Thurs. Feb. 11, 2021: Real Winter Weather

image courtesy of moonzigg via pixabay.com

Thursday, February 11, 2021

New Moon in Aquarius

Mercury Retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Rowan

Snowy and cold

I’m grateful that we have a good, solid cold snap. It will benefit the yard.

It was frustrating to try to dig out, because the plow pushed ice boulders into the bottom of my driveway that then froze down. And the Dig Safe guy showed up to mark the lines during the storm, and spray paint info on the snow. Does he not realize that it must melt before any digging can happen?

Not my problem.

I still haven’t planted either the strawberries or poppies. Tomorrow’s another planting day, and it’s waxing moon, which is good for planting that which will be above ground. So maybe I can make up for it tomorrow.

We’re having some more flurries this morning, and possibly another storm over the weekend. That’s what winter’s for, right?

I have every intention of enjoying as much of it as I can!

What’s new in your garden?

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Thurs. Nov. 5, 2020: A Stretch of Warm Autumn Weather

image by Anja courtesy of Pixabay.com

Thursday, November 5, 2020

3rd Quarter  Waning Moon in Cancer

Neptune, Uranus, Mars Retrograde

Sunny and warmer

Celtic Tree Month of Reed

We’re in for a stretch of 7 to 10 days of weather in the 60’s and 70’s. That means I can work outside, cutting back the plants that need it. It also means I will not bring in the deck furniture this weekend, although I will be clearing out the annuals that have died back.

I want to spend the last few days enjoying the deck!

Today is a planting day, so I’m putting some saved seeds from an organic lemon into a pot and seeing what happens.

We’re in Leaf Blower Season (although, around here, every season is Leaf Blower Season) where all the men in the neighborhood with no inner lives spend each morning and night in their tiny yards making noise and mess with their Freudian implements.

I plan to make this weekend one of healing, especially for myself, since I was sick as all getout yesterday. I want to enjoy sun and good weather, and give myself a reprieve from the darkness in the world, especially post-election.

Votes are still being counted as I write this, and I’m not counting on anything until they’re counted.

Thurs. May 28, 2020: Things Are Growing

Thursday, May 28, 2020
Waxing Moon in Second Quarter Leo
Pluto Retrograde
Saturn Retrograde
Venus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn

Not much to say, garden-wise. I’m behind on the planting. I was too tired on the last planting day to do much. Now, I don’t think I can wait until next Wednesday to replant the tomato seedlings. I’m going to have to do it this weekend.

The morning glory seeds I planted last week are starting to sprout. I hope the moonflowers, zinnias, mixed pollinators, and hollyhocks soon follow suit.

The lettuce we saved is doing well, and so are the peppers and the one little cucumber.

The lilacs are in full bloom and ready to fade. The red Stewart azalea is blooming, and our puffy pink not-sure-if-it’s-azalea-or-rhody is in full flower, too.

The grass is growing, and our lawn guy will be here sometime this week to mow it. The hostas is in full throttle, but the hydrangeas are struggling this year. Not just mine, but I see it all around.

The trees are finally coming into leaf.

We’re enjoying time on the Enchanted Deck Garden. It’s full on summer on the Cape, which means too many tourists and can’t do anything anyway – even with the virus. So we are just fine staying home.

Hope your gardens are flourishing, too!

Thurs. March 5, 2020: Planting Dilemma

image courtesy of Andreas Goellner via pixabay.com

Thursday, March 5, 2020
Second Quarter Moon in Cancer
Celtic Tree Month of Ash
Mercury Retrograde
Cloudy and colder

I feel well enough to post something short here, in between surgeries.

It’s been fairly mild here, with some lovely, sunny days this week. It’s supposed to get colder and stormier this weekend, so I don’t know if I’ll get anything done in the yard.

Some of the crocuses are peeking out.

Today is a planting day. I have some cuttings that rooted that need pots, a couple of things that need bigger pots. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to plant vegetable seeds this year. The theft of my tomatoes from the 100+ plants I raised from seed last year discouraged me more than I realized at the time, and I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. It wasn’t an animal that took them — there was no debris.

But I want my own fresh vegetables and herbs. I want more flowers. I never got the hollyhocks I wanted last year, so maybe I can have them this year. I’m considering stopping at Country Gardens to buy some seeds.

I don’t know. It’s a dilemma. There’s a lot going on for me this year. Would planting soothe me or just be another thing I have to deal with?

Getting back on my feet, everything seems harder than it was before.

I’ll let you know what I decide.

Thurs. Feb. 6, 2020: Rain. More Rain

image courtesy of ChristopherPluta via pixabay.com

Thursday, February 6, 2020
Waxing Moon 2nd Quarter in Cancer
Celtic Tree Month of Rowan
Rainy and mild for February

It’s raining. Again. I don’t mind the rain; I quite like listening to it tapping on the roof, provided I’m curled up with a good book inside.

But we need a prolonged cold snap. Otherwise, the growing season will be thrown off, and the bugs will be a nightmare.

A client of mine went to her garden club meeting, where an etymologist told them not to use anything organic to fight ticks; instead, use dangerous pesticides. How much you want to bet he’s getting a kickback from a pesticide company?

In any event, I hope to get some indoor planting done today and tomorrow, which are planting days. Some cuttings are showing roots, and need to be put into pots. I want to start some lettuce seeds.

Fingers crossed!

