Month End Close - January 2011

A lot of growing - overall January was a pretty good month.  A bit of cold; but not as bad as December.  And some more space.  **and the neighbor has caught the spruce up your yard bug**

 Weather Actuals
Total Precipitation: 3.00"
High: 79
Low: 30
Mean Average: 58

Notice that the mailbox/street end area is finally, finally on the last stretch.  Just need to check water flow in a downpour then spread the mulch on top.

Check out that meandering pathway with the sexy curves?  We are really  liking how this addition is turning out.  The pathways; the tiers in the planters - all just work nicely.  And, the drainage at the end of the driveway seems to be improved.

Poor driveway; these past few months it has taken a beating.  I'm still thinking there has got to be some earth friendly way to just; you know; use this as a base and put something more environmentally friendly on top it?  Any ideas?

Its been a good recovery time for the plants; much growth and much goodness in our tummy's.

All of the freeze damaged semi-tropicals have been moved out; save my favorite green/yellow croton.  Though, I fear it may be gone; hopefully it will come back from the roots.

The seedlings tossed out a month or so back are starting to grow up and fill in the spaces we have been harvesting.  I'm starting to think about where late spring plants will be growing as I put out new seedlings.  I want to toss more root veggies around to grow up before it gets too warm.  We've found that we really like them, and they are suppose to help pull deep minerals up.  The back row extension there is in the last stage; around about the end of February I'll pull out the black plastic and plant the first batch of Okra.  Which I haven't started yet (behind schedule) but plan to start tomorrow.  Cell tray and tags all ready for seeds!  In the mean time; I'm going to use that area to give the potted tomato's a jump start.

Freezes?  What Freezes?

This area, which was painstakingly cleared this fall - has turned out fabulous.  Well, except for the decreased visual screening of what hubs lovingly calls my junky area i.e. the compost zone.  The oak tree canopy and whatever else goes on in this little micro zone lessens the freeze damage other areas get.  Yet, it gets very intense morning sun.  The brassica's really love it back here; and the semi-tropicals have been easy enough to keep warm by putting trashcans over them.

And, there is a Mr Lincoln rose here, that we have done absolutely nothing for.  I think this year I will properly prune it.  The banana is putting out new leaves and the eggplant is full of buds.

And, the Ms Original Black Beauty herself - has hung in through the winter and is setting buds and blooming!  Oh how we have our fingers crossed for some early eggplant while the other babies are growing up.

Eggplants are suppose to be short lived perennials in temperate climates.  The ultimate test will be if it fruits early enough before the babies started this winter grow up and fruit.

The tiny-tweeny space has just jumped!  It looks so nice; hate to munch on it - but thinning the seedlings has added goodness to our salad fixin's.

It would look even nicer if if the white sweet alyssum was actually blooming - grrrrr.  I should have started it from seed much earlier me thinks.

I spruced up and finished up two small spaces - well at least almost finished.  The original rotted out oak stump garden - got extended on the east side just a smidged; a border put in place and cardboard down for cutworm control.  A bit of peat, pine fines, mulch and fertilizer.  The east side of this bed will hopefully be a fine spot for tatsoi to reseed and likewise Black seeded simpson lettuce on the south side.  Or, at minimum will extend our greens season a bit since this is one of our chilly zones in the garden.  Breeze effect maybe?

The copper planter holds the 3.5 gallon black plastic azeala pots; so I can rotate around greens, tomato's, and whatever that needs moving out of full sun.  Umm, and I'll be planting some white caladiums in here later this spring to go along with the flat leaf parsley we want to grow here.  Hoping the flat leaf parsley will also reseed.

Hubs didn't like the idea of the landscape timbers wrapping these trees at the end of the arbor; so I finally got around to finishing off the edging on this. 

Our side is 4x4 landscape timbers along the arbor then oak logs around the trees loop.  The neighbors side is black garden edging and at some point I'll do the cement a lawnmower wheel edging.

The neighbors side has a few Muhly grass planted now and I divided a flax into 4 sections and planted it on the backside of this tree end.  As well, planted 2 dozen caladium bulbs in here.  I also plan to plant some borage on the neighbor's side of the arbor.  Oh, and all the goings on the neighbors side is with their enthusiastic approval.  Hmm, maybe after our growing your own ginger discussion I should get them into growing ginger on their side???

Dec/Jan are just not good sun months for TRATEOFD and the parking pad garden.  They are surprisingly well protected from freeze damage; probably the oak canopy as well the structures to break wind.  Plants didn't die; they just maintained.  Well, except the potato bags - they are growing leaps and bounds.

The sun is just starting to get going into this area again and just this week I have moved some seedlings out to test how they do compared to the set up under the lights.

The tomato bed to be!  Got a bit of warping problem going on the right side; would sure like to get that fixed ....

It has been sitting here marinating since October.  Winter rye and an after that fact; duh - we can plant EDIBLE peas as a cover crop.  We probably started the peas too late

 Tomato's soon!  This is our upside down tomato experiment.  It has had two green tomato's on it all winter.  We carried it into the garage for every freeze.  It has put out a bunch of new growth and is setting buds and blooming; so maybe we'll get more 'maters from it this spring?

The cilantro in the top is still going; I added some more seed.  It's not really enough; maybe I can try really hard to get a bunch of seed to start growing up there.

It was a good month all in all.  We ate well, we fed MIL from the garden and we haven't run out of stuff we want to eat.  In fact; we can have a feast now.  And .... that is a great way to start the new year.  Grow.More.Good.Eats.