![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Saturday and Sunday in the yard: i worked in the garden plots this weekend. I did weeding with hoe and rake. Not as effective once things are growing, it seems. Trying to do the edges of the beds seems like i am just scraping off the soil edge, which seems unsustainable. I created some soil and weed piles that are cleared of the violets and the Indian strawberries, that i know can return with a vengeance after being buried. The stilt grass seedlings make a thick mat, and that seems to be the best way to remove them. I suspect that if not buried deeply enough, the little seedlings can survive physical disturbance . I will observe the places i cleared of them. It's impressive how deep and strong the roots are already.
I did save piles of leaves for mulch, and was able to mulch up the sides of the beds
I bought an Early Girl tomato plant for over $5.50 at Lowes. That was good motivation for starting some seeds, no matter how late it is.
The rain lilies (Zephyranthes atamasco) are blooming, both my purchased plants in my rain garden and down by the creek. I saw two new clumps by the creek, one close enough to appreciate in the late afternoon light. I should probably separate my clump into more spots in the rain garden. The camas lilies (Camassia scilloides) are also blooming in the rain garden, and those too, should be divided and moved nearer the rain lilies to create some nice compositions. RIght now the arrangement is pretty random, like much of my gardening.
The non-native dark colored bugbanes (Actaea atropurpurea) have sprouted and i am excited, thinking this is the third year for them? They are established enough that it looks like each plant will have more than one spike, if i read the tiny dark fernlike foliage correctly.
Other perennials i am not confident about include lovage, which is now vital and getting to be substantial. I'm so delighted by that. It's not quite celery flavored: we'll see if Christine can appreciate the flavor. Just a hint of anise, which may be too much for her. She is happy with celery seed.
The Solomon's seal i bought cheaply off Etsy has sprouted -- maybe 50% of the rhizomes.
The artichokes and the ostrich ferns still hide. I am dubious about the winter survival of the artichokes and the original viability of the ferns With such an abundance of sochan (cut leaf coneflower) do i need other asters? I wonder if some of these cardoon cooking ideas would translate. The ostrich ferns i should source from a more reliable provider.
The native kidney beans are sprouting in a few places. Not sure if some areas were mulched too deeply and the dormancy will take longer to break, or if that was not good for them. Still, having seen the original bean in it's third year -- so very very vital and spreading -- maybe it's better not to have them survive?
The Delaware cucumber (Melothria pendula) has returned. It's smaller than those tiny "cucamelons" (Melothria scabra) but a perennial native. It's part of my "It's too shady so if it grows and produces it's a win!" planting. I don't have choices for bigger fruit, and the perennial characteristic reduces the input to be in line with the output.
Strawberries have green fruit, which is amazing. I thought they would be far too fussy to be worth while. I imagine interplanting with corn or okra and letting the plants stay. I wonder if onions can be interplanted with them? Yes: https://www.offthegridnews.com/survival-gardening-2/strawberries-onions-gardening-planted-together/ (and an assertion "proved not true [that onions ward off pests]" https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/newsroom/2018/03/12/strawberry-onions-hillsboroughs-best-kept-secret )
I did save piles of leaves for mulch, and was able to mulch up the sides of the beds
I bought an Early Girl tomato plant for over $5.50 at Lowes. That was good motivation for starting some seeds, no matter how late it is.
The rain lilies (Zephyranthes atamasco) are blooming, both my purchased plants in my rain garden and down by the creek. I saw two new clumps by the creek, one close enough to appreciate in the late afternoon light. I should probably separate my clump into more spots in the rain garden. The camas lilies (Camassia scilloides) are also blooming in the rain garden, and those too, should be divided and moved nearer the rain lilies to create some nice compositions. RIght now the arrangement is pretty random, like much of my gardening.
The non-native dark colored bugbanes (Actaea atropurpurea) have sprouted and i am excited, thinking this is the third year for them? They are established enough that it looks like each plant will have more than one spike, if i read the tiny dark fernlike foliage correctly.
Other perennials i am not confident about include lovage, which is now vital and getting to be substantial. I'm so delighted by that. It's not quite celery flavored: we'll see if Christine can appreciate the flavor. Just a hint of anise, which may be too much for her. She is happy with celery seed.
The Solomon's seal i bought cheaply off Etsy has sprouted -- maybe 50% of the rhizomes.
The artichokes and the ostrich ferns still hide. I am dubious about the winter survival of the artichokes and the original viability of the ferns With such an abundance of sochan (cut leaf coneflower) do i need other asters? I wonder if some of these cardoon cooking ideas would translate. The ostrich ferns i should source from a more reliable provider.
The native kidney beans are sprouting in a few places. Not sure if some areas were mulched too deeply and the dormancy will take longer to break, or if that was not good for them. Still, having seen the original bean in it's third year -- so very very vital and spreading -- maybe it's better not to have them survive?
The Delaware cucumber (Melothria pendula) has returned. It's smaller than those tiny "cucamelons" (Melothria scabra) but a perennial native. It's part of my "It's too shady so if it grows and produces it's a win!" planting. I don't have choices for bigger fruit, and the perennial characteristic reduces the input to be in line with the output.
Strawberries have green fruit, which is amazing. I thought they would be far too fussy to be worth while. I imagine interplanting with corn or okra and letting the plants stay. I wonder if onions can be interplanted with them? Yes: https://www.offthegridnews.com/survival-gardening-2/strawberries-onions-gardening-planted-together/ (and an assertion "proved not true [that onions ward off pests]" https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/newsroom/2018/03/12/strawberry-onions-hillsboroughs-best-kept-secret )