Feb. 22, 2018: Preparing for Another Season

Thursday, February 22, 2018
Waxing Moon
First Quarter Moon
Celtic Tree Month of Ash

It’s been far too long since I wrote in this journal. The weather is funky — overly warm and rainy for February. I hope that, because it was so cold so early in the season last year, that it killed off the bugs. Last winter, the thaw and strange temperature fluctuations didn’t kill off enough pests, and it was an awful year for creepy crawlies.

I didn’t spend as much time perusing seed catalogs as I would have liked. But I’m figuring out what I want to plant this year — more vegetables than usual, I hope, because I want more control over my food source.

I planted snapdragons indoors on Imbolc; they barely came up and then died. I hope, when it’s warm enough, I’ll have better luck outside. I also hope it’s not an omen of how my growing season will go!

I planted some sweet peas, again indoors, a few days later, and they are going like gangbusters. This time, I soaked them for several days.

According to my calendar, today is a planting day. I have some “mystery seeds” that I saved from something — I think it’s from a pepper. I plan to plant those.

I will start the tomatoes indoors soon, and some lettuce. I have saved seeds that I saved from last year, and also from a seed-saving workshop I took, given by Edible Landscapes of Cape Cod over at the Wildlands Trust in Plymouth. I bought some seeds from them, which I will plant in the next few weeks, and I also saved some seeds on my own. So we’ll see what happens.

I have a better phone in my camera and more storage, so, hopefully, I’ll also be able to post more photos over the weeks and months.

As far as the yard goes, I have a lot of cleaning up, both from what didn’t get done in the fall, and from the winter messes. I also have to get rid of that weird cedar plant that’s acting like an invasive, and some oak that’s been acting like an invasive — along with the actual autumn olive that IS an invasive. When it gets warmer, I will hack back the roses that have gone wild over on the side of the house. They’re gorgeous, but they need to be pruned way back or they will block passage on that side of the house.

The crocuses are poking little leaves up. I didn’t plant tulips in the fall, and I think all the ones I’ve planted through the years have either worn out or been eaten by squirrels.

But I am looking forward to putting the overwintered plants out on the deck and perking things up for spring.

This season, I want to concentrate on herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, zucchini, maybe some peas and bush beans. Things we will actually eat. I also want to get more strawberry plants — the ones we had last year were wonderful.

Fingers crossed for a good growing season!

 

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.

Starting the Planting In Spite of the Weather

Wednesday, January 8, 2014
First Quarter Moon in Aries
Jupiter Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Birch
Sunny and cold

Yes, it is far too early to plant, and it is the moon sign of Aries, not necessarily the best planting sign. But I kept some seeds from Macintosh apples I bought at the store, and they sprouted in water, so I stuck them in little pots and we’ll see.

My many lemon plants and my lime and tangerine plants all came from seeds of the store-bought fruit. Why not give it a go?

Hopefully, something will come up!

Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out the ratio between the plants I want for my perfect fantasy garden, the plants I need because I use them most, and what I can afford for spring!

Ostara Planting!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Waxing Moon, 2nd Quarter Cancer
Celtic Tree Month of Alder
Saturn Retrograde
Ostara (Spring Equinox)

Yes, today is the Spring Equinox, which means plant those pumpkins! 😉

The ground is still frozen, although some crocuses have come up, and some of the mix of tulips, glory-of-the-snow, and crocuses from The Arbor Day Foundation planted last fall are struggling through.

The tulips planted in pots and overwintered in the garage have huge leaves, but I don’t see any flower buds, which I find disturbing. Thoughts?

I planted seeds inside, in small pots, to get them started:
Radish (I am the only person on the planet who has trouble growing radishes)
Roma Tomato
Romaine Lettuce
Little Fingers Carrots
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Baby Leaf Spinach
Mesclun Spicy Greens
Chucky Pumpkin
Buttercrunch Lettuce
Racer Pumpkin
Speckled Butterhead Lettuce
Zucchini
Bok Choy
Calendula

The peppers, lemon, and clemetine seeds I planted from actual food the past few months are thriving.

Here’s to hoping a cold winter brings a great growing season!

Falling Behind

the eggplant is even bigger now!

Saturday, April 30, 2011
Waning Moon 4th Quarter in Aries
Saturn Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Willow
Scheduled to post

I’m scheduling this to post, because I’m out the door early to volunteer at a local wildlife sanctuary to help plant a butterfly garden. I’ll have lots to tell next week.

I feel like I’m falling behind; can’t keep up. I’m going to use the lawn mower for the first time this weekend — my yard is starting to look like a hayfield. I pulled up lots of dandelions the other day, and it seems two more came up for every one I pulled!

The back bed just overwhelms me — it will take me weeks to clean it out, weeks to rake and mulch under the trees, weeks to clean up the section between this house and one of the neighbors. I’m doing as much as I can every day that it’s not raining, but I have deadlines — I can’t blow a book contract in order to rake. Or I won’t be able to pay the rent and live here.

I feel very behind compared to the neighbors, but I have to remember that the garden is a work-in-progress, and I’m not just doing my work, I’m catching up on what was left undone by previous tenants.

On a happier note, the Black King Eggplant is huge; the India eggplants are starting to sprout; the zucchini have started to sprout. The foxglove sprouts are so tiny — amazing that some of those stalks will eventually grow to be seven feet tall!

The lilac bush has arrived, and is preparing to bloom. The huckleberry is much smaller than I expected — a huckleberry sprig rather than a huckleberry bush — but it’s adorable.

The pumpkins are doing well, and the strawberries are thriving out on the deck. The borage is large enough so, once I can replace the dinner plate I’ve got under the pot with the proper saucer, I can put it on the deck to protect the strawberries.

There’s a lot to be joyful about; I just feel like I’m constantly behind.

Devon