aspenhill's blog: March is winding down

Friday
I definitely will not be meeting my goal of having the initial spring gardening cleanup finished by the end of March. The weather just isn't cooperating. After two days of rain, I was really looking forward to today with the predicted sunshine and temperatures reaching 60. The sun may be shining, but it sure doesn't feel anywhere near 60 and it is really windy. I just heard that there is a forest fire about 2 miles directly south of us. There was one a few weeks ago about 5 miles north that the local fire fighters had under control quickly. No homes or people were harmed, but 75 acres of woods were burned before it was out. I sure hope this one is under control just as quickly.

Mike FINALLY started grading around my greenhouse this morning. I swear that man must procrastinate on things that I would love to have done simply to annoy me. I know that isn't really true, but sometimes it feels like it is. It took him all of 2 hours - REALLY??? I told him that I have way more than 2 hours of my time asking him to do it After all, it has only been ready for that last bit since LAST SUMMER. All this time of having to walk through ruts and mounds and mud... He has heavy duty landscape cloth to put down and a load of gravel in the dump truck to put on top of that, but with the wind, he is likely done for the day. Probably done for getting back to it anytime soon too

I spent way too many hours yesterday organizing the accumulated pile of plant vendor tags. I ran out of the avery labels I use on the envelopes and made a run to Staples around dinner time to get another pack. I spent more hours trying to finish it up last night. Time just flies by when I am on a roll with stuff like that, and I didn't realize that it was going on midnight I nearly finished, but not quite done.

I really keep track of perennials, shrubs, trees, bulbs - things with longevity, but don't do much about keeping track of annuals or herbs or vegetables/fruits. Not that I have done much in the past with any of those anyway.

Last year though, I purchased a lot of annuals for containers to spruce things up before hosting the Mid Atlantic plant swap. Gulp, open mouth, whatever, about the prices of things that I consider consumables. They sure were pretty though. I want to do a lot more with annuals in the future, but I will be trying my hand at growing them from seed vs purchasing grown plants. We'll see how that turns out.

As far as herbs, I always grow a variety of mints in containers on the stonework retaining wall where we park and a variety of cooking herbs on a tiered plant stand on the back deck right outside the kitchen door. I don't see much deviation from that in the future, but again, I'll be trying my hand at growing them from seed.

And vegetables/fruits, oh my do I have expansion plans There is just something about growing your own and preserving it that has always appealed to me. I have a vegetable area, enclosed by deer fencing, where I have grown a few tomatoes and peppers in the past. Not consistently every year though. I want to really up my game with it this year though. I have another 100 foot roll of deer fencing to enlarge the area. I will be doing tomatoes and peppers, but a lot more than before, both variety and quantity, and adding things like lettuce, onions, carrots, garlic, cucumbers, melons, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and whatever else I might like to try.

I have spent the day so far being on hand for Mike while he was grading, puttering in the greenhouse - although it wasn't circling back to do the waterlily repotting or sowing seeds that have been on the to do list for days, finishing up the plant vendor tags, and last but not least, a nice long nap after staying up way too late last night. I'm raring to go again.

( No account? Join now! )