Tuesday, April 22, 2014

a little progress on the to do list

I have been trying to get a little gardening done every day.  Some days the weather has not cooperated and then there was the Easter holiday and my kids were at the farm.  But I am pleased with the progress that has been made.

The greenhouse got some attention.  Nikole took down all the gutter planters with their spent plant material and the gutters were emptied into the raised beds where the soil mix will be mixed with compost and reused.  The broccoli plants are moved outside.  The baby plants are looking good for the most part.  I hope to get quite a few of the big tomatoes in the ground soon.

The hoop house got some hoops.  One of the beds is ready to plant and the other needs some straw and compost and then it will be ready as well.  In the picture below the bed that is ready to plant is the one with the big white dog sleeping in it.  She has a knack for finding the most recently worked dirt for her naps.

The next picture was taken a little closer up.  Once the tomatoes are planted it will be ready for some plastic for the next month or so.  The plan is to remove the plastic for the summer and put it back on in the fall with some new crops.  There will be a decking walkway between the beds which will hold potted tomatoes this spring and summer


 Today I spent some time working on the sandbox which will hold the new cranberry plants that have been ordered and blueberry plants that I will transplant from their current location which is not working well for them.





On the left side of the picture is where the cranberry plants will go.  I have been reading about them and they need to be planted in a mixture that is one-half sand and one-half peat moss.  I had rescued enough sand to half fill the 3x8 foot section.  I added a large package of peat moss and wet it well while mixing the two ingredients together.  I will check again tomorrow to see if it is staying moist.

The right side of the picture is where the blueberries will go.  In my reading it was suggested to use a mixture that is one-third peat moss, one-third potting soil for acid loving plants and one-third bark chips.  These mixed ingredients were wet thoroughly and I will be checking the pH and moving the blueberry plants, hopefully while they are still dormant.

I have been digging trenches in the cornfield, making new raised rows.  I have planted six rows of potatoes and the two rows of peas.  I have cleared off another couple of wheelbarrow loads of old garden material.  I have not noticed that the cover crop seeded too late in the fall has started to sprout yet

I did set up the round and square potato towers in the area where the long box will be rebuilt in the potager.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow those will have to be watered.   Looking ahead there is a 70% chance of rain for tomorrow and 50% for the day after.  April showers...

2 comments:

  1. I love the idea of growing blueberries. I'm not sure any of them would last very long. We would easy them as we walked by for sure!

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  2. I love the idea too. I have been trying for two years to amend the soil so my six plants would flourish. I finally gave up and will move them into this raised bed where I have better control of the acidity. Got my fingers crossed that I can move them without killing them.

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