May in Review

May came with challenges! I had some slip ups, but I'm trying to not take it to heart since this is my 'in-training' year, and after all, everyone makes mistakes.

I didn't get specific dates for all the activities that occurred during May, so I'll break them down by plant instead.

Strawberries I couldn't get the strawberries to come up by seed, but I'll admit I was a bit lax in watering them too. I got frustrated and gave up on the seeds. Instead I was in Home Depot and spied some beautiful plants there including some already with strawberries! I let my eyes lead my steps instead of my brain and bought three plants. I know they were definitely grown with pesticides and artificial plant foods. On my way home I stopped at a garden center that I'd never been to before and picked up two more strawberry plants, but these ones were separated from an established strawberry bed on someone's land. The difference? No artificial anything. They even made the loamy, sandy soil on site. I chose a spot behind one of the logs we use to mark the driveway's edge and dug them in. They get plenty of sun there and I haven't lost a single plant.

Tomatoes The tomatoes grew vivaciously and I ended up transferring most of them into larger containers, but it was still too cold to set them outside.

Blackberries & Blueberries The sticks produced lots of nice leaves and were doing well, then suddenly took a downhill turn and died. I'm not sure what happened, but I'll try again next year.

Raspberries I transplanted the two bushes I bought and they are doing well. I bought golden raspberries, but they are dead and need to come out.

Peas The peas are growing well and are enjoying all the rain that May is bringing us. I've been weeding them regularly, but as they get bigger, they trump most of the weeds.

Carrots Carrots weren't weeded for a long time because until their feathery leaves came in, I couldn't tell what was carrot and what was grass and weeds. I've decided that next year I will do rows. The scattering method resulted in one very dense spot of carrots and very few in the rest of the designated plots.

Cucumbers I started cucumber seeds, but accidentally left them exposed to the air when they'd just burst their roots out, so their roots dried up and I wasn't able to revive them. I started new seeds.

Squash I started yellow squash and they are growing well. I swear you can see them grow. They gain almost a 1/2 inch per day!

April in Review

Here's a refresher of the goals I posted in late 2012. It's what I wanted to do for the homestead in 2013. I've decided that I'd like to recap each month what I did to further my education and my goals for the property I have now.

So for April this is what I've accomplished:

• Sunday the 14th: Purchased pruners, a mallet, a knife, and rooting hormone from the hardware store. Purchased two 24 inch windowsill containers with drip trays, two large and deep containers for either flowers or tomatoes, and three bags of organic potting soil.
• Monday the 15th: I dug half the garden and freed that half from weeds and perennials. All perennials were relocated to a new area. White daffodils, chives, a peony bush, and what felt like three tons of yucca bush were all moved. The chives were planted in a container and the peony bush was planted on the opposite side of the house. I also removed a lot of rocks from the garden as well as black gardening mesh designed to block weed growth. I obtained 4 blackberry cuttings and 2 blueberry cuttings from my friend, Morgan. Began sprouting Red Wonder Wild Strawberry seeds and Thessaloniki Tomato seeds.
• Tuesday the 16th: I dipped the black- and blueberry bushes into rooting hormone and planted in containers to await outdoor planting upon root growth. Also, I filled a 24 inch windowsill planter with rocks on the bottom, and then organic potting soil, watered well and sprinkled Amish Deer Tongue seeds on top.
• Friday the 19th: I bought heirloom raspberry plants and am waiting until this rash of cold nights passes so I can plant them in the newly designated berry patch.
• Saturday the 20th: The daffodils dug from the garden went everywhere because we had too many. Some in Gramma's flower garden around the well-house, some alongside the deck, and some way up in the corner of our property where we are trying to encourage a tiny maple tree to flourish.
• Sunday the 21st: Yuccas dug from the garden were transplanted onto the front bank.
• Monday the 22nd: Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce and Thessaloniki Tomatoes sprouted!
• Tuesday the 23rd: I transplanted the tomatoes who had sprouted with gentleness and tweezers.
• Wednesday the 24th: I spied the first of the tomato seeds have produced leaves! I'm sure more will be out by tomorrow.
• Saturday the 27th: The rest of the garden was dug and turned. We extracted the catnip and horseradish roots.
• Sunday the 28th: Transferred more tomato seedlings. I've decided they'll go in the garden after all. Planted peas and carrots. Planted my Lily of the Valleys. I don't know if they'll live. Pulled two seedlings from the Amish Deer Tongue window box. They had malformed leaves. The first true leaves on the blackberry bush cuttings have emerged.

*P.S. I didn't receive any compensation for the seeds linked above. I bought these particular seeds from Baker's Creek this year.

Garden Planning

Since I've never grown a garden let alone planned one out, I needed some extra help this year. Through Pinterest I found Smart Gardener and signed up (it's free!). I was able to plan a garden using my zone, plot size, and sun angle.

