Third Time's the Charm

It's Year Four for the Way Back Garden...and Year Three for my Gardening with the Giants blog.  Just as the start of Spring brings hope to every gardener and opens the possibilities of the coming months, so too has this Spring brought hope and possibilities to me.

Reclaiming the Way Back
100 bags of mulch

Paths done!
Only 50 bags of mulch to go!!

I am happy to report that, after a sad and unproductive 2011, this year is looking fantastic!  The Way Back went neglected and unattended last year, while our energies and efforts were directed to helping Mom in the final steps of her journey (the details of which I posted on the family blog The Adsit Adventure). But, in the first quarter of the year, we are making great strides at reclaiming our quarter-acre of paradise.

So far in 2012, we have:

Mr. T fills the potato grow bags

1. Redesigned the Four Year Plan, designating the lower-left quadrant of the Way Back as the Kitchen Garden and the lower-right quadrant is now the Rose or Cutting Garden (we call it both...:).  The upper-left continues to be designated the Orchard and the upper-right continues to be the Berry Patch. (To recap, the Way Back is an almost-square quarter of an acre, fenced on all sides, nestled under the transmission lines of Duke Energy...the "Giants" of this blog's title.  The only trees are on the periphery, which means we have almost full sun in this area...great for veggies, fruit trees, berries, and roses.  We are making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, if ever...:)
2. Planted a row each of cabbage, broccoli, spinach, lettuces, carrots, and beets in the Kitchen Garden. Onion sets were interplanted with the cabbage and broccoli. All are doing well, with the exception of the carrots...which have been slow to break through the crusty clay soil...and I still have the cabbage and broccoli under row covers to protect them from pests.  Weeded the asparagus bed, which is in its second year and beginning to produce shoots. 
3. Planted 6 grow bags (purchased from Gardener's Supply; photo, above/right) of Yukon Gold potatoes (from seed potatoes, purchased at Tractor Supply) and one row of Russets (from potatoes sprouting in my kitchen, originally purchased at Harris Teeter grocery...:).
4. Used over 100 bags of mulch (see "before"  and "mid-task" photos, above) to re-mark the paths and the Rondel, which is what we call the center oval where the paths dissect.  Prior to putting down the mulch, Mr. T put a layer of old newspapers, covered with a layer of Preen black landscape fabric. Hopefully, this will block the grass and weeds that sprouted through the original mulch in the Rondel.
5. Ordered, received, and planted 11 new fruit trees from Stark Bro's Nursery in Louisiana, MO, in the previously-prepped holes in the Orchard. [Mr. T had triple-tilled the holes and added several bags of leaves as compost.] We now have planted 18 dwarf fruit trees (remember, we are limited by the easement agreement with Duke Energy to trees of 15 feet or under), including two cherry trees, three pear trees, two peach trees, ten apple trees, and one crabapple tree.  All are doing well, with the exception of one of the apple trees, which is one of the ones we purchased at Tractor Supply and planted last Spring.  I think it will need to be replaced this Fall.  Meanwhile, we plan a rest area in the Orchard, with a paver-patio and a covered swing (which we got on our last Tractor Supply run...:).
6. Ordered, received, and planted 12 new roses from David Austin Roses (3 William Shakespeare, 3 Golden Celebrations, 2 Huntington Rose, 2 Gertrude Jekyll, and 2 Susan Williams-Ellis)  in the newly-tilled and prepped Rose Garden quadrant.  Mr. T has also assembled and stained a new teak glider that will be placed on a stone-paver patio we will lay.  We will place a bird bath and a feeder across the path from this patio, so that the bluebirds will have their own Bistro near the two bluebird houses on the fence.
7. Tilled and retilled...and populated the new strawberry bed in the Berry Patch with runners from the "old" bed (that was tilled under to create the Rose Garden). We had so many runners that I have planted strawberries in every empty pot and hanging basket I could find.  All are doing well...and many are already flowering and fruiting. 
8. Fertilized all the blueberries (which are already flowering), the blackberries, and the grapes in the Berry Patch.  Also, fertilized the crepe myrtles and privet.
9. Seen our first snake of the season...and lived to tell the tale about it..:)
10. Ordered and installed 2 (of 5) cottage garden corner fences, to mark the corners of ...and the path between...the Rose Garden and the Kitchen Garden.
11. Pruned and started the feeding of all 18 rose bushes, in the back yard and in the Rondel.  Two didn't make it through the heat of last year's summer and the (mild) winter, so I replaced them in February.  All are looking good; most have buds already!
12. Started 4 kinds of tomatoes and fish pepper seeds in peat pellets/egg cartons.  They are now under the grow light on the screen porch (which is still plasticized).  The tomatoes are getting their first true leaves (the ones that arrive after the seed-leaves) and will be ready to move into larger accommodations (3" pots) this week.
13. Placed...and received (while I was composing this...:) our Lowe's order for the materials to construct two patios in the Way Back and one "pad" that will run from the driveway, under the double gates, and into the back yard.  More on this in a later post.

Whew!  I'm tired just recounting what we've already accomplished! Here are a couple of shots of some of the work:

Rondel and paths are mulched in the Way Back.
Row covers on the cabbage, broccoli, and lettuce (left)

Standing in the Rondel, looking toward the Berry Patch:
Blueberries in raised beds...blackberries behind them.
New Strawberry Bed on lower right.

