A Mid-Summer's Blog Post

 In the two months since my last post the only constant has been the rain.  Last year at this time, we were rationing water like crazy.  This year it's so wet I haven't watered my gardens at all.  Everything is lush and tropical and completely out of control, or drowned and dead.  I haven't been able to work on any outdoor projects yet, but I do have a few in mind.  Especially since I now have this mini beast!

(the tractor, obviously...I parked her next to Clementine the truck to give a sense of size)

I've used it a few times to try to get the hang of it, but it's been so wet and dismal that mostly it's just sat in the garage.  

Some of the vegetables I've planted are loving all the rain and humidity, others are not.  My peppers are all stunted and I'm not hopeful they'll recover.  The tomatoes went in late and aren't hitting their stride yet.  The lettuce, greens, and radish all bolted despite (or due to) the lack of sun and heat.  The peas, however, are loaded with fat pods.  The potatoes, onions, leeks, pumpkins, and garlic seem to be loving it, too.  I planted green beans and cukes late but both are growing happily. My plans to grow the tomatoes and peppers in the little poly tunnel sort of went awry, and they were all planted out into the vegetable garden instead.

The perennials are doing fantastic, too.  Some of them have reached heights that unfortunately get them knocked down in the deluges.

I managed to do a little transplanting, too.  I moved the foxgloves out of a holding bed and to the outside of the garden fence.

I moved the fall blooming asters from a holding bed to the edge of the lower patio area.

And I moved a variety of moisture loving plants to the bog garden near the water feature.

Since I haven't had a chance to move more plants down to the edges of the pond, I let the grass grow wild to ensure the frogs have a place to get up out of the water, but still be protected.  Of course, there was only one little frog in there and it seems to have disappeared.  BUT.  Remember the frog eggs this spring?  

There are now hundreds of little tadpoles thriving in my water feature!  And one very large tadpole...which is a little strange, but I'll take it.

My plan to clear the bank and plant corn and sunflowers didn't work out, but there's still a nice meadowy quality about that area.  

I've discovered that these grasses will not be stopped.  Not even by the dreaded weed block.  

So there's a project for me - redoing the path.  😒

I managed to unbox my canopy and get that up, too.  It's been a nice dry spot for grilling, if nothing else.  I haven't bothered filling the soaking tub since it's been rather damp and raw.

The grill cover stays up because hornets have been trying to build nests in any sheltered places they can find.  One of my cushions fell forward and an enterprising wasp used the sheltered area between the back and seat cushions to start making a nest!

 

My wildflower area isn't really springing to life.  The larger plants are from last year's sowing, cosmos I've grown from seed and transplanted, or rampant weeds.

My impatiens that did survive (I had such a hard time with seed starting this year, I don't know why) are doing very well, and loving their new home in window boxes attached to the header that was meant for my deck.

Hopefully we'll have some decent weather soon, and I'll be able to do some projects I want to get done before winter.  There are stairs to reset, manure to move, paths to be rebuilt, fencing to be put up, and plants to transplant.

Black Flies and Mosquitos and Ticks, Oh My!

 'Tis the season!  We're finally seeing the sun and temperatures are creeping upwards.  The grass is greening at a ridiculous pace, the trees are beginning to leaf out, the perennial flower beds are beginning to explode with life.  This also means the little vampire world of ticks, mosquitos, and black flies are hard at work making lives miserable.  I've already picked a half dozen ticks off of me, and the black flies nearly drove my uncle to the brink of madness when he was helping me set up the tiny tunnel.  I say helping, but in reality he pretty much did it all and I just assisted.  So yes, my tiny tunnel is up, and the seedlings have moved from the house to the tunnel!

We set it up in the driveway so it was near enough to a water source and in the sun.  It should receive 6-8 hours daily, with the house shading it in the worst of the afternoon heat.  Once the seedlings are all ready to be planted out, I'll fill this tunnel with buckets of tomatoes to see if they grow better in here or out in the open garden.  I'm really excited to try this!  If it works well enough, I'll find a permanent spot for it so I don't have to take it down every winter.

I also got my aerator set up in the little water feature.  My mom gave me this sphinx-like downspout a few years ago and it has a hole in the center, so I purchased a little solar powered water pump and voilà!  The water is now moving.

I'm not really digging the extreme upspray, so  I might dial it back just a little.  If I take the little cap off the pump nozzle, it will just bubble over and that might be better.  I'm thinking the spray might actually cause the water to evaporate more quickly, especially on a hot day.  Work in progress!  The frog eggs were hatching just when we had a deluge of rain - some areas received nearly 5" overnight.  My water feature overflowed the banks, and I haven't seen any signs of tadpoles since.  I'm not sure if any survived.

Out in the pasture, the daffodils under the mulberry tree are really starting to take off.

There are a few other flowers under there, but the deer ate every single tulip and hyacinth, so only a few fritillaries, squill, and one lone anemone break up the daffodil overload.  Hopefully they'll take off in the next few years and spread to add a little color to the fray.

In the garden the snap peas are sprouting, there's no sign of the potatoes, and I've planted some leeks and shallots.  I need to vacate a few more beds to be able to plant my onions.

The cool weather greens are coming along up at the house planter, too.

Now is the time when everything gets ahead of you.  Keep up!

Shaking my fist at the damp

 I should be happy that it's been days and days of rain because it will help ensure a decent amount of water in the ground, but I'm watching trees and grass and plants explode and it's too wet to do any cleanup.  Waah, waah, waah.   There have been small amounts of sun, and I have started some projects.

In an effort to harvest more rainwater this summer, I've purchased a 330 gallon IBC tote.  My plan is to connect the gutter from the barn to the tote, however the gutter desperately needs replacing.  Upon closer inspection, the fascia the gutter is attached to also desperately needs replacing.  Unexpected project #1.

