Wed. Febr. 26, 2014: Some make it, some don’t

Wednesday, February 26, 2014
4th Quarter Waning Moon in Capricorn
Jupiter Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Stormy and cold

The pear shoots all died. I’m sad. The apples are doing okay. Both types of eggplant have come up, the leeks and garlic are growing like gangbusters. The radishes shot up, but now aren’t doing well, and I’m not sure what the carrots are doing.

None of the herbs have come up. I think it’s still too cold to start the tomatoes, so I’m waiting.

The potted tulips started coming up in the garage, so we moved them into the house. I have a feeling they will bloom in mid-March, which should be pretty.

Outside, the crocuses are up, and the daffodils just starting to poke up. Very exciting! The lilacs all have huge buds this year — I hope it will be a good year for lilacs, which are my favorite.

I have a lot of clean up to do in the yard, once the storms stop pounding us every few days. We have another one coming in today, and then another one on Monday. Getting a little tired of it, and I usually like winter!

Devon

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Wed. Feb. 19, 2014: Positives and Negatives with Seedlings

Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Third Quarter Waning Moon in Libra
Jupiter Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Well, my poor little pear plants aren’t doing well. Two of the three died, and the third isn’t looking so healthy. I’m trying to nurse it as best I can, but I’m discouraged.

The carrots are coming up. The garlic doubles in height nearly every day. The radish tops are falling over, but I’m not sure what’s happening down below the soil line. The Black Beauty eggplants are coming up, but not the Nadias. Only the oregano has sprouted, of all the herbs.

However, three pots of tulips in the garage were coming up like gangbusters, so I moved them inside, and the little apple plants seem to be doing well.

The citrus has recovered — I’m watching it like a hawk.

Some of the Christmas cacti and the kalachoe have also started blooming.

I am certainly ready for spring — we’re getting storm after storm after storm. I did the best I could for the trees and bushes in the last one, with the heavy snow and ice, but a big limb in my lovely Maple in the back and one in the Dogwood in the front have suffered.

The coyotes are coming awfully close to the house, too. They’ve been singing under the windows the past two nights around three a.m.

Guess we’ll have to batten down the hatches for a few more weeks.

Devon

Wed. Feb. 12: Battling Sticky Webs

Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Waxing Moon Second Quarter Cancer
Jupiter Retrograde
Mercury Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Rowan
Sunny and cold

I wanted to post on Saturday, but got injured Friday night, and everything kind of went out the window for the weekend.

Starting Friday, I’ve been battling some weird bug thing attacking my citrus plants. It seems to spin a sticky web below the leaves and then suck all the life out of them. I washed all my plants, leaf by leaf, with ivory soap, rinsed them, and have been keeping a daily eye on them. some branches/leaves were too far gone. Others seem to be recovering. I have a lot of lemons, a tangerine, and a clementine — would hate to lose them.

The garlic plants double in size every day — two out of three came up. The radish plants came up, but not sure if anything’s happening below the surface. How do you check a radish or garlic or carrot without yanking it up? The leeks have started, the carrots have started. One of the pear plants died — I think I need to transplant the other shoots.

None of the herbs have come up yet. I hoped this would be a good year for basil.

A friend started her tomatoes this week. I might start some this week and then some on the Equinox, when I usually start them.

We’re supposed to get slammed by another storm tomorrow. The very thought of it makes me weary.

Think healing thoughts for my citrus plants! I don’t want to use chemicals on them, if I can avoid it.

Devon

Wed. Feb. 5, 2014: Sprouts

Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Waxing Moon First Quarter Aries
Jupiter Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Rowan
Snowy and cold

Yup, it’s snowing — again. The second of three snowstorms expected this week.

But, inside, we have some fun stuff going on. The apples, pears, and peppers are doing well. The radishes came up — could this be the year I actually grow an edible radish? Two of the three garlic cloves I planted have come up. One little, tiny carrot shoot has struggled up.

Tessa, my big black cat, is fascinated with the pots of leeks I planted, for some reason. They haven’t sprouted yet, but she sticks her nose right down in the pot a few times a day. I wonder, if to her sensitive nose, the seeds have a particular smell?

I need to buy some soil soon, and some more pots — there are seedlings that need to get replanted into bigger pots, to make room for starting more seedlings.

But I certainly won’t do it today! 😉

Devon

Planting on Imbolc

My little shoots

Saturday, February 1, 2014
First Quarter Moon in Aquarius
Celtic Tree Month of Rowan
Imbolc
Cloudy and mild

I thought you’d enjoy a photo of the little, tiny shoots coming up. In the background are the apple. Foreground, left, the pear, foreground right, peppers.

Nothing so far from the garlic, carrots, or radishes, yet.

Today, I planted sweet peas (soaked ‘em last night), leeks, two kinds of eggplants, mesculun greens, sage, oregano, echinacea, rosemary, and lime basil. Fingers crossed this year is a better year for basil than last year!

Some of the tulips in pots in the garage are already coming up — guess I’ll have to move them inside soon. Pretty exciting, all the way around!

And, of course, as soon as I planted and cleaned up, the newest catalog from Johnny’s arrived, so I can indulge.

Good times.