Gardening

[sapphire]

Hi Uncle Al,
The smell of rosemary makes me ever so slightly queasy and I have no intention of rubbing it on my skin! That being said, it is a lovely plant and the flowers are pretty. Up here, if one wants to over winter rosemary, one has to bring it inside in a pot. I do know someone who did that and had a splendid 3 ft tall rosemary bush that her trimmed to Christmas tree shape.

The herbs I grow are oregano, chives, mint, parsley, basil, thyme and borage if I can find it. Borage flowers have a nice cucmber like flavor, quite refreshing. Some times, if I remember to do it, I'll add chamomile. I used to grow sage, but I'm not all that fond of it. Also used to grow sorrel, but that went the way of the dodo and I haven't replaced it.

The soil is drying out a bit so I just might get that pallet bed planted.

Hmmm.. a pallet bed might work for strawberries and just might making putting up netting easier.

But I have to finish printing out info for the eggs and run the eggs up to the health food store.

[Kirbstone]

Our spring is still cold due to 6 weeks now of persistent Nor'Easterlies with temps. held well below normal for April/May., hence our foliage is way behind. I blame the Scots, of course, as it comes from them, but that's normal for them and they ignore my complaints.

The cherry blossoms got a real pasting in their first week and it shows, alas. We've had so much rain recently that several of our garden paths are very squelchy indeed and MM can't mow them properly with her 'Ferrari'.

This May Bank holiday weekend I was presented with a list on the breakfast table which proves that I'm not allowed entertain cogent thoughts where gardening is concerned. It's an unending litany of maintenance chores, mostly of the rough carpentry variety.

A few pics.:

May 2012 015.jpg

May 2012 016.jpg

May 2012 020.jpg

T.

[Kirbstone]

More pics.:

May 2012 019.jpg

May 2012 021.jpg

May 2012 022.jpg

Note: Near French doors were blown out & splintered by vicious winds . Recently replaced (Eur 700 !!) & not yet stained up to match the rest.

T.

[crfriend]

I'd guess that by the "Honey do" list that numero quatro would logically be at the top. Can't be without one of those!

Sapphire bought me a new tool that will allow me to keep the weeds and blackberries at bay in the wilder sections of the property -- an arm-driven "mini-scythe". This little thing works wonders and I'm learning how to use it in "close-in" situations near masonry or desired vegetation (like bleeding hearts, ferns, and jack-in-the-pulpits). Very nicely, it has cutting edges on both sides so it adjusts to my ambidextrous way of using tools.

I took a couple of pictures of our rear flower-garden earlier this afternoon that show the flowering rhododendron and the (now massive) white bleeding hearts to good effect. I also have some fern photos in the mix including the ostrich fern that's a little over 2 feet high already.

We're waiting for somebody to come and rototill the compost we recently had put down on what will (hopefully) become the veggie garden once a proper planting plan can be established. I'll be happy if we get cherry ("grazing") tomatoes, cucumbers (pickles!), and some beans and peppers.

[Kirbstone]

Yes, you'd wonder what next! The other day we had the guy round to empty the solids out of our septic tank and MM moaned about the cost of it &c., said that if we had a 'One Holer' over a pit near the house that wasn't connected to the sewer then it could be used by both of us and would reduce the frequency of septic tank emptying &c &c. and she suggested I build same.
When it's looking respectable I may submit another entry under the thread 'Country Seat'. The meaning will have changed, somewhat. It's all built as I type, but it needs a proper loo seat, an example of which we have in a shed on our 52nd parallel, which we intend visiting next w/end, so very shortly we will be able to boast that we have an outside lavatory!

We planted a lot of rhododendrons & azalias under trees in our 'magic wood, so a walk along the paths through same would be graced by a mass of colour about this time of year. I have to say that several years on the effect is far from impressive. Maybe it'll be better in 90 years' time!!...like our solitary 18ft high 'Giant Californian Redwood (Sequoia)

Rs our Sequoia at 10 years & 18ft..jpg

Veggies: Brussels, Broccoli, spinach and Swiss Chard (which I loathe) seem to do well here. Carrots & parsnips not good...the place is too wet. Beans in later season also do far too well, as I am not a bean person. I'll tuck into French beans and Mange-tout with relish, as they are soft and green. MM has just put a lot of those in, but it'll be months before there's anything on them.

T.

[straightfairy]

The herbs I grow are oregano, chives, mint, parsley, basil, thyme and borage if I can find it. Borage flowers have a nice cucmber like flavor, quite refreshing. Some times, if I remember to do it, I'll add chamomile. I used to grow sage, but I'm not all that fond of it. Also used to grow sorrel, but that went the way of the dodo and I haven't replaced it.

a similar selection of my own;
oregano, chives, garlic, elephant garlic, fennel, mint, lemon balm, sorrel, thyme, sage, rosemary.
I'm no cook, so usually forget to use most of them, but they're lovely when I do.

[skirted_in_SF]

From the growth habit, I would say you have the inland cousin (Sequoiadendron giganteum) of the better known Coast Redwood. My Sunset Garden Book says it is hardier to cold and slower growing (only 2 - 3 feet per year, the coast version is good for 3 - 5) About 30 years ago I worked for a company that was originally a redwood lumber company. The trees they had planted around the office (on the fringe of Sempervirens' range) were several feet in diameter and 40 feet +/- tall after 20 years. Hope you have left your tree plenty of room to grow.

