of them are annuals that must be replaced each year and a few others that were replacements of ones that didn’t survive the winter.
The remaining herbs that did survive are really starting to sprout and from all appearances I’ll probably be knee deep in oregano this year.
I’m standing here shaving this morning and finally noticed just how tanned I’ve become. The weather has warmed a bit but it’s still cold at night and during the day in the shade. It’s becoming rather annoying but at least I’m getting a good base for my Summer tan.
Even though I continue to whine about the weather it doesn’t seem to be bothering the plant life all that much. As you can see by the pictures the plants here in Maine refuse to wait for Summer to arrive. Flowers are shooting up and blooming everywhere regardless of the cold weather.
Even the garden wants to get going and right now. My asparagus patch that I planted early last year has started sprouting which makes me very happy. I can’t eat any of it for another year but it looks as if we’ll have a nice large patch we can harvest from next summer. There’s nothing better than fresh from the garden asparagus coated with a little butter.
The rhubarb is coming in nicely and I look forward to harvesting it for the first time this year. I see strawberry/rhubarb pie and a dozen jars of rhubarb jam in my future. This Fall should be a good all around harvest.
The cold frames are filled with lettuces and a collection of herbs waiting to be planted. The lettuce will go in next week and the replacement herbs the week after. I’m planting a larger patch of parsley than normal because we’ve used up just about everything from last summer. A lot of basil for making pesto and a number of Rosemary plants too. We can’t seem to enjoy our meals fully without using fresh herbs whenever possible.
More yard repairs are needed and a few spots need replanting. I made the decision to purchase a new lawn tractor this week and I’ll pass my older one over to my step daughter and her husband. One large headache finally dealt with and now I can go forward to enjoy my Summer.
2015 has already made a great start and it should be a warm and pleasant Summer. I also see a beach day very very soon.
Mud and rain! Is mud and rain actually any better than snow and ice? I’m beginning to believe there’s no damn difference. They’re both annoying and require special clothing; parka and gloves v. raincoat and galoshes.
It’s nice to see that the ice and snow are completely gone but the reason is this steady rain we’re dealing with now and for the next two weeks. That’s assuming the weather forecasters are correct and of course they never get it wrong.
I had a lot of plans for garden preparation this week and I refuse to be confounded by this weather. Although my luck hasn’t been all that good so far this Spring. My lawn tractor remains idle because I can’t find someone to repair it without forcing me to take out a mortgage. This little bit of minor repair work will cost me almost half of what I originally paid for the damn thing. It’s getting bad when a lawn tractor becomes a disposable item.
Last week I ordered a pallet of dirt from Lowe’s and of course it was delivered today during the rain storm. Fortunately it was 75 bags of palletized dirt which was at least somewhat waterproof. My garden frames needed some replenishment since I updated portions of them and made them a few inches deeper.
After checking the forecast for the next few weeks I was forced into getting busy immediately to add that new dirt to the garden. I removed the bags from the pallet and threw the required number into those frames that needed filling. It was an absolute mess. It rained off and on the entire time and turned the yard into a bog.
I slogged my way through the wet and mud for a couple of hours and managed to get the dirt where it needed to be. At the end of the day I was exhausted, muddy, chilled, and really wet. After some cleanup and a lot of raking the job was completed and I immediately hit the showers.
Stage-1 of the garden prep was rebuilding the frames and Step-2 was refilling those frames. Next comes Step-3 where I rototill the soil to loosen it up and then place garden fabric over the dirt to eliminate those god awful weeds that make gardening suck. Step-4 is the installation of the sprinkler system which is really a necessity. Step-5 is the purchase, planting, and fertilizing of the plants. After that it’s time to sit back and watch things grow until late summer when Step-6 begins. Step-6 is harvesting the crop, Step-7 is canning, and Step-8 is cleaning out the frames once again and composting the soil in preparation for next year.
Who said gardening wasn’t fun.
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