Garden News

Oh, are we loving this warm weather!! For the last couple of weekends it has been super nice in our lovely spot on the Bible belt. You just can't beat it, especially since in a few months it'll be so hot you won't be able to get off the porch before you stop sweating (I know, lovely mental images. I'm good at those.)

Our garden is getting some much needed attention this year. We've all been diligently working on the new beds (well, I have) and are anxiously awaiting the day we can harvest our first spring meal. I believe we may be  little behind, but because of some late freezes this year, I think we made a good move.

Tomorrow we are going to start a "kiddie" garden using, what else, a kiddie pool. Check out this link for instructions. We will be using some store bought potting soil, regular garden dirt and finished compost. The pool will be used to start seedlings that will be transplanted to other parts of the garden. I think Thing 1 & 2 are really going to dig this one (no pun intended).  Pigpen will probably just enjoy the getting dirty part...and the eating part. LOL

I talked to one of my favorite garden people yesterday and asked her to place an order for 2 fig trees for me. I know we are getting a Brown Turkey Fig and one other variety. We already have 1 tree that will probably be moved when the other 2 get here (no, I don't know the variety for it either. the hubby bought it for me). Also waiting to see if she has Mulberry bushes available to go on each end of the planned chicken run/pen. Crossing my fingers!

In light of recent events, I have been forced to add to my garden plan something that I hadn't considered, at least not seriously. A living hedge. See, we live in the country, but the other day I saw 2 random dudes just walking by my house! Seriously, they could have looked through my kitchen window! So, needless to say, I am a little freaked out by this. Hence the hedge idea.
We have a small ditch running the length of our property on one side and wild running blackberries (boysenberries) growing in patches along the ditch. My plan is to rig a small trellis system and plant/encourage the blackberries and also add in some heirloom roses for looks. I think it will suffice in keeping out unwanted garden guests, no matter how many legs they walk on.

I am desperately awaiting the arrival of my strawberries. Yes, I could have gone to (insert generic big-box store name here) and taken my pick from their sad looking selection, but I don't like doing things the easy way. So, I went back on the search I started a couple years back. Sparkle Strawberries. Mmmmm!! I have heard such great things about these berries (unless talking to a commercial grower, then they just laugh). Sparkle strawberries do not have good shipping qualities. Hardly any, from what I gathered. They are best eaten fresh or preserved in some way, which is what I plan to do. I do not care that they won't ship, because I won't be shipping them anywhere. So, I found a cute sounding nursery in Illinois Moonshine Designs Nursery with a good rating on Garden Watchdog and I placed my order. My email said they would ship the first week of April, so I'm trying to keep busy til they get here. And just for the record, I had no rhyme or reason for picking a nursery/state to order from. It just sounded cool. :)

Other garden news includes new beds in the front yard that are going in as we speak (or as you read this I guess... depending on the time and such). I am so excited to finally have garnered "permission" from the hubby to garden all over the property and not seclude our food plots out back with birds. I think the tomatoes will be much happier up front where they will get the special attention they need (and deserve!).

I am adding a couple of links at the bottom of this article. These are books that either are or have been in my collection and that I have found useful. These are affiliate links (meaning I make something if you purchase the product after you click the page). Just to let you know :) Thanks for reading. Until next time, drive safe.