Jared77's Gardening Journal

[so lucky]

Ha! I was trying to find some fabric to make new cushion covers for my wicker rockers that are on my front porch. I found this nice bright marked down fabric at Hancocks, home décor fabric; you know that stuff is usually pretty expensive. It rang up for 1.29 per yard!

 

[ninnymary]

Wow so lucky. I can picture you running. Gotta love great deals.

Mary

 

[Smart Red]

The best mistaken deal I know of was the tool my daughter bought Dad for Father's Day one year. The label said 185.00 (or $85.00) but the tag was hard to read. The cash register rang it up as $8.50. My teen daughter told the cashier the price was wrong, but before she could explain, the clerk became rather nasty and said, "The register doesn't make mistakes."

I suspect she felt more like crawling out than running, but she left with the gas-powered what-ever-it-was and more money in her pocket than she expected.

I never liked that machine.

 

[Jared77]

Well everything is in. The trees are looking good except for my weeping cherry. I think it's having some transplant shock. Overall it looks good but when you get closer the leaves have some browning on them. Not anything horrible but enough for me to obsess over.

The lilac hedge is looking good. Lots of new growth, and next spring will smell fantastic even if they are only a few feet high right now.

They are being watered regularly I have a 5 gallon bucket at each tree with a tiny hole (1/64th drill bit) drilled in the bottom of each bucket. I fill the buckets 2-3x week if it hasn't rained within 48hrs of the buckets being due to be filled and just let the water slowly leak out. The buckets are empty within 24 hrs but it beats leaving a hose on and forgetting to shut it off.

Veggie gardens planted. I still have to build the little raised bed for carrots & shallots. Its mostly for the carrots though I want it to be simple and successful for my oldest daughter to be able to grow all the carrot colors she begged me to have. It will probably be 2'x4' and was just going to use sq ft gardening to space it out. Beats trying to do carrots in our hard clay.

As far as tomatoes go this year with San Marzano, Black Krim, Lemon Boy, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Oxhearts, Mr Stripey, Early Girls. I did do some purple beauty bell peppers along with red, orange, yellow and green. I have a very small patch of Glass gem corn in too. Otherwise it's nothing exciting.

I still want to go see if the local hobby nursery has rhubarb for sale. My plan is to go buy them out I think I counted 6 or 8 pots. Will give me a good jump on how much we want. We pick a bunch and a couple family members who I know wants to pick too so I don't mind having that much rhubarb going right away.

Still need a couple more variegated dappled willows along the easement to help enclose the property & keep the grass down so it's not as much of a mosquito paradise.

It's getting there.....

 

[Jared77]

Forgot to post this years gardening crew. My main helper was in Kindergarden when this picture was taken.

 

[journey11]

Looks like a good spot to take a break!

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Uh, oh. Mary is gonna see all this open space!

Steve

First thing I thought of was the open space and my name is Mary too. Must be a Mary thing!

Nice place!

 

[Nyboy]

Love how your dogs stay close watching over your daughter!!!!!

 

[Jared77]

They are obsessed with my girls. They run around and are boys for a minute sniffing everything but once they settle in they always lay close to them like good Goldens do.

The little shelter was a gift from my MIL and it's nice. It's made by Shed Rays I think. Something like that. I had to use the fence posts because it was the only stakes I could find on short notice.

Although it takes me much longer to set up to do anything it beats waiting till someone's asleep to get anything accomplished.

Looks like a good spot to take a break!

I can attest to that! We took it to the lake with us last summer when Quinn (the one in the picture) was just weeks old to stay out of the sun. Well I dozed under it for a few when too much lunch got the better of me right next to her.

 

[Jared77]

Thought I'd post some updated pics with the progress we've made so far

The Red Maple

Prairie Fire Crabapple

Flowering Plum tree. This picture doesn't begin todo it justice. Need the sun to come out so the leaves can really pop their color is gorgeous.

Broad view of the front where the suspected "berry bush" was. Now it's Stella De Oros, Morning Glories and 3 flats of annuals. It's a temporary improvement till I blow up the walkway and totally redo the front beds. Easy color, very tolerant, and we already had them handy so we moved them. Was my wife's idea. I REALLY hope within the next 2-3 yrs to totally overhaul that part of the landscape and create a much larger and well planned out beds. New cement walkway, all new landscaping the cherry tree is the visual anchor on the end there.

The buckets are there by design. An old farm boy (aka my FIL) suggested them. He suggested to drill a small hole in the bottom of the bucket and leaved it close to the tree. FIL it with the hose and let it irrigate your tree as it leaks out. Bests leaving the hose on and it's cheaper than a soaker hose. Another advantage is I know how much I've watered since each bucket holds 5 gallons. I fill them 2-3x a week unless it rains then I skip that watering. My trees have thrived with this idea and he said they never lost a tree when they used this trick to get them established.

The other nice thing is I labelled them so after the trees are set I can use them elsewhere for shrubs, the veg garden etc.