March 1, 2017
I didn't hear any sounds in the attic all day. I appears my solution worked. I watered the garden and harvested some turnips, separated the roots from the greens, and put the latter, uncleaned, in a plastic bag in the fridge.
I saw robins dig shallow holes in my beds as they searched for food.
I saw robins dig shallow holes in my beds as they searched for food.
March 2, 2017
In the morning, I drove around the neighborhood gathering bags of leaves before the leaf dump truck passed through. I found a lot of bags with pre-shredded leaves, which saves me a lot of work. Later, I saw yard contractors putting leaves in bags in my neighbor's yard. I got several of those bags. All together, I got about 20 bags full of leaves, all from oaks. I dumped all the bags that seemed to have pre-shredded leaves onto the shredded pile, which is getting large, and I accidentally dumped some on the unshredded pile.
I spread about four wheelbarrows-full of leaf mold from my pile onto the clear areas of my raised beds.In beds 3 and 4, clover filled much of the otherwise empty space, so I mostly put the new soil along the outisde edges of those beds. I put a lot in beds 1 and 2, in many places raising the dirt level near the top of the bed frames. The leaf mold had many earthworms. I hope they will survive and reproduce in the beds to which I moved them.
I cleared more space in the garden for March plantings. I pulled four large radish plants, two of whose roots had internal empty space that looked rotten, and one whose root had a hole that was open to the outside. One plant had a large, beautiful root. I put the good root in a container and the leaves in a large bag and put them in the fridge. I need to start harvesting radishes sooner so they don't rot.
I stopped by the Starbucks on Bellaire on my way home from visiting a friend and picked up a lot of coffee grounds. They are contained in about 5 bags, each of which is inside one or two other bags, representing a lot of plastic trash. I used to save the outer bags, but now I have so many I just throw them all away. I could take the clean outer ones to a plastic bag recycling bin, but I want to find out if this recycling is actually beneficial.
I spread about four wheelbarrows-full of leaf mold from my pile onto the clear areas of my raised beds.In beds 3 and 4, clover filled much of the otherwise empty space, so I mostly put the new soil along the outisde edges of those beds. I put a lot in beds 1 and 2, in many places raising the dirt level near the top of the bed frames. The leaf mold had many earthworms. I hope they will survive and reproduce in the beds to which I moved them.
I cleared more space in the garden for March plantings. I pulled four large radish plants, two of whose roots had internal empty space that looked rotten, and one whose root had a hole that was open to the outside. One plant had a large, beautiful root. I put the good root in a container and the leaves in a large bag and put them in the fridge. I need to start harvesting radishes sooner so they don't rot.
March 3, 2017
I dumped the remaining 30 or so bags of leaves in the backyard, with shredded leaves in their pile and unshredded ones in theirs. A lawn crew had large bags of leaves, and I took about six of them. The two piles are large now, and I am getting tired of collecting more leaves. Oak catkins are starting to fall, and I will sweep up a large amount of them once they carpet the driveway and road.I stopped by the Starbucks on Bellaire on my way home from visiting a friend and picked up a lot of coffee grounds. They are contained in about 5 bags, each of which is inside one or two other bags, representing a lot of plastic trash. I used to save the outer bags, but now I have so many I just throw them all away. I could take the clean outer ones to a plastic bag recycling bin, but I want to find out if this recycling is actually beneficial.
March 6, 2017
Most of the azalea flowers have fallen to the ground. The rain in the last couple of days has probably hastened that process.
March 9, 2017
I picked a lot of lettuce in the morning. As I was doing this, I discovered that some of it had aphids on it.
I trimmed back the boxwood in the west hedge. It had moved into the center of the hedge, under the top of the dead azalea, which I also cut back some. I also cut an oak sapling among the dead azalea branches at its base.
I removed oak saplings in different areas of the yard. Some of the oak leaves had diseases.
