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Recent Entries to this Blog
Time Flies & Gardens Grow
Posted: 04 Jun 2006 Posted: 20 May 2006 Posted: 16 May 2006 Posted: 15 May 2006 Posted: 14 May 2006 All Entries |
contrareeone's Bloga daily check in; creating a new garden
Time Flies & Gardens Grow
Category: daily chores | Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:55 am Gads, it's been ages since I've made an entry. The garden is ahead in this contest between me and the planting, weeding & watering. It isn't helping that I'm not even here at my home 7 days a week right now. I'm spending between 2-3 days a week at my moms, helping in her gardens too........ I'd have to say, hers are looking much better, mine....only marginally so. I've got half the tomato plants in (both places) We're eating out of the lettuce beds as of this week, radishes, beans, snap peas, cucumbers and squash seeds are up. Many of my flower seeds have sprouted, although I'm not claiming to know what any of them are at this point. Maybe before I die, I'll get good at labeling or charting what I plant; but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. I received another van load of free plants and am still working on getting those in the ground. In the process of all this planting at my place, I've come to the conclusion NOT to put anything but native stuff in the front bed. There is no convenient way to get water to that bed. The closest hose bib is at the front door, and it would take 2 LONG hoses to reach.....making it weird at the front door. So, no real gardening out there. I'll continue to add ferns, under the handful of evergreen trees.......along with my favorite Sweet Woodruf as the ground cover. Still battling the nasty sticker vine stuff that was there when I moved in....... think it is ahead right now! Enjoying my new venture on a website, www.frugalgardening.com I'm learning tons and have noticed I'm WAY more aware of what I'm doing here in my gardens this season. When I need to take pictures of my ventures and write about them, I'm careful to do things a little bit closer to the 'right' way. :) Off to my moms again tomorrow for 3 days. The plan is to put in a small water feature of some sort in her gardens we have been putting in around her back entrance and patio area. She enjoys using the space as a place to entertain and I think something simple would be a nice addition. She hasn't ever done anything like this, so we should have a good time. Besides, her ground is a piece of cake to dig in.......mine is part concrete, I swear. Hope everyone is keeping up with their gardens..... I can almost see the weeds growing in mine; so I'd better get back outside! This blog entry has been viewed 753 times
Rain finally!
Category: weather report | Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 6:07 pm Who knew I'd be excited for rain in May here....but, I am. Watering 3 times a day was getting to be difficult. I also didn't get much done when it hit 80 & above. Got another couple rows of seeds planted in the veggie garden & 2 of the 4 tomatoes in the gound. Have a holding area full of the free plants that I'm hoping to get in today, tomorrow & Monday. My young man comes this week end and he's pretty good on the end of a shovel. Some of the ornamental grasses have huge root balls, so we need some hefty size holes dug... Radish seedlings are up, seemed like I just planted them. Hoping the timing works out to have lettuce to trim when the radishes are mature. I've actually planted these 2 crops in the shade this year, as I haven't been too successful the last couple years. It got too hot and things bolted almost before I could mix up some salad dressing! I'm having difficulty finding local plants & seeds for my veggie patch. Wondering if gardening is going to be a lost art too?? Always think I should have been born about 50 years earlier, as the things I like to do are going out of fashion these days! Back to work, it's a great day to be in the garden! This blog entry has been viewed 500 times
Heat wave hits WA state
Category: weather report | Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 8:45 pm For the 2nd day, it's going to top 80 here today. Yikes! I fade after 75 degrees.......... not getting much work done here today, as I'm just way too hot. Need to go out pretty soon and get all my new garden goodies a drink. I put in so many seeds yesterday, and they are spread out from front to back here......need to use 3 different hoses. I answered a Freecycle ad this AM and got the notice that the plants were MINE. Was supposed to be vinca and some ornamental grasses. I came home with the back of my van FULL of plants. A full size forsythia in a pot, almost 4' high, lambs ears, vinca, 5 or 6 kinds of grasses and some iris. A promise of a lilac too, from another garden of theirs. I have everything unloaded, sitting in the shade & watered down. I am going to wait for a cooler day to transplant, both for me and the plants!! Ran out of time today, was going to make a much needed trip to the nursery for starts and more seeds, but will try again tomorrow. Looking for some inside jobs today.......... This blog entry has been viewed 408 times
rhodies in bloom everywhere
Category: daily chores | Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 3:33 am Going to try this posting a picture bit again. I've read the directions til I'm blue.....and yet again, I didn't get it to post. Drat. I can usually follow directions, but this is making me nuts here. I keep trying to use the program I have for everything else, and I think the bottom line is I have to learn something NEW!! Yikes. If (and that is a HUGE if) it comes through, these are the blossoms from the first rhododendron that bloomed here at the new place. It is about 18' high and at least that big around. Lovely bush actually. One of the 5 plants that was here on the 5 acres when I moved in. (previous owners definately allergic to plants.....or work.......or both!!) I planted my first batch of acorn squash seedlings into the newly tilled veggie garden. They look incredibly lonely out there! Hopefully, some nasty slugs won't come during the night and mow them down. Watered them in and gave them their directions ...to grow and produce wildly! Tons of room for them to just wander to their hearts content. Tomorrow I will get a row or two of other veggies in. I have beets, carrots and radishes seeds just waiting to get into the garden. First plantings of the leaf lettuce are taking a beating. I have a piece of screen over one area, but I found the cats have been using the other planter for a bed or litter area. If I could catch said kitty..........it would be a goner! Will keep trying on this picture posting bit. Giving up isn't in my nature!! This blog entry has been viewed 470 times
back home & progress!
