Good Morning! :-)
I mostly do flower gardening here with a small herb garden and a couple of tomato plants in containers. I think the shallots that I replanted a few weeks ago have made the transition to the new soil and enjoy the better drainage. That container was just too wet to get anything out of them. They are starting to get more girth and I will check every couple of weeks. I’m hoping to have around 2-1/2 dozen by Fall. That should be an ample supply if I only use them sparingly over the winter.
We painted our deck last week, and lucked out on the weather. We have moved the table and chairs back, and are eating meals outside again. It’s shaded in the morning and evening it’s dappled sunlight. The cats are happy to have their catio back. It’s a dog enclosure that we adapted for cats, meaning we put plastic lattice on the top to give it a roof. They adore this thing, and get to enjoy the outdoors without the worry of hawks or coyotes getting to them.
It’s pretty heavenly to get to watch the birds all doing their Spring things.
Right now we have 3 sets of nestlings: Eastern Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, and House Wrens that just started hatching on Thursday. I saw the Catbird yesterday when I was out in the yard yesterday, and kept an eye on her periodically. Then I finally noticed the nest about 3-1/2 off the ground in a shrub on the slope. I got close enough to see 3 mouths with my binoculars. Didn’t want to get too close.
So far I’m seeing pairs of Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks still coming to the feeders. If anyone is wanting to improve their bird ID game, I highly recommend the Cornell Merlin Bird ID app. The latest update has Sound ID, and it can tell you all those birds you hear in your yard but can’t see, and don’t come to the feeders. It’s been a great update!
Back to the gardening theme. I’m almost finished with my flower planting. Will soon start on my fairy gardens in containers. When the weather is like it is now, it’s my favorite. Lows in the 60s, highs in the mid 80s. Long, sunny days with occasional showers mixed in. It’s what I live for, I think.
I’m still working on getting things planted. So far I have the potatoes, sunchokes, corn, and sunflowers in the ground, and the space meant for the rest of it has had its first tilling.
It remains to be seen how well things grow for me using the “scatter and till” planting method, but so far I’m liking it. I got a quart of corn seed and half a pint of sunflower seeds, plus their respective living-mulch crops, planted in about 10 minutes! Normally, with my stamina, that would’ve taken at least 3 days. This method means nothing is in rows, and the spacing is uneven, but if things grow even half as well as they do with normal planting methods, I’ll call it a win. It just wasn’t working to plant things the normal way.
Happy and productive gardening to all.