I drove around the neighborhood a bit looking for bags of pre-shredded leaves, but blew it off without getting any bags. I already had two large piles, one shredded, the other not, in the back yard.
I picked sugar snap pea and snow pea pods to serve raw to the people coming over this Sunday.
The Persian silk tree has its first small leaves of the year.
One of the lettuce plants has flower buds. I lost track of that variety.
One of the radish plants has a flower and many flower buds.
Dallisgrass has infloresences.
The unidentified "wild parsley" by the first bed has grown significantly.
Robins have been digging around in the raised beds and finding some worms.
I took pictures of a leaf-footed bug.
I took pictures of a sawfly with a red thorax.
I saw geranium seed capsules for the first time this year.
I took a video of a kind of garden snail on a leaf, holding the leaf in my left hand and my phone (camera) in my right. I have had a surprisingly hard time identifying the snail.
I took a video of a shiny moth larva that I found in a garden bed and put on my back patio. It moved very fast on the patio, which was a bad place for a moth larva to be.
The few small leaves on the mustang grape vine lying on the ground behind my bedroom now have the shape of mature leaves.
Almost all the azalea flowers are gone, but many sepals and ovaries remain.
I pulled some dallisgrass tufts out of the ground and stacked them on each other at that spot.
I noticed a bean plant, probably a cowpea, growing outside any garden bed.
I saw signs of a leaf miner in the leaves of a common sunflower seedling.
More of the lantana florets are blooming on each inflorescence.
I determined that the squash growing by the west fence from discarded produce from a supermarket was acorn squash.
I found coral honeysuckle growing in a couple of places near where the old bought and transplanted one had been.
Many of the cleavers have flowers and seeds.
A tuft of crabgrass was at the southern end of the third bed.
I removed all the arugula from the 4th bed (plot 8), added leaf mold to the bed, and transplanted the peppers and eggplant I had growing under lights indoors. This mostly completed the season's indoor growing. I still have onion, parsley, and collard transplants, but I already have a lot of those veggies in the garden.
I took a photo and a video of a wood louse, a centipede baby, and some ants that were in the leaf mold I added to the 4th bed.
I pulled up some dichondra from the 4th bed and was surprised by the long length of its roots. I laid one bunch on the patio and photographed it.
I found a mushroom on a stick that was shallowly buried in the 4th bed. With help from folks on Reddit, I identified it as Polyporus arcularius.
I took photos of arugula and asteraceae flowers.
I took pictures of radish flowers, which look very similar to arugula flowers.
I took pictures of the hedges, the west front yard, and east lawns and worked on their descriptions for the website.
An unusually large specimen of an orbweaver spider was at the back end of the western hedge.
One of the lettuce plants has flower buds. I lost track of that variety.
One of the radish plants has a flower and many flower buds.
Dallisgrass has infloresences.
The unidentified "wild parsley" by the first bed has grown significantly.
Robins have been digging around in the raised beds and finding some worms.
I took pictures of a leaf-footed bug.
I took pictures of a sawfly with a red thorax.
I saw geranium seed capsules for the first time this year.
March 10, 2017
The live oak is dumping more pollen and catkins, and the pollen is showing up on my car and the driveway.I took a video of a kind of garden snail on a leaf, holding the leaf in my left hand and my phone (camera) in my right. I have had a surprisingly hard time identifying the snail.
I took a video of a shiny moth larva that I found in a garden bed and put on my back patio. It moved very fast on the patio, which was a bad place for a moth larva to be.
The few small leaves on the mustang grape vine lying on the ground behind my bedroom now have the shape of mature leaves.
Almost all the azalea flowers are gone, but many sepals and ovaries remain.
I pulled some dallisgrass tufts out of the ground and stacked them on each other at that spot.
I noticed a bean plant, probably a cowpea, growing outside any garden bed.
I saw signs of a leaf miner in the leaves of a common sunflower seedling.
More of the lantana florets are blooming on each inflorescence.
