spring in the sunshine, winter in the shade

she's smoothing out a path for her scooter. The garden is coming along!

austree willow update

April 3

May 2

What a difference just a couple weeks make when growing Hybrid Willows! Even with a handful of  frosty nights and a few hard freezes, these frilly things are still going strong. As a gardener, I’ll always grow willow; if everything else fails or struggles, they’ll likely always be fine and keep me from ultimate despair, and on the flip side, if everything is growing great, then I have an extra layer of glee because they’re always head and shoulders above everything else. They’re failproof and provide guaranteed garden Joy Insurance. #iloveyouwillow #letmecounttheways

future willow archway

One more night of frost before all the covers are removed - my unofficial Grand Unveiling of spring! I have a combo of plants and methods going: Winter Sown, No Transplant Winter Sown, direct sown seed, store-bought starts, Ruth Stout, light mulch, raised mounds - some with mulch, some without. Welcome to my schizophrenic garden.

Spring Garden Update

My attempt at No Transfer Winter Sowing tomatoes is so far a success!

I direct-sowed Cherokee Purple tomato seeds in soil heavily mulched with hay + covered with 32oz clear plastic cups (with holes for airflow and moisture) all the way back in early March. We’ve had plenty of below-freezing temps and ferocious winds, and would you look at that? I’m not so brave to feel accomplished yet… just super happy and hoping they’ll actually produce tomatoes! I also have store-bought transplants in the same row, so it will be interesting to compare results of production and hardiness. The winter-sown seeds are much further behind than the store-bought transplants, as expected. I’m about to find out if they’ll catch up like the winter-sowing experts say they will. I’m rooting for the underdogs 👏👏👏

winter sown tomatoes

🍅🍅🍅

Tux (aka Bond, James Bond) helped me transplant sweet peppers in the garden today. - Keystone Giant (Bell), Banana Peppers, Cubanelle Peppers -  all in the ground! Moving on to tomatoes and hot peppers...

Potato sprouts! I've been waiting so hard! 🥳

Texting garden updates to my girl

Almost every day this week, I've been texting her pictures of  various weeds and asking if she thinks they're potato sprouts. This is my 1st time growing potatoes. Nothing yet! #justboogers #inkcapmushrooms