Then you get to go and add all the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers you want and arrange them in your virtual garden which will then reflect perfectly how you should lay it out in the real bed. They have a handy feature which allows them to arrange your garden for you based on all the variables. You can move and adjust and make everything perfect for you and your space. If you add a seed variety that won't have enough time to grow, it warns you.

On top of all that they give you weekly email reminders telling you that you should start -something- now.

For first time gardeners, this is great. In fact I could only find one downside... I didn't have enough room in my proposed garden for all the seeds I'd bought.

...bummer.

So, after that crushing disappointment, I re-grouped.

I decided that I'd grow my Red Wonder Wild Red Strawberries, Thessaloniki Tomatoes, and Dill in containers. My Schoon's Hardshell Melons are going to be in a separate raised bed on the front bank (where the most sun is available). The Arikara Sunflowers don't have a home yet, but I'm thinking Gramma's flower garden. The vegetable garden will contain: Blue Lake Bush Beans, Kuroda Carrots, Boston Pickling Cucumbers, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce, Little Marvel Pea, King of the North Peppers, and Early Straight Neck Yellow Squash.

That's it so far, except for the blackberry bushes I'll be transplanting from a friends hillside. They'll go out with the blueberry bush (only one right now, his friend died) in my miniature berry patch.

As an aside about the blueberry bush. It did produce berries last year, but we didn't get any because I didn't know enough then to throw a darned screen over it! The reason it produced without a friend (blueberries need another bush to produce berries) is because there is half an acre of blueberry bushes across the road, owned by the Greenhouse. (It's awesome having a greenhouse/nursery across the road!)

I know it's not a whole lot, but this is where I'm starting and I am content to see what this endeavor will bring.

*As a side note, I was not compensated in any way for this review by the author(s)
of Smart Gardener, I just found it truly helpful and thought to share it.

God's Sense of Humor

Sunday morning came, and the alarm went off. I shut it off and decided that even though it was

Easter

, I wasn't going to go to Sunday school and church. I started thinking of a few excuses to give Gramma, because she's always concerned when I don't go and makes sure I know it! A few minutes later as I was drifting back into sleep my phone starts ringing obnoxiously loudly. I reach over to answer, sure it's my boss asking me something silly, and I see it's Gramma. I answer it because the only other time she had called (instead of texted) one of our cell phones, she had been in a terrible car accident. I said, "Good morning Gramma!" and she said, "Lisa, I've locked my keys in the car at the gas pump, can you please bring me my spare as soon as possible? Your mom is home right? She has my spares." I assured her that yes, I'd be there soon, and hung up.

I laid back in bed for a few seconds and all I could do was smile up at the ceiling and tell God He was a funny guy.

So I got up, got dressed and got in the car to rescue Gramma. The church is in the very same town I had to drive to, so there was no reason for me not to go and so I went, and thoroughly enjoyed service and adult class lessons.

It still is making me smile to think that He went through all that trouble to get me to church. What an awesome God we serve!

Spring!

Seeds are (hopefully) on their way, the garden has been raked out of dead leaves. Now it's just pulling the old flowers and the gigantic Yucca bush out of the garden and I'll be ready to sow/transfer. Just over a month until our last frost date!

I don't have a fence, but I'm sure I'm going to need something up. We have plenty of wild bunnies who could use fattening up. I am anxiously awaiting the nursery across the road to fly it's "Open" flag so I can run over and get mulch and some dirt.


We had our first real day of spring on Saturday and it was just glorious. Makes me anxious for the lovely days ahead. The crocuses were poking their heads out of the front flower bed adjacent to the driveway, there's something poking out of the flower garden (my new vegetable garden) it's tulips or hyacinths or daffodils, but I can't tell yet. Too bad they have to go. I'm (not so) secretly hoping that they are daffodils, my favorites. There are buds on the big lilac! I'm praying they don't get frozen off in another hard frost like most years. I simply love the smell of lilac.

I also have the following sewing projects promised:

Apron - Gramma (I'm thinking Quinn's Gathering Apron.)
Flat-Bottom Zipper Pouch - Amanda, purple.
Fix/Mend Zipper on Red Pants - Holly.
Small Curtain for Podium at Work.

And I went yesterday after work to a local fabric shop to look at a fabric for Gramma's apron and Amanda's purple zipper pouch, only to realize after getting halfway there that I was way too tired to be making the drive. I'd like to tell you that I then turned around and made for home, but it's not true. I made my way (slowly) to the shop and discovered it was closed! Color me disappointed.

Feeling a bit more awake, I decided to take a second way home... that I've taken only once before... and I'm sure you see where this is going. I got lost and made it to a town I've never been to before. Go me! I turned around, drove all the way back and found the right road and went home. Jeepers!