I determined that the squash growing by the west fence from discarded produce from a supermarket was acorn squash.
I found coral honeysuckle growing in a couple of places near where the old bought and transplanted one had been.
Many of the cleavers have flowers and seeds.
A tuft of crabgrass was at the southern end of the third bed.
I removed all the arugula from the 4th bed (plot 8), added leaf mold to the bed, and transplanted the peppers and eggplant I had growing under lights indoors. This mostly completed the season's indoor growing. I still have onion, parsley, and collard transplants, but I already have a lot of those veggies in the garden.
I took a photo and a video of a wood louse, a centipede baby, and some ants that were in the leaf mold I added to the 4th bed.
I pulled up some dichondra from the 4th bed and was surprised by the long length of its roots. I laid one bunch on the patio and photographed it.
I found a mushroom on a stick that was shallowly buried in the 4th bed. With help from folks on Reddit, I identified it as Polyporus arcularius.
I took photos of arugula and asteraceae flowers.
I took pictures of radish flowers, which look very similar to arugula flowers.
I took pictures of the hedges, the west front yard, and east lawns and worked on their descriptions for the website.
An unusually large specimen of an orbweaver spider was at the back end of the western hedge.
March 12, 2017
I hosted a meeting of Vegan World Radio. In the morning before people arrived, I harvested some snap peas, radishes, and turnips for raw snacks to serve. They were popular.
I showed everyone the garden and gave away a lot of lettuce and collards, along with some cilantro, parsley, tuscano kale, and some snips from my herb garden.
March 13, 2017
I planted Kentucky Wonder seeds under the trellis in Plot 2.
I finished transplanted the last of the indoor-raised seedlings from last fall: parsley and toscano kale. To make room for them, I removed more of the radish plants, as well as the harvested broccoli in the S bed. I don't need any more parsley or toscano kale, but I hated the idea of letting the seedlings go to waste! They are also good plants to have outside of the rotation.
I photographed and identified, with help from someone on Reddit, a female Liris partitus burrowing wasp. While I was trying to take pictures, she entered her burrow, whose entrance was about the width of a pencil.
March 15, 2017
Some of the lantana inflorescences have bloomed completely.
March 20, 2017
A lot of dew was in the back yard.
March 21, 2017
I shredded more of the leaves in the unshredded leaf pile.
A lot of dew was in the back yard in the morning.
March 22, 2017
A lot of dew was in the back yard n the morning, and it got pretty hot later in the day.
Most of the false garlic flowers are gone.
I mowed the front yard for the 2nd time and edged for the first time this year. Grass, bur clover, and other plants were spreading pretty far over the sidewalk.
I gathered bags of catkins mixed with leaves from around the neighborhood and put them on my driveway for now.
I swept the street and sidewalk, but didn't get far on the driveway or front walkway.
I used the catkins on the street, sidewalk, and driveway as mulch in my garden beds.
I pulled some of my lettuce and used it as mulch even though I could have eaten it.
A few june beetles were attracted to the lights in my house and came in.
I took a photo of a tiger mosquito.
March 23, 2017
I gave more lettuce to two of my neighbors.
I sowed corn "Delectable" (Botanical Interests) among my tomato plants. I will fill gaps once all the lettuce is gone and I can see the corn seedlings from today's sowing.
I sowed bush beans "Contender" and "Roma 2" in the 1st bed (Plot 2), using all of the beans in both packets.
I pulled a few fava bean plants out of the ground in the 1st bed (Plot 2). All the plants are flowering, but they aren't producing beans.
I cut all of the fava bean plants to their roots in Plot 3 because they really didn't belong there in the first place, I need to make room for the next crop, and I'm hedging my bet on the fava bean plants because they might never produce beans.
I sowed bush beans "Contender" and "Roma 2" in the 1st bed (Plot 2), using all of the beans in both packets.
I pulled a few fava bean plants out of the ground in the 1st bed (Plot 2). All the plants are flowering, but they aren't producing beans.