Category: daily chores | Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 12:04 am I got back home yesterday after 3 days at my moms, helping in her gardens. Hers are oh, so much easier than mine. She has a tiny area.........mine is acres......she has all the hardscaping in.........mine is just in my head.........she had flats of plants as Mothers day gifts.........I have a few measley flats of seedlings....you get the picture!! Oh, and her soil is all loose & fluffy, amended for decades with their own compost..........mine has soil akin to concrete. Anyway, it was a fun couple of days. We got all her plants in and then had a nice gentle rain the next day. I took my back pack sprayer and sprayed where there should be no vegetation.....within a couple weeks it might start looking like someone is living there!!! Back home today, I got a call from my friend with the dozer/tiller. He was on his way over (wasn't supposed to be til next week), so.........out to the veggie patch I ran. The sheets of black plastic were not nearly as easy to remove, since they had pools of water in them and weighed a TON. Did get it all uncovered before my friend arrived. He made short work of all my little jobs. 1) leveled out the multiple piles of yard waste I've had a landscaping firm dump here since Oct. Then he ran the tiller through so it is a great surface for new grass seed or ??? 2) Tilled the veggie patch and I'm pleased to say, the stuff looks like pretty good garden soil now. Was the color of concrete when I moved in last fall. Now, it is rich, black soil. Can't wait to get out there this coming week and begin planting . (too many kids needing supervision to start this week end) 3) Took his dozer and pushed over the 2 "earth machines" they are called. The previous owners idea of compost bins I guess. I hated them. Black dome things, made from plastic. In my front yard no less. Gone now.........soon to be freecycled. And, he scooped up the crud that was in both of them and tilled it all in the front area. What a difference it makes in my yard to have these jobs done. We no longer look like a dump site!! I'm sure the others on the street are going to be as grateful as I am that this list got done today!! Now, my TO DO list is longer, but I can get going on it by myself. Can't wait til Monday!!! This blog entry has been viewed 456 times
switching to a 4 horse mower
Category: daily chores | Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 4:19 am I talked to the woman who boards her horses here on my property, she is willing to move the fencing, and take over the "mowing" of at least a third of the lawn. I can't think of how to fence in the other areas for the horses....... or I'd give over more to them to "mow". Will cut down my gas bill as well as the time to mow. Less to edge too....... I'll be left with plenty of lawn, and still have 7 garden beds that are already in place and the fenced veggie garden. I will have to move 4 tiny trees and a handful of things that are hoping to be shrubs someday in the distant future. I did get the yard mowed today, although not a fantastic job. I'll admit, it isn't much fun mowing something that doesn't look much better when you get finished than it did when you started. Depressing. The whole thing will look better with horses grazing in it. No need to water, as it rained this morning and all day yesterday. Made a mental list of the things I need to purchase this week to get a proper veggie garden in. Got my call from my friend with the tiller.........he can fit me in next week. Perfect. That means I can have most of everything in the ground by Memorial Day. Would have liked some things earlier, but I'm not in control of much, so will work with what I'm given. The cats knocked over the bird bath again....this time, when I pick it up, I pledge to move it to a more appropriate spot. One more rhodie has begun to show color, this one is a dark purple. Looks nice next to the cream one in full bloom. A couple more to go........hping to et some pink ones pretty soon. A few more seeds are up in my indoor nursery here. I'm down to just planting them and have no idea what they are. I ordered seeds online, and didn't make any notes. When they arrived, they are in foil pouches with abreviations galore. No idea what most of them are!!! Should be fun. Good thing I had no master plan set in concrete. The gardens will definately be pot luck! This blog entry has been viewed 475 times
April showers lingering in May
Category: weather report | Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 12:45 pm We've got another grey day here in the Pacific NW. Drippy and cloudy too. Good for the plants, but absolutely no good for the gardener in me. I refuse to garden in the rain. Using the time to play catch up in the kitchen........doing all the extra cooking I can fit in. Double batching and stashing things in the freezer & things like that. Preparing for days when the sun is out and I don't want to be lashed to the stove, doing my Betty Crocker impression! Another couple of dogs in the new grass patches and seeded garden areas yesterday. Can't believe people that bring their dogs and just let them go amuck. What is that about anyway? I can't imagine letting my dog out of the car in someone elses' yard, let alone just letting them romp through obvious gardens.... (alright, there isn't much you can see yet, but I did mention I had seeds planted EVERYWHERE!!!) Gads. And, I'm a dog lover. I guess I'm not a dog owner lover sometimes! This blog entry has been viewed 378 times
