March 2016

March 1, 2016

I planted Waltham Butternut squash seeds in Plot 1, Crimson Sweet watermelon in Plot 3, and Hearts of Gold muskmelon in Plot 6.

March 2, 2016

I started planting beans in Plot 2, with pole beans at the northern 5 feet and the rest in bush beans.

• Orient Wonder pole beans along the western edge
• Edamame along the western edge
• Jade Bush Beans along the center

March 3, 2016

I planted the following seeds:

Sugar Snap peas along the eastern edge of the pole bean area.
Spacemaster cucumbers in 4 mounds in Plot 7
Moss Curled parsley at the south end of the I bed
Long Standing coriander next to the parsley
Moon & Stars watermelon in a mound in the S bed

I removed the grass from around the satsuma and put a thick layer of leaf mold around it with some cotton seed meal underneath.

March 4, 2016

I watered everything in the back yard. It’s 56 and sunny outside this morning. For the fruit trees out front, I added urine to my water pail. I didn’t notice any bad smell as I watered them.

The Mayer Lemon is in full bloom and has been for a couple weeks. The front satsuma is still sickly looking but many new leaves are appearing on a side trunk starting just above the graft.

The fig is leafing, which it started just a few days ago after a long budding period.

The pomegranate started leafing about a week ago.

The muscadine vine and the eastern redbud sapling are still in the budding stage.

March 6, 2016

I shredded several bags-full of leaves, making the leaf mold pile heap well above the top of the cage.

I removed some very tough grass from around the pomegranate and added mulch.

I went to Buchanan’s and bought herb transplants, then put them in the herb garden:

·         Spice Island Rosemary

·         Pineapple sage

·         Tricolor sage

·         Chocolate mint

·         Lovage

·         Salad Burnet

March 5, 2016

I planted seeds in the east bed:

·         Parsley “Italian Dark Green Flat”

·         Cress “Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled”

Herb bed:

·         Savory “Winter”

·         Dill “Tetra”

Plot 5

·         Corn “Bodacious”

I watered the beds.

I also put my other satsuma sapling in the ground, just outside the gate to the back yard. I took the left-over dirt I dug out for the tree and compacted it under the 4th raised bed where there was a gap.

I mowed about five bags of leaves and added them to the leaf mold pile.

March 7, 2016

Some of the cantaloupe and cucumber seeds have emerged.

I started thinning the beet seedlings.

March 12, 2016

I yanked the loropetalum and Texas stage from around the water oak in the back yard. This opened up a lot of space.  I never really liked having them there.

March 16, 2016

·         I spotted a few small gentian-like plants by the front curb neat the driveway.

·         I removed bricks and some violet wood sorrel bulbs from around the water oak.

·         I planted more corn seeds because squirrels (probably) dug up most of the few seedlings.

March 18, 2016

·         The first small unfurled leaf appeared on the muscadine.

·         Buck told me he had moved 12 squirrels to a nearby park. I was wondering where all the squirrels were. I’m sad they were removed, although my garden will be less molested.

·         I spread coffee grounds thinly over the entire garden.

·         It rained pretty heavily at night.

March 20, 2016

It has been cool and breezy all weekend. Yesterday was overcast, but today is very sunny.

·         The muscadine has many small leaves, many of which have not completely unfurled yet.

·         I moved the remaining tomato, pepper, and okra seedlings to the back patio, not sure what to do with them yet.

·         The winter squash seedlings all have one true leaf about 1″ across.

·         The Orient Wonder pole beans are all about 5 inches high, but none have reached the trellis yet.

·         The sugar snap peas are all growing quickly and their tendrils are beginning to touch the bottom of the trellis.

·         The edamame bush beans are all a few inches tall.

·         Only a few of the Jade bush beans have emerged. I am thinking of planting a different variety in the center line

·         Did I forget to plant beans along the eastern edge of the bush bean section of bed 1?

·         Yellow asters are blooming behind bed 2.

·         Milkweed is blooming behind bed 1.

·         The dewberry bramble is growing vigorously. The flowers are gone now. I imagine the fruit will quickly be eaten by other animals.

·         The yaupon growing between the water oak and bed 1 is still quite small.

·         Some coffee group clumps were still visible in the beds after the rains.

·         The leaf mold pile has already settled significantly since I finished topping it off last weekend. I could add about 10 more bags of leaves to it after shredding them.