I cut all of the fava bean plants to their roots in Plot 3 because they really didn't belong there in the first place, I need to make room for the next crop, and I'm hedging my bet on the fava bean plants because they might never produce beans.
March 24, 2017
I went out to harvest some snow pea and sugar pea pods, and I discovered that some of the pea plants had powdery mildew on them. The flowers were getting sparce anyway, so I removed all the plants and harvested the healthy looking pods, which amounted to a few pounds. I threw most of the vines in the trash to reduce the chance of spreading the powdery mildew.
With the area under the trellises completely cleared, and with the western trellis already reseeded with Kentucky Blue beans, I went ahead and sowed the same beans under the eastern trellis because they were the only pole snap beans I had.
In the space between the trellis beans, I sowed edamame in two rows.
After removing some old lettuce from plot 3, (bed 1, north half) I made three mounds of leaf mold in gaps among the artichokes, lettuce, and clover, then sowed "Crimson Sweet" watermelon seeds in them.
I then made mounds and sowed "Hale's Best Jumbo" Muskmelon (canteloupe) in plot 6 (bed 3, south half), among the onions, garlic, leeks, carrots, and fennel that were already there. I will have to remove all those other plants once the muskmelon grows much past the seedling stage. Ideally, I would have started the muskmelon inside in January and transplanted them; that will be an activity for next year.
In plot 7 (bed 3, north half), I sowed two north-south rows of "Marketmore" cucumber seeds, with one row shortened by a chard and the other by lettuce and carrots. Still, there should be a lot of cucumbers in the end.
Finally, I once again pursued my dream of trellised muskmelon and cukes. I have two six-foot trellises, and one double-wide 8-foot trellis against the west fence. One of the six-foot trellises already has acorn squash growing in front of it. I could remove and re-purpose that one since the squash doesn't look like it's going to climb. I carefully cleared out all the non-food plants from around the trellises and put old cardboard all around the spaces where I intended to sow the seeds. The smaller trellis, designated for the cucumbers, had a branching vervain in front of it, and the plant had just started to flower, with two tiny blue flowers. I took its picture, then pulled it out of the ground. I was surprised at the depth of its root and its tenacity. Both trellis beds had old coffee grounds on them. For the cucumbers, I put leaf mold on top of the grounds and dirt without giving it much thought. For the muskmelon, I mixed the grounds up with the semi-native dirt before dumping the leaf mold. Following the instructions on the seed packets, I made mounds for the muskmelon but not for the cucumbers. Finally, I sowed the seeds.
I improved my sowing technique a little this day. I tend to put seeds in a coffee mug and take out the specified number of seeds (typically one or two per set) for each "hole". In the past, I would always place each seed or seed set in the ground before getting the next seed or seed set. This caused my fingers to be dirty and wet when they went back in the mug, which made it harder to get the right number of seeds. This day, I placed all the seeds on the surface where I wanted to sow them, then put them all in the ground.
March 29, 2017
It rained very hard in the late morning, and softer rain continued into the afternoon. Many of the leaves and catkins in my driveway have flowed down the street and into the storm drain.
Some cucumbers, watermelon, and canteloupe have emerged. The cucumbers on the trellis have emerged, but not the canteloupe.
I weeded a bit around the cucumber seedlings in plot 7.
The bush beans "Contender" and "Roma 2" I planted among the fava bean plants have emerged and are growing quickly.
March 30, 2017
Some of my acorn squashes are getting big enough to pick.
I pulled up several of my bolted coriander plants in plot 6 (south half of bed 3) to clear space before my canteloupe plants start spreading.
I picked a couple of onion plants in plot 6 and used them like scallions. It looks like none of them will grow full-size bulbs before I have to harvest them, but they taste good.
I need to buy some more pole beans to plant. The Kentucky Wonder beans don't seem to be germinating. I think they are a few years old.
More of the fava bean plants are producing pods.
