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This past week was a BIG gardening week for me - all of the veggies I'm planting are in the ground. While my raised beds were in pretty good shape, I sprayed weekend before (ACV, Epsom salt, Dawn mix) and being a bright/sunny couple of days, most of the small stuff was killed. I had a few weeds remaining & they were not hard to pull. The beds also needed some soil amendment, fertilizing, etc. In the ground now are cherry tomatoes, cukes, bell peppers & jalapeno peppers.
The radishes I planted (2nd batch) are up already – I think they germinated & were peeking out 3-4 days after planting. I leave my water can out in the sun & water the seeds in with warm water – seems to help a lot. My trellis that I made is in place and ready for the cukes to start climbing. The trellis is made of old lumber & fence wire from a 40 year old fence we took down. I love using “old” stuff and making something useful out of it. The only thing “new” about the trellis are the bolts I had to buy (about $7) and the zip ties to hold on the wire.
Now we're on to the flowers. I previously planted Cardinal Climbing Vine – they are “up”. I planted some more this week. Soaking those seeds before planting is the way to go – they come up much faster. I did plant some tithonia & it appears the seeds (8) did not come up. So, I'm doing something I've never done before – using peat pots. I have planted tithonia, giant sunflowers, marigolds (French & a giant Climax) & a couple of dahlias in peat pots. The pots can go straight in the ground and with no weeds in the planting medium, whatever I see will be a plant I want in the garden. I am putting the pots in the sun during the day & bringing them in at night. Watering is done with warm water. I expect results!!
There are several beds that will be broadcast planted with seeds – zinnias & a hummingbird mix. In rows will be Teddy Bear sunflowers & some other sunflower varieties in autumn colors & one good for flower arrangements. We are going through a chilly spell right now, so I'm going to wait a bit longer before trying to start seeds in the ground. Around our place, the peonies are about to bloom, the fig bush actually has figs (what??) & the buttercups are starting to recede – no more yellow fields. The two bluebird nests (there may be a third) that I can easily watch both have parents feeding youngsters – one nest had 5 eggs in it. The mockingbird has a nest in a small holly tree & there's a cardinal nest in a forsythia bush. The birds are busy around here. The hummers are back … sort of. I am not seeing a great amount of feeding activity yet (not like last year at the height of the summer), but I have seen females in addition to the couple of males that showed up first, so the rest of the gang should be arriving before too long.
Today, I'm working on a fire pit area. Sitting by a fire out under the stars …. something I long to do. Friends want to come over – haven't seen them in a year with the China virus stuff going on. I'm looking forward to re-connecting in person. Have a great Mother's Day weekend!
BTW, the full moon this month (26th) is the "Full Flower Moon" per the Farmer's Almanac.