·         Most of the watermelon, cucumber, and cantaloupe seedlings have small, single true leaves that have not fully opened yet.

·         The chard, arugula, and beet seedlings in bed 2 have grown very little.

·         The two corn seedlings that the squirrels didn’t bother are growing rapidly.

·         The Early Girl and Patio tomato plants both have a single small tomato.

·         The Siam Queen and Sweet basil plants in bed 4 are still a little sickly, but I hope they will bounce back.

·         The banana pepper has another pepper after I already ate one a few days ago.

·         The jalapeno has one semi-grown pepper and one new stub of one.

·         The cayenne has several flowers but no peppers.

·         The two California Wonders have a few small peppers.

·         The collards in the S bed are very abundant. I am finally starting to each the leaves again.

·         The leeks are healthy and thickening. I should use them up soon.

·         The mustard green is getting mildewy, but many good leaves are left.

·         After pulling out the large fennel plant for use in smoothies, A few smaller ones remain in the S garden and the herb garden.

·         Over the last couple of weeks, I have kept pulling star jasmine as well as violet wood sorrel flowers from many areas of the yard.

·         The remaining bolted bok choi is still in bloom.

·         The parsley in the I bed is barely emerging.

·         The coriander and cress have emerged vigorously in complete rows.

·         The tomatoes in the I bed don’t look very energetic.

·         The basil in the S and I beds is doing well.

March 25, 2016

·         I had my first mosquito bite of 2016.

·         The peas are just getting tall enough to reach the trellis.

·         I did my first ever newspaper mulching in Bed 1 for the butternut squash. First, I laid out about 3 pages in a spot, watered it down, and repeated until the entire bed was covered, except small areas around the seedlings. I then covered the newspaper with some of the leaf mold I have left. I probably should have used a couple more layers of newspaper.

·         At night, a large possum was walking around the back yard.

·         I had to stop using the wheelbarrow because it lost a bolt in the front and the wheel axle fell out.

March 26, 2016

·         I applied cotton seed meal and Epsom salt to most of the beds.

·         I placed the remaining logs around the S bed. I still need to stabilize the logs by hammering in hard posts from tree branches.

·         I removed a lot of violet wood sorrel bulbs, developing an efficient way to do so in the process.

·         I weeded most of the backyard bed with the crepe myrtle, carefully removing wood sorrel bulbs and yanking out the St. Augustine grass.

·         A cloudless sulphur landed near me, then flew off. They are fond of lantana and turk’s cap, which I have in the back yard.

March 27, 2016

·         A monarch butterfly larva was crawling up a milkweed plant.

·         I got a new bolt for the wheelbarrow.

·        I finally realized I had to water the cuke and cantaloupe seedlings by the trellises because they are in mounds, which contact the air and sun on all sides except the bottom.

·         Honey bees and bumble bees flew around the remaining azalea bushes in the front yard as I talked to a neighbor in the driveway.

·         The neighbor gave me three bags full of leaves and oak catkins. I mixed them with juice pulp and coffee grounds to start a new compost pile near the water oak where I had removed the loropetalum and Texas sage.

·         I observed a black jumping spider with white marks and pedipalps.

·         I accidentally left the faucet on all afternoon, and the leaky hose to my sprayer left a pool of water behind my bedroom. It dawned on me that it was the perfect time to remove all the nandina along that wall. I could pull the smaller trunks out easily, but I needed to pry the bigger trunk clusters out some with a shovel before pulling them the rest of the way out. Now they are all gone. I cut the trunks from the roots, moved them over to the shredding area, and left the roots by the watery holes. I then put back all the mud I could and covered it all with small sticks and other tree waste.

·         I mowed some of the violet wood sorrel.

·         I noticed very tiny true leaves growing from the arugula seedlings. They, along with the beets and chard, have been very slow to leaf. I’m wondering what’s wrong with them. The ones I pick are still moist and flexible, unlike what I would expect dead ones to be.

·         The second planting of corn kernels are sprouting nicely after squirrels dug up the ones that were there before.

·         The dewberry is growing rapidly, and I am thinking about the placement of the bramble. It looks like it will be about 6 feet from the fence, and I will be able to walk around it along that path.

·         A robin flew to the back fence, making me wonder how much longer they will be in town.