[Kirbstone]

I bow to your superior knowledge of such trees Sk in SF., as you come from the West Coast. There are avenues of such trees here and in England and they go by the popular name of 'Wellingtonia', as most of them were planted to celebrate Wellington's victories.
These trees, at 200-odd years old are all between 170 and 200 ft. tall, with bases of around 6' diameter, so yes, we were aware what we were planting and it stands alone with plenty of space around it.
Our specimen is no racer, as at the present time it has averaged less than 2' per year. In our pinetum nearby where we have a lot of varieties of conifer, some have reached well over 30' in that time, but they won't get very much taller.

T.

[sapphire]

Finally got the garden rototilled yesterday and it is a fabulous expanse of soil. However, rain is forecast from now 'til Wednesday. Grrr... So itching to plant something. The left rear bed will contain beans and canteloupe and the right side will be tomoatoes (Roma and Husker Cherry Red) peppers (bell, poblano, jalepeno, hot bananas), tomatillos, onions and garlic. Haven't completely worked out where the cukes, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, chard, kale, carrots, beets, spinach, okra and various herbs will go.

I think I'll plant the leafy stuff in the pallet garden and the some of the root veggies in the keyhole bed. Oh yea, the herbs are going in the herb spiral bed.

[Kirbstone]

My MM is away in England guiding a coach load of Book Club ladies through the Lake District in Cumbria, where luminaries like Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth, Southey and Ruskin et Al. hung out while they contributed to the Literature.
This is only possible when Muggins here stays at home, looks after the Menagerie and waters the garden &c. Getting someone in to do this would be ludicrously expensive. As it hasn't rained all this week I have had to water specific areas outlined for me in advance.....

Garden May 2012 002.jpg

Garden May 2012 004.jpg

Garden May 2012 003.jpg

I daren't touch her veg. plantations, but we're getting on towards thistle & nettle extermination time...

Tom K.

[sapphire]

Garden is coming along so slowly it is maddedning, but we are making progress.

The main garden plot has been marked out into beds and paths. Carl has started digging the paths out and I'll put down landscaping cloth and cover with mulch. Eventually the beds will become formal raised beds, but I don't think I'll get that part done this year. There are 8 raised beds in the main plot which will hold beans, canteloupe, cucmbers, tomatoes (roma and cherry), peppers both hot and sweet, sweet potatoes, asparagus, onions and garlic. The three established bits of daffodils, chives and oregano will remain.

The pallet bed is nearly complete with greens (Kale, collards, lettuces), celery and herbs (sage, tarragon, borage) and nasturtiums.

I'll make another pallet bed for red and green cabbage and broccoli

This is the latest that I've ever put in a garden and I hope it does well. Usually, I'm too enthusiastic and put the garden in too early which causes its own set of problems.

On the poultry front, there are a dozen+ eggs due to hatch tomorrow. Most of the eggs are Coronation Sussex and there are a few Araucana eggs from Tiny and Alastair. Iolanthe and Raven are broody and half of the eggs are under them and half are in the incubator. The pens badly need to be mucked out.

On Saturday, Wanda and I go off to learn how to slaughter and butcher chickens. We'll drive up to the University of New Hampshire with a cooler and come home with two carved up chickens. Sounds like a party waiting to happen.

My meatie boys are about ready so maybe we'll have a slaughter party....

[sapphire]

Just to clarify about the raised beds. Carl thought that my comment meant that I wasn't going to plant. WRONG! What I meant was that I doubt that I will have the borders to those beds installed this year. This year, the beds will be mounds of soil.

[Kirbstone]

Aha!, what a mouth-watering selection of veggies you're growing in your beds, Diane. Would that we had the heat to grow sweet potatoes, which we must buy. About fourteen centuries ago our eldest son-in-law who was staying with us at the time built three proper raised beds in our little 'kitchen garden' near that end of the house.
Quite simply these are four stout vertical posts driven well into the ground supporting 2" thick scaffold planks on their sides which act as retaining walls, within which he built up layers of soil & manure/compost to give my MM easy access from the paths in between to the surface, some 12-15 inches up, so they do not dry out too much and her selection of 'greens' harvested from same is diverse, but contains a lot of stuff I never eat, like Swiss Chard, for instance. The beds are long & narrow (15'X4') & the paths in between are surfaced in tennis court astraturf green matting salvaged from same when they were re-surfaced.
We got half a lorry load of the stuff, which has proved incredibly useful throughout the garden for paths &c.

T.

[sapphire]

Eventually, my beds will also have retaining walls as you describe. I have not decided what material to use for the walls and am considering using different materials for different beds to see how those materials perform. Esthetically, I think having mulch in the paths would work best as Carl and I mulched a strip adjacent to the neighbor's fence in order to control weeds. I had considered using straw for the paths and then realized that I also plan to use straw to mulch the veggies. The bane of my existence is weeding and so many times in the past the weeds have gotten ahead of me and the garden has gone feral. Since I am limited in the amount of time and the time of day that I can be tending the garden, I have had to think of strategies to help manage the weeds.

[skirted_in_SF]

I believe some people use multiple layers of newspaper for mulch/weed control. My practical experience is limited. Though I grew up in a family that always had a garden; I've lived in an apartment in cold, foggy, windy SF for several decades.