It's only money

One of my credit cards was compromised, to the point the issuer issued me a new one with a new number. I put it to the test today, by ordering WAY too many plants and seeds. Well, mostly plants, as the cost of the seeds doesn't really compare. If my plans don't work out, I'm turning the yard back into lawn.

I have never been able to figure out a good way to photograph the Meyer lemon "tree", especially to highlight the blossoms. I did finally figured out how to keep it healthy, though: compost tea. At the Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling, one item in the swag bag was a box of compost tea bags. The idea was to soak the bags of compost in water, then use the water as compost tea. Unfortunately, my dog got into the box and tore open the tea bags. I saved as much of the granulated compost as I could. This fall and winter, I sprinkled some on the soil of the lemon plant, so now every time I water, the plant gets a drink of compost tea.

The plant is loaded with blossoms this year. They smell soooo sweet! I'm hoping for a bumper crop.

I see asparagus

This past week as been the epitome of our fair city's nickname, Fort Rain, Windiana. The temperatures have not been all that bad, but when combined with the wet and the wind, being outdoors was just miserable. Today, however, is beautiful.

The only edibles in the garden so far are garlic, rhubarb, and as of today, asparagus. Inside, I have broccoli, lettuces, and peppers started. I plan to transplant the lettuce plants to "lettuce bowls" for myself and as gifts for friends.

The Meyer lemon is producing tiny green lemons, but the plant is starting to look a bit peaked again, presumably because of my neglect regarding fertilizer. I top dressed the pot with some potting soil formulated for citrus. Other options on hand are: fish emulsion (which I don't like to use indoors because it stinks, plus the cat may find it irresistible) or manure/compost tea, which if odor free, would work. Or I could shell out some bucks for something more appropriate.

For some reason, lumber labeled as being 8" wide is actually closer to 7", which I find not quite deep enough for my raised beds, especially for potatoes. The plan is to double the height of three beds each year. Today my (handsome *and* handy) SO brought power tools and accomplished that task.

The movable fence has not yet been erected for the season. I wish I didn't need it - I love having a clear view of the garden. Finn does an admirable job limiting the rabbit, mice, and vole populations, but he won't take on woodchucks.

Having a higher vantage point now helps, though. Pots are coming out of hibernation along with patio furniture. I'm looking forward to morning coffee on the deck.

Current bloomers are daffodils, hyacinth, and something tiny and white that I can't identify. Inside, the mother plant for the coleus has been decimated, and nine babies are establishing their root systems. I'm also starting black eyed Susan vine inside this year, as last year they did not germinate very well outside; unfortunately, they aren't doing very well inside, either.

Good things about February

I've said it before and I'll say it again - February is the longest month of the year, at least around these parts. Seeds and plants are ordered but it is too early to start transplants inside. The only "gardening" fun I have is eating all the goodies I put by last year.

We have had snow, which some people think is a bad thing, but it is actually good for the garden. Snow shoveling is also handy for keeping the gardening muscles in shape. That said, I am still grateful for the help of neighbors when the snow is heavy and/or too thick.

Garden Rant has been hosting a series of posts extolling or berating the concept of "winter interest" in the garden. I don't plant for winter interest, but I think if you have snow, you can't help but find the yard interesting to view. Better than the usual brown and gray.

Finn suffers from cabin fever, punctuating my day with requests to go out, then two minutes later, come back in. Despite having a litter box in the laundry room, he still prefers the outdoors as his potty. And sometimes he even plays in the snow a bit.

Best of all is the recovery of the Meyer lemon tree, as demonstrated by its current vigor and recent blossoming. If you recall, the poor plant was looking pretty peaked a year or so ago when I took some drastic action. It produced no fruit at all last year, but things look more promising for 2015.

The whole room is filled with the sweet scent of the blossoms. Not every flower will produce a lemon, as the plant is smart enough to "self prune" by dropping the fruit it can't support to ripening. Harvest won't occur until December.

That's a long time to wait, but well worth it.

Garden roundup for June

We had a little dry spell, but otherwise the rainfall has been plentiful, resulting in a burst of garden growth that is filling the raised beds and beyond. Despite the rodent damage (I fluctuate between blaming rabbits or woodchucks) and accompanying avian damage, there will be plenty to harvest (knock on wood).

Two of the three sisters, pumpkin and corn, are waiting for the germination of the pole beans. The corn is barely getting above the pumpkin, which is sprawling out of its bed. I've never had much luck with pumpkin or winter squash because of squash pests, but things look healthy so far (more knocking on wood). I don't know why I continue to plant marigolds - they always get overshadowed.

The potatoes are starting to bloom, which means they should be making potatoes. I was hoping to get more dirt into their beds but life intervenes. Maybe it's not too late?

There will be sauce. There are twelve Roma tomato plants in this bed (and four overshadowed marigolds). I'm dreaming of Eric's marinara (from Poor Man's Feast) and pizza sauce (from Preserving by the Pint).

So far, only male blossoms on the zucchini. A friend posted this recipe for zucchini chips that I am anxious to try. Soon, hopefully.

I was extremely pleased with the storage capability of last year's 'Big Daddy' onions, but tried some new varieties this year, including this 'Red Zeppelin'. It's pretty, if nothing else.

