Time to work in the garden

It has been a while since I have worked hard in the garden.  Today the weather was perfect and the moon is in the right place to get my potatoes in, so I had to prepare the soil and cut my seed potatoes so they will be ready to go in tomorrow. It was quite the task to wrestle with the roto-tiller, but I should only need to do this for the potatoes... most of the rest of the garden is in raised beds.




I have been given lots of gardening advice regarding my potatoes.  They require good fertile soil which is not what we have here.  Last year my potatoes did not do well, even after all the work I put in, so this year I tried to gather more information to see if I can get a better yield this year.  I have my cut seed potatoes coated with ashes and are on the deck drying overnight.  They will be ready to go in tomorrow.  After I tilled and then made my furrows, I put some aged manure first then some Azomite which is rock dust (trace minerals) that is supposed to be good for lots of things in the garden.  I also added some Epsom salt and some crushed egg shells.  I then covered that layer with some of the good garden soil that we had brought in last Fall.  Only problem is I think I need to make another row.  After I cut my seed potatoes I determined that two 20 foot rows are not going to be enough.

On the other side of the garden where my raised beds are, I discovered that my asparagus thinks it is spring already.  One of the many shoots that are coming up is well over a foot tall. 
Back after the first cold snap I wanted to raise the level of the soil in my asparagus bed... the nursery lady said that it would be fine to add the soil after I trimmed them back.  I cut the plants all down to the ground, then I added about 4" of soil on top.  My husband added another board around the bed so the soil level is still well below the top of the bed.  I probably need to seek some advice about whether I should leave these new shoots alone, or clip them off.  The trimming was supposed to be after the first frost to ensure they don't try to start new growth too early.  Another frost could damage the new growth.

I have a whole bed of Brussel Sprouts.  We have had a meal of them already, but there are lots getting ready to be harvested.  This also is a first for me.  Never grew Brussel Sprouts before, so I'm not sure if I need to leave the stalk alone until they are all a good size.  I cut the whole stalk to get the first batch, but there were lots of little ones that maybe would have continued to grow.  I may go up there tomorrow and snap off some of the bigger ones and leave the stalk in place.

I am just amazed at how well my winter garden has been.  I have kale and spinach and Swiss chard.  Several heads of cabbage are waiting to be picked.  Broccoli is producing new shoots every day.

It's about time...

With so much time since my last post, it is hard to know where to begin with a new post.  I have done some quilting, both for myself and for several others, but most of my focus has been on gardening.  My enclosed garden now has 9 raised beds, and most of those raised beds have shade cloth over them.  There is still my first raised bed on the other side of the back yard, but that is another story.  My tomatoes were good producers for a while, especially my Juliets.  Juliet tomatoes are kind of a mini Roma tomato. The Tycoon tomatoes have not been as productive as the Juliets, but both were good choices for my raised beds.
 
Back in December I put several asparagus plants (crowns) directly in the ground.  They were slow to come up, but little by little they appeared until I think I had about 12 plants.  Among other challenges I have had, moles/voles/gophers... one or all have been a problem with tunneling and causing havoc in my root crops.  My potatoes were a bust.  I made my potato box and put some red potatoes in there, then I planted two 20 foot rows of white potatoes.  I planted them at the end of February like I was supposed to.  When it came time to dig them, I did not even have 1/2 bucket.  I think I might have planted more than I reaped.  I did find many tunnels as I was digging.  I thought the potatoes were going to be OK... The plants looked real good, but I think the moles did alot of damage.  The potato box was a complete waste of time.

It is not uncommon to find tunnels all over my backyard... the telltale raised trails.  I very much would like to have my asparagus be one of my victories in the garden.  I don't think I realized back in December the potential problem of the moles/gophers when I put my asparagus crowns directly in the ground... All of my raised beds have hardware cloth on the bottom to keep critters out.  A few weeks ago when I was at a nursery, I asked if it would be possible to move an asparagus bed.  With it being a new bed, their advice was to do it right now, if I was going to do it at all, so I had Ron build me another raised bed to move my asparagus into.  It has been a few weeks already and they appear to be adjusting well.

Enough about gardening for the moment.  I have acquired a few beads over time.  Every now and then I sit down and try to create something special.  I put the finishing touches on this creation today at quilting.  Closures have never been something I liked doing.  One of my quilting buddies just happens to be an artist in beads. I had her show me how the real beaders finish their necklaces.  I didn't have all the right tools, but we made do with what I had... and now I know what I will need to buy for additional tools and findings.  I think this one might get worn more than once or twice.  I really like the colors.