new grass almost looking green
Category: daily chores | Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 3:47 pm Babying my new grass patches. Watering every day, sometimes twice. (although we're scheduled for a rain today, maybe I'll get some time off this chore?) The areas are starting to have a green cast to them ........if I stand back and sort of squint....maybe it's still just wishful thinking. I've had a hard time keeping kids off the patches, too big, too many to stake off & the kids are all developmentally disabled, so most normal systems won't work for us anyway. So, just praying to the garden gods here that the grass grows in a jiffy & the dirt disappears. The yard is looking so shaggy, as I'm not mowing til the new patches are established. I am hoping to pick up my dads first lawnmower (plain old walk behind, man powered variety) when I visit there this coming week. The plan will be to get it lubed and sharpened and then use it to mow the little pieces of lawn near the front door and walks. The big mower can be used for the large areas unless I decide to let them go to pasture. Not a bad plan with the increase in gas prices. I can harness the 4 horses and let them munch away for free.....heck, they are boarders, so they will be paying me to cut my grass. Much better plan. No other chores this week end.........full up with kids and I'll be really earning my paycheck for the next couple days here. So, I'll content myself with watering and counting the new things that are up in the garden. First planting of leaf lettuce is now up, just waiting for the first real leaves.....Cosmos are up..........the baby lupines are starting to look like plants and I've got masses of blossoms on the free strawberry plants. And, the first bud is out on one of the inherited rose bushes. The 2 rescued shrubs are looking like they are going to make it. I think they are looking perkier...but again, I'm an optimistic gardener........they would have to be totally crispy before I gave up on them. Off to the garden, I hope everyone gets outdoors for a bit at least today............ This blog entry has been viewed 539 times
Imaginary Photos of my Garden
Category: photos | Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 3:01 pm I tried for what seemed an eternity yesterday, to post pictures here in the blog. Nothing........unless some of you can view them in your imagination. Lovely Rhody Blossoms were the test subject. Don't you love the color and the shading??? :) I'm using Picasa here, & don't think I'm savvy enough to add another program into my learning curve.... Picasa & I are doing OK on so many other projects, my pictures get to where they need to go. But here, nope on the first try.........and nope on the 4th, 5th ......... Anyone brave enough to tutor me?? I am usually a good student, but computers aren't my strong point. (wondering this AM just what IS my strong point!!) Beyond failed pic posting ..........it is a fabulous day here. Blue skies, wispy clouds, sunshine and it's supposed to be 70 again. I've watered all the new additions outside, set the seedlings out for the day and misted my indoor nursery flats of goodies. My chore that might get to the top of the list today is spraying. (all organic gardeners gasp here) It is warm enough to make the job worthwhile, it isn't supposed to rain for a few days........so perhaps this might need to be top job today?? This blog entry has been viewed 820 times
plants by the van load
Category: free plants | Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 3:54 pm Spent the week end at moms again and brought home more plants. Spent the last 2 days getting them into their new homes. Free plants, the best kind. I think I'm almost done with what I can take from her place, as she has mostly shade & I have mostly sun here.........so, other than a few evergreens, I've exhausted her yard as a free plant source. Need to wait til fall on the evergreens too.....some are pretty big, so would rather not have to be carrying water! My first flower seeds are up that I put directly in the garden. I've never been successful doing this in the past.........so I'm pretty excited by some barely there green specks in the dirt. The grass seed is now showing as green too, in the repair patches in the front yard. (need to do the same thing now in the back) Can't wait til this fills in and I can mow the whole area. I have called my friend with the dozer/tiller & am hopeful he will be here within the week to work his magic on my garden space. I should measure this area..........it seems absolutely huge to me. I've never had a veggie garden this big in my life. Has a 4' fence all round, with a big livestock sort of gate on one end. (yeah, the tractor fits through the gate!) I've had the veggie patch "cooking" all winter, can't wait to see if I made any progress at all getting the soil into better shape. We added a layer of compost, then leaves, then lime and covered the whole thing with black plastic. Once it all gets tilled together..........I'm hopeful I will see rich black soil. Then, the work starts!!! Supposed to be 70 here today........although there was ice on the bird bath again this AM. Heading outside to water my new little sprouts!!! This blog entry has been viewed 496 times
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