More seedlings up! More wind and watering

 So it was windy earlier but now it's mostly quiet, almost too quiet. Hazy high clouds in pale turquoise skies. Still very cold at night but just warm enough (earlier) to go out to the garden, scrap bucket and water nozzle in hand.

Yes indeed it was dry on the surface, lettuce and potatoes are doing good but not going to let the soil stay dry. Forgot to throw down some fertilizer because I was focused on watering and that failed pea netting and discovered new seedlings up!

I then noticed tiny, thin leaves coming up. Yay the bunching onions finally broke the surface! Going to have to take down the poles and netting and try that three pole square frame idea over at the patio where there's room. 

I suspect this is one of the hummer babies, coloring fits and it's flying around, mom 'chitting' somewhere near as I stopped to take a picture. Adults rarely stop that long and perch so that's another indicator it's a juvenile. Too stinkin' cute as they say.

Remember my mention of the 'Oregoon Buttercup' oxalis taking over if you don't keep it knocked down? Well, it's that time of year and I spied some in a planter bed and a lawn....they'll never get rid of it now. I actually encountered someone who liked how it looked in their yard, tried to warn them of how it grew but they didn't care. Wonder how they're doing now?

You can see the small clump in the lawn and then the larger clump in the planter, there's also more off to the left along a fence. Lovely flowers they say, but have a nasty pernicious habit. 

I was tempted to go pick a couple of the flowers and chew on them but, not my yard and don't know if they sprayed anything on them. 

Other than that, yay for things finally showing on the surface and not feeling so bad about the garden.

More clear skies and a possible fail

 Very breezy today, wind chimes going off and trees moving all over. This is good, it means different weather soon. Looking at the forecast we won't have rain for at least another week, four days running through next weekend, not this weekend.

So I decided to try and put the netting up. First, it is tight quarters on both sides to get to the back of the bed. I had to move all the buckets out of the way in order to get on the far side next to the jade bush. Second, I realized that there are logs all over underneath and had to find a spot for the pole to go all the way down. I also almost obliterated another pea seedling coming up. I had to move the stick on the left out further and another remembering of how flimsy these stakes are without something to hold them out.

I strung some of the green wire across, with the idea of just stringing the netting through like a curtain. No go. 5x8 netting in a 4 foot wide bed. This is not going well. The netting needs to be more taut for support. I wove the green wire through the top of the fence for more support but still not working well.

I then decided to just hang it over like a blanket on a laundry line. This still makes for a saggy and not too secure situation and it is still a good bit of weight pulling the poles together. The reasoning is so the strings are closer together for easier grabbing of the tendrils.

The only other thing that would work is rigid welded wire fencing. But these are peas not pigs that need to be fenced. This fencing really is silly unless you have a cross piece on top, an actual frame to put it on. Could make one for less than $20 honestly. 3 pieces of wood and some nails, that's it. Could likely find even a standing trellis to put in but that's double the cost.

There are strings on each side I can use to tie to the poles, maybe use the third pole on top and wire it together like lashing to hold it up. Will go at that tomorrow and see how it works. Will really try and get that aloe out of there and maybe do a discreet trimming of the jade bush.

 Better pictures of the bearded iris almost blooming. Deep dark purple which I adore, but it could be white or orange and I'd still love it. I wish I could take some root cuttings of it but don't know who to ask. Look at all the buds on those though! As soon as it's in bloom I'm going to get a good picture and ask one of the growers if they know the variety.

Growing fast for these potatoes! Makes me happy but then it's a very guarded happy because the gophers were in there last fall and could easily just come in and munch away at any of the growing tubers. Need to toss some fertilizer on there and the lettuce as well.

I have 'a little' extra cash this month so technically could get a small bag of potting soil for seeds, spend a little more for fencing or just hang tight for another three weeks. That may be too late for pea fencing though so will see.

All the babies gone, more rain and seedlings!

 Same day I said there was one left, the second one was gone in a few hours. So, empty nest, clear skies and cool, windy, sunny weather now.

 

Since it's been raining, of course no watering necessary so it's assessment day. It got down to frost levels last night and after the fact realized it might have damaged the lettuce but... nope everything is copacetic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good thing about the garden arrangement is being between two walls it is protected from frost. The forecast for night temperature prior to today was 32 and no wind. Definitely frosty but it's just cold where we are.