I'm still a newbie when it comes to growing raspberries. When I pruned and thinned them after last year's harvest, I thought I did an admirable job. Now the little bed is just bursting at the seams and the plants so loaded with fruit, they are bending under the weight. I'm a little concerned that the berries themselves will be small and seedy from the plants being too dense, but there definitely will be lots. Must protect them from the birds.

In the future, I will also have to protect the peas from the birds. Sparrows and finches ravaged the plants this year, presumably because their spring food supplies were scarce after last winter. I did not realize just how badly they were damaging the plants, especially the blossoms, so few pea pods developed. BUT the ones that did appear are wonderful.

I've been looking for a good pod pea and I think I have found it in this 'Green Arrow' variety.

Despite the rodent damage, my poor broccoli plants are trying to make heads. I am not holding out much hope that they will develop to any meaningful size, but I will be happy to be surprised.

I do not even remember ordering hops last year. The rhizomes simply appeared in the mail one day. I stuck them in a big pot because I did not know what else to do with them, and they grew. I forgot to move the pot into the garage last fall, so did not expect them to survive the winter, but they did. Someday I will find them a more permanent home. Meanwhile, I am not having much luck getting them to climb. This funky trellis, assembled with my SO's help, is the latest attempt.

The Meyer lemon tree continues to recover from my neglect. We recently added manure to the asparagus beds, and some manure tea is being used here and there, especially here. I want to keep this plant healthy.

I recently harvested scapes from the garlic, making a garlic scape pesto with some and putting the rest into a stir fry. One secret I learned to harvesting the scapes is to snap them off, sort of like trimming asparagus, to avoid the hard, unchewable parts.

It helps to have a garden cat guarding the garden.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

My SO and I just returned from a weeklong "family obligation" vacation to New England. I left my garden and seedlings in the care of my daughter and everything survived. It helped that it stayed cool for the duration of our travels and even rained a bit.

I managed to get one mowing in before leaving, so the property did not look abandoned upon our return. Most of the daffodils are done (and they did not put on much of a display to begin with, thanks to the extremely cold spring weather). The rhododendron popped, as did the service berry.

The "old" asparagus that I thought had succumbed to the winter temps has broken through, and I have been enjoying a daily dose. It is amazing how tender it is, fresh from the garden, even the grossly thick stalks. I'm glad I planted more this year.

I am also glad the Meyer lemon appears to be recovering. It did not bloom this year, which is fine with me because I was not going to let it bear fruit anyway. I just need to be more careful about watering and feeding it, so next year it can once again be fruitful.

(BTW, in the process of finishing the garden fence, I moved the bird feeders. Later, I saw the squirrel sitting on the fence, looking longingly at the now too distant feeders. Foiled!)

Proof

The Meyer lemon is sporting some new growth post-repotting. Whew! Now if I can just keep it happy.

Meyer lemon reboot

My Meyer lemon tree looks incredibly pathetic. Two summer ago, it was so hot and dry, I watered it daily and it flourished. Last summer was perfect weatherwise, and I think the poor thing received too much water from rain and from me, who continued to think it needed daily waterings. At least, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Almost leafless, the little thing still provided me with four juicy lemons, the last of which I harvested a few weeks ago. Even though it is a bit early, last weekend I repotted the plant, in hopes of rejuvenating it.

I also pruned it rather severely, as I would prefer a bushy habit. When my granddaughter, who has been schooled to "be nice" to plants, saw it, she chastised me for "pulling off all the leaves."

Hopefully, new leaves and fragrant blossoms will emerge soon. Fingers crossed!

Little surprises

The onion seeds are germinating. I have been gardening off and on (mostly on) for almost 40 years, and I am still a bit surprised when seeds I plant actually sprout. It's a little miracle that I can't take for granted.

The one and only butternut squash to come out of my garden last summer was eaten last night. I plucked it from the vine way back when, even though it did not look quite ready, because I feared a frost that night. Then I left it to sit on the counter until it turned a nice buff color. The surprise came when I tried to peel it. Ordinarily, I do not peel butternut squash - it is just too difficult. But the recipe I was following demanded raw chunks of butternut squash, so peel I did. And the peel was so thin and tender I was able to accomplish this task with a carrot peeler, little effort required. Is all homegrown squash this easy to peel? I just could not believe it.

Tonight I consumed the second and final Meyer lemon. Like the squash, I had picked it a while ago and left it on the counter. Mid-February and - surprise! - it was still fresh as a daisy. It joined some of my homemade grenadine in a tequila sunrise. Okay, TWO tequila sunrises - it was a bad day at work. No surprise there!

Slush from the sky

(Edited to add photos.)

As I was standing by the diningroom window, watching the rain/snow/crap fall, I realized a small pond was forming where the storm drain is. The storm drain that was dug up and replaced. The area around the storm drain across the street looks even worse. Hopefully, the grates are just plugged up with loose straw. I called 311 ("one call to city hall") and hopefully someone will look into it. Someone who is paid to be out in this weather.

The other night I made some tomato potato soup (from Love Soup, of course). I used up the last of my Irish potatoes from this year, the last of the frozen paste tomatoes from last year, and 10(!) cloves of homegrown garlic. The soup also called for parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, all of which I have growing indoors.

Re the Meyer lemon, I did a little research and they are fully ripe when orange-yellow, but once they are yellow, they may be used. Maybe tonight, after I shovel the slush off the driveway, I'll celebrate the season with a vodka tonic with a twist of Meyer lemon.