garlic – variegatagal

DIY Stock Tank Gardens Part 2

I planted the 2nd stock tank garden bed about 2 weeks after the first, to stagger my production. I changed up the filler material and soil composition to see if ultimately results will comparable to the first tank.

End of the season watermelons went into building the foundational layer of the bed, along with stem and brush cuttings. I dearly hope that I’m not growing a watermelon patch in this tank.

In this bed, I used Raised Garden Bed soil, organic compost, peat moss, coarse vermiculite and perlite in different ratios compared to the first bed. I still broadcast Espoma Garden-tone fertilizer over the surface once it was filled up and ready for planting

As with the other bed, tank #2 has cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, dill and garlic aplenty. This time, I added bok choy and spinach starts. But of course, there wasn’t enough space to hold all the broccoli and brussel sprout starters I still had waiting in the wings. I’ve been discussing with the DH if we should get 2 more stock tanks to DIY into garden beds, but of course the limiting factor will be patio space.

All planted with the winter garden! I left a 12″ square open for the next batch of bunching onions, spinach and lettuce I’ve started from seed. Meanwhile, I plan on using that bouquet dill shortly.

Blooms, Buds and Sprouts

2013 Gardening Notes

January and February has seen waves of warm weather alternating with cold. With temperatures rising into the 70s at times, winter landscape was tricked into showing some green. Even our weed lawn sprang into verdant purple bloom this month. However, there was also enough rainfall to entice some of the herbaceous plants to put out new growth, as seen in the pot of Oriental Limelight artemisia growing on our doorstep. I expect to see one or two more cold snaps before we permanently warm up for March and outdoor planting. As of this morning, I rescued a cutting from my old succulent planter to place into a tiny sake cup for planting. If it takes root, I’ll be able to resurrect one of the winter-killed plants.

Leeks are so robust! These are three roots I saved from the kitchen scraps and dunked in some water.

Spring is coming…the evidence in photos below.

Wishlist plants: Golden Japanese Stone Crop (Sedum makinoi Ogon) and Bleeding Heart ‘Golden Heart (Dicentra spectabilis).

End of May Flowers

Pre-Thanksgiving look at the garden

It’s that time of the year. Almost every year that I cook for the holidays, I make sure to use ingredients in my garden, even if it is only one sprig of rosemary. But since it’s been 10 days since my last post, I thought it time to do a little inspection.

The Shu ornamental pepper continues to hang on for dear life. Peppers are perennial in zones 9 and beyond, but here in my garden, it’s going to be a challenge to keep them alive in the ground during winter. My potted peppers have been sitting outside since this past weekend when we saw temps reach the high 70s. We’re back down to the high 30s to mid-40s during the evenings, but we will continue to reach the 70s in the daytime for the Thanksgiving holiday.

All the garlic have emerged and are looking tall.

The sage seems to appreciate the cooler weather; I used some sage leaves from this specimen for my turkey brine last night.

Those appear to be larkspur seedlings surrounding one of the irises. Unfortunately, the man sprinkled it heavily on one side not realizing I only had one pack of Shades of Blue Larkspur (Consolida ambigua). I may have to purchase another pack.

Finally, a good macro picture of the Oertel’s Rose yarrow blooms!

I love the white-mottled Snow-n-Summer asiatic jasmine foliage; emerging leaves are a beautiful shade of pastel pink.

The Autumn Monarch azalea is our only fall-blooming azalea this year. It received a fair amount of protection from the neighboring Hot Lips salvia this year, unlike the other azaleas on the opposite end of the bed.

A lone vinca has grown in the lee of an azalea. I had already pulled out its neighbors, but kept this one to see how it would fare. The petunias also appear unstoppable. Even with this crazy weather, they are continuously putting on new growth.

My eggplant doesn’t appear to put on much growth in the last 10 days; though the plant is leaning farther due to its weight. It still feels way to hard to the touch.

Valentine dianthus…what a beauty. All the dianthus in the garden favor this cool climate; most are putting on several buds if not blooming.

A surprise on the camellia: this bud has swelled to 5 times the size as other buds.

Lemon thyme: I plan on cutting several sprigs of this to insert into my turkey. The other herbs of course are looking fabulous. The Thai basil looks amazing with its flowery spires; I just dread how many seedlings I’ll get out of it. The Red Rubin basil also loves this cool weather. I am curious to see if they will endure into next year.