 

The potatoes are doing good, that largest one has doubled in size in just a few days. Those are fast growing for sure and going to have to reeallly be patient as they won't be ready until the plants have flowered and the tops starting to wilt down before pulling them.

The garlic is not doing so well and I may decide to pull that and put in either chives, more garlic or bunching onions.

The peas are slowly increasing, again hard to see but there are at least five sprouts coming up. That's good enough for me if they have enough branches. Have to remember to get the net and stakes in there tomorrow before they get too tall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that the cilantro is starting to sprout I need to start thinking about the tomatoes and peppers. Peppers definitely have to wait for warmer weather, need to experiment with the 'seedling containers' I saved. The onions and in the front of the bed obviously have not come up yet and looking back at where and what I planted, I put the newer potatoes right where I planted the carrots and radishes in front of the garlic. Oh well. Really need to get sowing markers now. Popsicle sticks at least to not just mark the rows but the area involved. 

I decided to shift as much of the compost pile into a bucket. The bucket that had the least amount of leaves got dumped on the logs in the corner next to the jade bush. There was some dirt between the logs, and a few worms, so scooped as much of that as possible and then put the bucket between the raised bed and the aloe/log pile. Will probably move it later as I will need to get in that space soon to set up the pea netting. 

On my way back upstairs I noticed a white mushroom had grown in the lawn. Stopped..mushroom spores... fungus is good. I picked it up and tossed it in the compost bucket then chopped it up as best I could. I might have to ask my sweetie to drill some larger holes in the sides of that bucket. It'll be easier to turn and mix for sure since all I need to do is dig in or dump it and shovel it back in.

This is a picture of a 'water wise/low water' yard near the kids school. That bush in the middle is an Asclepias, aka 'Butterfly Weed'. It is thriving and flowering and has likely been established for a few years. There's aloe, succulents, a bird of paradise and lots of rocks. It's sparse but it doesn't look like a desert. Could use some ground cover plants instead of rocks but this does well. the wood fence at the front is only about three feet tall and adds to the southwest look of the plants. 

Yes, I know I've been taking pictures of the rose before but it's just hard to not admire it when I walk by and will continue to do so but may stop as soon as I find out what variety it is for sure.

We are expecting mostly clear but breezy weather, will be great to be able to out to the garden and see actual progress agian.

 

One gone, one to go and seeds.

 It's been raining. Sunday most of the day, yesterday was mostly clear but cold and today it's raining on and off with blustery winds. Not much to do in the garden and progress is steady. I realized looking at the carrot and radish timing, it's much too early for those which is why they haven't come up.

The two top pictures are yesterday. One of the babies is on the outside of the nest because there's no more room. Today... that one seems to have flown. Mama was hovering again and we just walked on by. The one hanging out might be a male given how much green is on the back but at this age it's hard to say and they won't have full adult colors until closer to summer.

Now as to the timing of the seeds, here's a chart I found online that explains soil temperature ideal for planting.

 I don't have a soil thermometer but I can tell you that the soil is colder than optimum. Onions, carrots, radishes all are very high optimum. Lettuce and peas have a colder lower minimum but optimum is pretty much 70-80. I suspect mine is running about 50-60. So I'm lucky the peas are coming up and the lettuce came up when it was warmer so here's hoping next week with less rain and clouds it'll warm up a bit more. I am not sure if the temperatures reflect being in the ground or in seeding tray or above ground.

Another thing is where the seeds/plants are. The ground soil is going to be colder for a lot longer than the raised bed. That gets full exposure to the sun and the walls of it reflect the heat. When the sun swings higher the south wall will be reflecting all the heat and sun so that bed will be warmer but the north raised bed..it may well be baking there. That's why you plant as early as possible so there aren't any tiny seedlings trying to survive blasting heat. Except for the watermelon or pumpkins. 

So for now I'm going to hold off planting anymore seeds until the weather clears for a significant time and warms the soil. Do I want to invest in a soil thermometer? Folks, I don't even have a cooking thermometer so, no. The old farmers didn't have thermometers, they relied on the phases of the moon and how fuzzy a caterpillar was and the old handy, dandy finger.

The potatoes are growing definitely, the lettuce seems to be stalling out a bit. Four or five sprouts coming up from the potatoes and the lettuce seems to be...there. I think that is going to be the lettuce bed, going to scratch up the soil and just toss more lettuce seeds out there. When it's warmer.