All of the snow has now melted except for a small pile in front of Mom's barn.

That should be gone before the end of the week with all this rain.  

My hill garden is wide open and I've managed to plant potatoes in the stock tank and peas in pots.  My onions, leeks, and shallots are here but I don't have space for them; all of my beds are overwintering late season perennial purchases Mom and I made.  As soon as it's warm enough, I can peel those out and get planting.  My garlic are doing well, which makes me happy as it's the first time I've grown it.  

 I also managed to plant up the large planter by the house with radish, lettuce, mustard greens, and spinach.  Since these are cool weather crops and will probably be done by June, I'll be able to pull them and use the planter for my pepper plants.  Remember that simple rotation guide I found?  That helped me plan this succession.  Next year I can use that planter for onions or carrots.

look at this whole lotta nuthin'

The little front garden I built last year for my lilacs is doing well.  I had planted it with tulips, allium, and muscari to fill in the blank spots until the lilac leaf out.  To my surprise, the two clematis I purchased last year from Job Lots actually survived the winter and seem to be thriving!  I put an old metal headboard in as a trellis, and am debating the age old question - does one follow the lay of the land, or does one please the eye by leveling the trellis?  I'm going with the lay of the land.

In the back of the house, the little water feature has completely thawed, and already has become home to a clutch of frog eggs, which I discovered when skimming out the debris and dead water plants I'd neglected to remove last fall.  Of note - it's recommended to leave any debris in a pile near the pond for a day at least to allow tiny water dwellers a chance to get back into the water. 

We had our first bear of the season the other night.  I chased him out of the pasture twice, but he came back under cover of darkness and broke Mom's platform bird feeder.  Oddly enough, it hadn't been used all winter.  Unfortunately this means it's also time for me to stop feeding the crows, as the dog food would likely make this a hot stop on the bear's travel itinerary.  No thank you.  The fox hasn't been seen since the snow melted in the pasture, but I'm sure he's still a regular visitor.  Two deer were spied behind the barn for the first time since last autumn, too.  I heard a woodcock at dusk a few nights ago and the peepers won't be far behind.  Is it any wonder why this is my most favorite season of all?

I'm in!

Yesterday morning there was still enough snow on the ground to deter me from getting into my hill garden.

 

It was a rather raw and blustery day, but by evening the snow had actually melted enough that I was able to open the gate and meander about.  In spots the snow is still nearly up to my knees, but my raised beds are emerging.  

 Last year I had already sown my sugar snap peas by April 5th...what a difference!  I have to admit, mud season lasted about a week and that was just fine with me.  Pretty soon I'll be bitching about blackflies and ticks.

But it's opening up more every day...

Inside I've transplanted my impatiens, which are doing very well.  I sowed some pansies and they're not germinating as well as hoped, but thankfully I have an abundance of seed to try again.  Today I sowed cosmos, petunia, annual aster, and amaranth.  I'm hoping that by next weekend I'll be able to set up the poly tunnel. 

Meanwhile, in the pasture...

...love is in the air. 

What to do while it's melting

Things are beginning to melt!  The snow pack right now in the pasture measures 12 inches, down from 17 inches last week.  I can just make out the shapes of my raised beds in the hill garden, and my water feature is marked by a divot in the snow.  Under the mulberry tree, daffodils are beginning to poke through the soil.

 

 

The second sowing of impatiens is going well with about 95% germination.  The chili plants are hanging in there, but one variety still has very puckered leaves.  I've been battling fungus gnats and white flies for a few months now, and it's making me crazy.  No more over-wintering herbs from the garden.

I've mentioned that I am fascinated by the practice of planting bulbs in pots and overwintering them.  I have two sets of pots planted - one stored in the shed that I cannot get to right now thanks to the snow, and one set stored in the basement.  The ones in the basement were tucked in a dark corner on the cement floor.  My basement is heated and I keep it at 48F through the winter, which may have worked against me.  The allium in the pots started sprouting about a month ago, which was much too soon to put the pots outside.  I had to bring them upstairs into the house and on warm days I do set them out.  I have a feeling the allium won't bloom because it's really thin and leggy and just doesn't seem robust enough, but time will tell.  The daffodils and tulips planted with them are just starting to poke through the soil.  I'm going to consider this set a mostly failed experiment as I think the basement is just too warm for overwintering bulbs.  I'm eager to see what's going on in the bigger pots out in my shed, which I should be able to get to soon.

Another plant I overwintered in the basement was my lemongrass.  I took it upstairs about a week ago when I noticed a thick white fungus growing near the base of it.  I think I may have over-watered the last time, which may have caused this.  I scraped the fungus/mold off the plant, set it in the sun for a few hours, then chopped the leaves back even more and brought it inside.  In the entire clump, there are about 3 leaves that have some green showing.  This may also be a failed experiment, but we'll see.

 The south-facing front of the house is well thawed, and the bulbs I planted last fall are already growing like crazy.  

My little Witch Hazel spent most of the winter plowed under a snow bank, but it's poked through now and is trying its level best to show off some spring blooms.

And my ginger plants are coming along. 

The little fox has been back quite a few times and did manage to catch a grey squirrel.

The lone Tom turkey has been joined by four comely hens.

And a single raven has been trying to steal the crow food.  There have been a few airborne battles, which are spectacular to watch, but I feel sorry for the big raven.  He does manage to get a few bits of kibble now and again.  He's heavier than the crows and keeps sinking into the snow, so he'll propel himself upward with a few flaps of his wings and settle back down.

 

Soon that ocean of white will be a sea of green...I'm looking forward to it.