Getting Outside

I have not been doing much quilting lately.  I should say piecing, because I actually finished a couple quilts a week or so ago... but they were not mine, so that doesn't count.  Lots going on to keep me away from my sewing machine.

You know spring is just around the corner when you see blue bonnets sprouting up.  I think it could be a good year for blue bonnet pictures... if we get some rain.  Lots of blue all over my back yard just waiting to come out if they get adequate rain to help them along.  Nothing prettier than a backyard covered in blue.  I'm thinking it's going to be a good year... I just know it is going to rain.  This picture was taken on February 20th and blue bonnets are typically showing their color in early April, so I'm thinking it's looking really good at this point.  Now this is the first year that I have been in my backyard as much as I have been lately.  It wasn't until last May that I started my backyard makeover.  I am just amazed at how many blue bonnets I am seeing pop up back there. I don't think there have been that many in previous years... but then I wasn't out there much.  Previously only noticed them when they were already blue with blossoms.  If all that I see out there now produces blossoms, my backyard will look like a sea of blue.

 Last week I went to a retreat where there were lots of other ladies.  It was a busy couple of days in a beautiful camp environment.  Too much went on to tell about, but at one point I saw a lady walking ahead of me and I caught up and asked  her where she got her shoes. I also asked if I could take a picure. I just think they are so cool.  She bought them online from Dillard's.  When I got home I checked it out online and it seems that these wonderful running shoes go for about $139... Guess I won't be buying a pair of these.  Problem for me is shoes and I often don't get along too well... meaning I buy good shoes and two weeks after I have them, my feet start hurting.  Bottom line is I would not consider buying these shoes for that much money and find out my feet don't like them after two weeks.  I will have to look for another alternative.  Surfing a little I found Newton Running Shoes that could be a good option.  Didn't know there was such a brand, but it would be cool to have a pair of shoes that has my family name on them... and they are priced much better.

Spring is creeping up on us and we have lots of projects that need to get done.  I guess I should say that I keep increasing my Honey Do List for my dear, sweet, wonderful husband.  He has wanted to do something about the water running off the shed roof for quite some time.  I had a good friend make this rain barrel for me and I thought the perfect place for it was to catch water off the shed.  Now if we get some rain, I will get my barrel filled and the rain water will not continue to run up under the siding.  It really was an easy fix... just took getting it on our To-Do List.  Still have to get a connector from the downspout into the barrel... but it will work the way it is until then.

Another item on our list is more raised beds for my fenced in garden area.  High fences are a good idea around here for gardens because we have lots of deer.  For my first Texas garden, we put in a fenced garden last fall and constructed 4 raised beds.  There is ample room for 4 additional beds and planting time is coming up real fast.  We went to the lumber yard this morning and bought the materials for those beds.  Next on the agenda is to get those beds constructed.

I want to plant some potatoes this year, and this is the time of year that you can find seed potato at the nurseries.  I don't have the garden space ready for the potatoes yet, but I did go to buy my seed potato so I would be sure they didn't run out before I got there.  Another item on my list is to build a "potato box" from a pallet.  Just something I thought would be cool if it works.  I have the pallets, and now the potatoes... so that will have to be next on the list.  I won't put all my potatoes in a box, I will still have a full row that I will plant directly in the ground, and not inside the fenced area.  We shall see how that works.

I bought a peach tree when I was at the nursery buying my seed potatoes and today I got it planted.  One of the problems we have in this area, because we are pretty much on a sand hill... is ants that will strip your plants clean overnight.  The lady at the nursery told me about this stuff called Tanglefoot that is like thick molasses.  You first wrap the tree trunk up about 20" with a t-shirt that has been stripped 2" wide.  After the t-shirt strip is in place, single thickness, you cover the strip with Tanglefoot... applied with a spatula... I used a fat popsicle stick. It is now like a fly strip wrapped around the tree trunk, but hopefully I will catch or deter the ants.

This is the bottom of my peach tree with the Tanglefoot applied.  The inset on the right of the picture is a buried 2 liter soda bottle that has holes punched in the bottom.  The bottle can be filled to help water or fertilizer to get to the deeper roots.  I don't think it will replace normal watering, but I saw this used for various plants and figured it was worth a try to see if it helps my peach tree grow better.  This tree is going to need lots of attention if it is to survive in my back yard.

We have a whole truck load of garden soil being delivered on Thursday, so more work is on the horizon.  My fall/winter garden was not that impressive, but the real test of my ability to garden in Texas is about to begin.  Nothing about gardening is the same here.  I have to learn like I am a brand new gardener.  We shall see what happens.