 

 

 

 

Peeps from peas and cloudy skies

 It is definitely cold outside. Clearer earlier but now the clouds moved in and blocked the sun so definitely nippy outside and need a jacket. Had to wear my jacket but it was warm enough but now it's definitely long sleeve temperatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The peas are pipping! There's at least two that have surfaced and I suspect it's due to me burying them a bit too deep and not soaking them. Will have to get the netting and the poles up soon.

The potatoes in the north bed are definitely sprouting more so here's hoping they survive and give back some spuds in a few months. I also decided to mix up the mulch bucket and discovered it was very, very wet just under the surface but it smelled of fresh dirt which is an excellent sign it's breaking down sufficiently. Doesn't have that evergreen mulch smell it did when I first got it. I kept the mulch bucket out of the corner and moved the bucket of leaves back to the end of the raised bed. Only one bucket visible at a time is my goal.

And of course the obligatory picture of the hummer babies. They are definitely taking an interest in what's moving around them and are almost completely fledged. Mama bird was hovering around when I came out the other day and had to reassure her we were just passing by and not going to bother her babies. They will have plenty of places to hide in the bougainvillea for sure.

Now I mentioned starting seeds in containers or pots to plant out, there's any number of things on the market, even ones I wouldn't have to buy soil for but being the 'frugal' aka 'broke' gardener I am, I have containers to recycle. for doing that.

No, that isn't a plastic container bought for holding leftovers, it's actually from some sandwich meat. The other is from mushrooms and neither have holes in them. Then there's the paper towel tube that is great for making individual planting 'pots' to put in said larger containers. All I need is some soil, but then that composting mulch might make a good substitute with a little tiny bit of garden dirt to hold it together. Put a scoop of the mulch in a tough zip bag and pound the heck out of it with a mallet or something until it's ground up. Brilliant!

The clear one with the lid would be good for sprouting beans or other seeds as a little greenhouse situation. Can use stretch wrap or a gallon size zip baggie on the black container for greenhouse effect and the only other problem is...where to put them when they're planted. As I said, no room anywhere convenient at this point to put them. Front porch would be good but it would look like trash sitting out there and they would get direct sun. All shelves are occupied with other things and the only space I might put them on would be on top of the microwave where I keep my garden basket (we really do need to declutter a good bit). Time to start boxing up stuff and taking off to storage again. 

So, more pictures on that idea when they happen. It is definitely windy and very dark cloudy right now..rain is a'coming!

Breezy cool Saturday

 It's just that today. Breezy and colder by quite a bit from yesterday which is okay as far as watering is concerned. Not going to stress on watering since it's going to be this way for a few days until it rains midweek. I think the wind has reversed as the chimes are not going off like they did before which says that the calm hours was the middle of the weather pattern?

The garlic is looking a bit sunburned but that's to be expected, not sure it's going to grow much more but time will tell. Technically needed to water the lettuce but given the weather and it not getting much sun will wait until tomorrow. If I get antsy I'll get out there later.  The potatoes are pushing through so here's hoping for midsummer spuds.

The babies are definitely going to be gone before next weekend. They are almost fully fledged and twice the size they were a week ago. The little droppings on the pavement near the nest says that momma has been there a lot. 

There are flowers coming out all over, from dandelions and aloe to the iris reblooming. I'm thrilled about the iris and since it's been there since we've been here I'm not sure who's taking care of it. I really wanted a root cutting from it but guess will have to wait again. I've been seeing posts from a few iris growers around the world because I happened to react to one so I'm getting iris envy now.

One of the tenants is moving out so her things are slowly making it down to the community table. I found this gem of a book and snagged it.

It proclaims with bold print it's the updated  9th edition and over 600 thousand copies sold. In terms of books, that's actually not a lot but it's at least informative and will be looking at some of the entries. It says it's 'An Old Fashioned Recipe Book' but..it's an encyclopedia so you have to look at the entries to see if there's an actual 'recipe'.That's a stretch of the word considering there's everything from an introduction to plants, how to churn butter, catch a pig and baking bread. So yeah lots of information for 'country living'.

This is just the first chapter:

Apparently the author started writing this in 1969 so having only 9 updates from then until 2003 there's a lot of information that has stayed the same I suspect. This is going to get packed along with my Foxfire books and other survival books I collected in the 70's.

The other book I picked up is still sitting in baggies with baking soda, hoping the incense smell has come out of that.