Bloom Day - March 2010

Bluebonnet

Bluebonnets

(Please ignore the giant weed)

Strawberry

Missouri Violet.

I picked this up at the Garden Bloggers field trip last fall. I've completely ignored it.

It is still in the plastic bucket w/out a touch of water or protection from the cold.

I'm really loving this flower!

Shasta Daisies

Society Garlic

Sweet Alyssum

Tulips - Don't remember the variety

This is the second year and they look much better this year than last.

Tomatoes Planted

I started planting tomatoes this weekend. I didn't plant all of them, as I am still clearing out the beds. By clearing out the beds I mean eating lots of winter veggies. It's a tough job but someone has to do it :) Sunday night we had a salad with two kinds of lettuce, radishes, carrots, and kohlrabi. Monday night we had my daughter's favorite, bacon-lemon brussel sprouts.

I know it's risky planting this early, but I have row cover handy, and actually used it Sunday. It was windy enough that I thought it would be a good idea to shelter the plants. It seemed to work as they look really healthy. I planted romas, pear cherries, and sweet 100 cherries.

I decided that the swiss chard takes up entirely too much room in the beds. I've seen them mixed in with flower beds and thought I'd try it. This spot was previously occupied by "Purple Heart". Although I really liked them, I like having edible chard more. The chard took quite a beating with the 80 degree temps today. I'm hoping it bounces back, otherwise, I'll be taking a trip to "The Natural Gardener" for new plants.

Here's my new toy! It is just amazing for hauling dirt, rocks, and plants.

First Bluebonnet!

Taken this evening after getting home from work.

Here's a few pictures I took this morning, before the actual flowers popped out.

While I'm at it ... the first Society Garlic flower showed up today as well. I'm so excited for spring!

Front Yard Update

I haven't posted in a while, but it's not because I've been avoiding the garden,

just too lazy to post. The last two weekends the weather has been beautiful so I've been

working on the front yard.

I dug out the bed on the other side of the front walk. (The first half I did over Thanksgiving break w/ my MIL). I filled the bed w/ mulch, society garlic, and "shasta" daisies. I've been wanting society garlic since I moved in 2 1/2 years ago and finally found the perfect place.

I took another trip to the cemetery on sunday morning for rocks. I added a border to the front yard to help w/ erosion. I also put a border around the new melon bed that I dug out. I am very sore from swinging that pick-axe!

Here are my new potato bags. I bought these from "Gardener's Supply Company".

I planted the potatoes 4 weeks ago.

Here's the first sign of life in one of the potato bags. Thank goodness, I was starting to get worried. The paperwork I have says it takes at least 4 weeks, but I always worry until I see the first sprout. This is my first time growing potatoes so I'm excited to see how it works out.

Pruning the Roses

As most Austin gardeners know, Valentine's Day is the time for pruning the rose bushes. Last sunday I cut back the Knockouts pretty significantly. I found these instructions in a flower gardening book, and I've used them for a few years now.

1. Cut back the smaller of any twisted canes

2. Cut out any canes smaller than a pencil

3. Cut back any dead canes

4. Thin out the bushes to give plenty of breathing room for new growth

5. Cut back the all canes by 1/3

I added number 4 myself after discovering how quickly the rose bushes recover. I was scared my first year that I had over-pruned, but they came back to over 6 feet tall by the end of the season.

Seedling Progress

Romas & Cherokees

I just moved these to the grow light shelf yesterday, so they still look as little sad. The true leaves haven't shown up yet, but should within the next few days.

Peppers, Romas and Herbs

The peppers are looking really great. They are already growing their third set of leaves. I thinned them out this morning to give them a little more room to grow.

I did some calculations and realized that I will be running out of space once I transfer to 4" pots, even w/ 18 sq ft! I'll probably have to use the window a little bit this year as well.

New Seeds

Friday the 8th during my lunch break I drove to The Natural Gardener and picked up some seed packets. Since the peppers and herbs are well underway, it's time for tomatoes. I picked up "yellow pear" cherry, "supersweet 100" cherry, "cherokee purple", "green zebra", and "celebrity". I also bought toma verde tomatillos and some amaranth.

Planting Dates

Romas - Jan 7th

Cherokee, Zebra - Jan 10th

Cherries, Celebrity - Jan 16th

Last fall I spoke to The Natural Gardener about making my own seed mix. They recommended a mix of Worm Castings, Perlite, and Vermiculite. As for amounts, you want it too retain moisture, but not be too soggy. The amounts I have used for my seed mix are 4 parts perlite, 3 parts worm castings and 2 parts vermiculite. So far it's working great.