We have an outstanding order with Roses Unlimited for 9 hybrid teas, and another order in with David Austin for 14 more English roses...all of which are scheduled to arrive over the next few weeks.  I got several perennials at Home Depot on Friday (when we took both cars to pick up 35 more bags of mulch to create mulch rings around the fruit trees...and to cover the path in the Rose Garden), and I will be adding those to the Rose Garden to give us some color while we are waiting on the English roses to grow.  I also picked up some herbs that I shall pot up in larger pots.  I am trying Boxwood Basil this year, with the plan to use it as a border between the Kitchen Garden and the center path.

Gus says...time for a break!

I have a long to-do list for the garden for this week, but I'll save it for the next post.  I don't know about you, but I need a break after all of that.

Lemonade, anyone?

Let's Get Started

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle …a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”

-Barbara Winkler

 

People who know me know that I hate to wait. Hate. To. Wait.  And, that's what Winter is all about to a gardener.  Waiting for the snow to melt (as Gus is doing, left).  Waiting for warmer weather.  Waiting for to get the garden started. 
 
But it doesn't necessarily have to be, does it?  There's always the planning, the research, the anticipation.  And, that's what we've been doing for the past few weeks around our house.  Our planning has focused on what we will put where in the area of our property we call the Way Back. 
 
 

The "what" we have been researching in garden books and seed catalogs all season.  And, then, on Saturday, we went to our local Tractor Supply for dog food and bird feeder supplies...and there they were.  Seeds!  I'd read that there was a shortage (surely, they jest...:), and that you'd better buy 'em when you see 'em.  OK, I'm good with that.  We got peas, beans (2 kinds), lettuce (4 kinds), carrots, squash (2 kinds), cantalope, watermelon (2 kinds), cucumbers (2 kinds), peppers (3 kinds), tomatoes (4 kinds), and corn...plus several flowers.  Some we will start indoors and transplant, some we will direct sow, some we will do a bit of both.  And, of course, there will be additions in the form of transplants from the Farmer's Market when the time comes.
 
We then set up the Birthing Center, as we are calling the starter area.  Mr. T had already "plasticized" the screen porch for the Winter.  He stapled long sheets of plastic over the screens to enclose the porch and provide a cozy air-lock between the two doggie doors (which must be kept accessible at all times).  Even on the coldest snow days, the temperature on the porch was 5-10 degrees warmer than the deck, and the water in the dogs' bowl never froze.  We moved metal shelves into the protected area and will attach plant lights for heat and light.  I got some Seed Starter mix at TSC, and I plan to recycle those cardboard rolls from toilet tissue and paper towels I've been collecting. More on that in another post.
 

Now, about the "where."  Other than a couple of hastily tilled rows where we could host some tomato and pepper plants purchased from the Farmer's Market in late June '09 (after our move from MO to NC was completed), the Way Back is virgin ground. 
 
Well, "virgin" isn't exactly the right word...but, what I'm trying to convey is that this part of the property has been neglected as far as having a garden or anything other than weeds and tall grasses growing on it.  Duke Power, who maintains a right of way through our Way Back for their transmission lines (left), has seen to it that nothing taller than 15 feet has grown here in years.  And, because of this lack of vegetation, the ground had hardened to something resembling a parking lot.  But, that's changing, even as we speak.

Last Fall, Mr. T took all those moving boxes, knocked them down, flattened them out, and put them in the area where we wanted to expand our vegetable garden for 2010.  Then, he covered them with leaves (hoo-boy, do we have plenty of those!) and grass clippings.  Direct composting...right there out in the open!  And, I'm happy to report:  it worked!  That photo to the right shows the degree of decomposition of the moving box and the leaves, after 6 months. 

 

Amazing! We had read about this process, but had our doubts. Heck...nothing could have been easier, and it took care of lots of boxes and loads of leaves. 

This weekend, which was warm and sunny with highs in the 60's, was the perfect time for the first till-under of the covered space.  Mr. T (left) got about 2/3 of the new garden patch turned with the rear-tine rototiller before both it and he ran out of gas. Of course, the boxes are still decomposing, so we will have some chunks this year...but nothing we can't live with. Also, Mr. T will make another pass or two with the tiller before we plant this area.

We'd recently read some negatives about using a tiller in the garden. The writer said that it was just turning up the bad soil to the surface...and destroying the worm tunnels (and worms, too, I suppose) that help keep the soil aerated.  Well, I have to say that we've seen few worms in this dirt since we started working it.  Hopefully, by amending the soil...and turning it...we will be making the area more hospitable for worms.

 

Not to be outdone...or, to miss just a great day to be out in the garden...I got my hand tiller (it's a combination of a stirrup hoe and a three-tine tiller) out and attacted the area under the former bean trellis...which is really some sticks and branches stuck in the ground and joined by strong string.  Lo and behold, the ground was workable.  So, I got that packet of peas (Ferry Morse Alaska) out and planted my first seeds of the season.  Then, Mr. T double-dug the lower part of the row, and I powdered 1/3 of the resulting wide row with Nantes Coreless Carrot seeds.  Then, since there was still some daylight, I hand-tilled some more of the row and sprinkled it with Black Simpson and Grand Rapids leaf lettuce seeds.  Rushing the season?  Possibly, since we have another cold front on the way on Thursday of this week.  But, still...
 
The garden is started!