Merbach Garden

Roses

2013-06-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

Last year I moved this rose bush from the perpetual shade in poor soil to a sunny spot with good black dirt. I did not expect much. I got a lot.

9 June 2013 - caught up

2013-06-11T17:33:00.001-07:00

Hydrangea

Squash

Hibiscus - red

and pink

Currants

Clematis

New garden bed with peppers, tomatillos and more

Peas, eggplant, tomato, tomatillo, bean and asparagus

My shadow showing the location of the new beds

It should a great year for raspberries

Wow look at that lettuce!

Irises loved this spring

Zinnias and squash

Hidden Zinnias

Sunflowers pretending to be zinnias and hiding from the rabbits

Hollyhocks

Pots of beans and sunflowers

Hollyhocks

Another set of beans and sunflowers

Will the trumpet vine bloom in year 2?

Overflow from the spice garden

Wyatt's sunflower

Spice

More spice

Rabbits even eat prickly raspberries

Berries!

Peas

Concord Grape Vine planted a few weeks ago

7 May 2013 - delayed post

2013-06-11T13:39:00.004-07:00

Ah, spring!

This one got better in the next weeks

beautiful

David Phlox coming

The mum returns for a third year, another foot to the northwest

25 April 2013 Walk around - delayed post

2013-06-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to look back 2 months and see where the garden was back then

The spice garden - chives and tarragon getting a head start

Perilla getting started in a warm spot

One of four new water barrels that brings my capacity to 385 gallons in total

Also notice the hollyhock getting started at the base

My two measly daffodils

Spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot

Raspberries getting started

Currants

Columbine

The new onion patch

Rhubarb

Sedum

??? what's it?

Peonies

Mini sedum

I thought I killed it...

Irises got some rearranging

Tulip

First harvest - catch up

2013-05-22T17:43:00.002-07:00

I ate two nice radishes and a pile of lettuce with my lunch today. First harvest is so rewarding, especially in May.

We are finally catching up with some rain. The barrels are full but need some height adjustments - the ground does seem to settle quite a bit under 50+ gallons of water.

One hibiscus sprout showed this week and I fear that is all that survived. We lost other perennials too.

Somebody is eating my currents while they are quite green.

Mowed the lawn on Tuesday for the 3rd time this year.

Lawn mowing

2013-05-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have mowed twice already, on the 4th and the 12th. It needs it again today, the 20th, but I was hoping for some rain. Needs fertilizer too, which means cutting it shorter and timing it with rain forecasts.

I've got some catching up to do

2013-05-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

Some posting is due.
It is prime season for planting and sprouting and the return to life in the garden, and I have done little to keep track of it this year. Something seems off...
I have pictures to keep some of it straight, but they need to be posted to be of use.
I have been working hard on the garden though, and that makes up for the lack of record keeping...

Water

2013-04-23T12:06:00.002-07:00

Lots of flooding in the region, but we stayed dry. I added 2 rain barrels and now we have more rain. 250+ gallons of water are ready to flow to the garden. 2 more rain barrels to be hooked up in the front yard. 375+ gallons of free water once I get the stands constructed. My forearms are wrecked from moving bricks. Thursday's therapy is really going to hurt.

Pictures to come, once it stops raining...

Freeze tonight

2013-04-19T10:01:00.002-07:00

I will have to cover up the new sprouts. Maybe the currants too.

new growth and lots of rain

2013-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Despite 4.5" of rain overnight, we have new sprouts of lettuce and radish poking up in the north bed.
Many of the red onions were washed down the slope in a rush of water and mud where I had cleared some land. Silly me.

Currants are putting up shoots and I cleared some mulch from the bases today.

Sedum is everywhere growing fast. Other north side perennials are starting too.

Raked the front yard on Tuesday.

14 April Planting

2013-04-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

A brief moment of sunny and wind allowed a little early planting.

Martha Washington Asparagus and 3 rows of Yellow Stuttgarter Onions in the spice garden.

2 rows of onions, Red Comred and Yellow SR in new garden space along the eastern fence.

More asparagus in the raised bed for protection. Do rabbits like asparagus? We will find out.

3 tomatoes moved from cold frame to the north bed:

2 Wisconsin 55s (east and center) and 1 San Marco.

Now it is time to move more plants out of the basement and into the cold frame.

Yes!

2013-04-08T07:17:00.002-07:00

0.34 inches of rain overnight and now I have 165 gallons of water in my rain barrels!

Sowing seeds

2013-04-07T13:18:00.001-07:00

0.06" of rain overnight. Big deal.
Both beds are prepared, so I threw some seeds in the ground.
Carrots, Radish, Lettuce, Spinach and Swiss Chard (in honor of Fabian Cancellara's 2013 Paris-Roubaix ).

2013: Let's get growing!

2013-04-05T13:58:00.003-07:00

5 May 2013

Much is already growing. But the real story is that we need rain. 16 days without a drop. Next week's 50% chance days are not filling me with hope. I do have 4 new rain barrels on order, but they won't be here until Earth Day.

Outside we have onions,

chives,

rhubarb,

hollyhocks,

daffodils and irises,

tarragon,

and strawberries showing their noses.

Planted a few heirloom snapdragons thinned from the under the grow light in the basement. They came from a friend in Peoria. I grew them their 4 years ago and kept the seeds until now.

Planted poppies in eastern beds beside porch, along rock border and in rock pile by garden arch.

Here they are mixed with the snapdragons.

Yesterday, set up cheap-o greenhouse in three-season room and moved a few tomatoes, zucs, cucs and marigolds from the basement to start acclimating to the sun.

I also prepared the north bed with compost and raking. Need to add soil to the spice garden to keep out the grass along the border.

Inside, we have lots of things started under the lights.

I need a better system for taking notes

Last Harvest

2012-12-21T06:45:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, the last day of autumn, I harvested the last of the lettuce and spinach, plus one sad radish. The temperature then dropped 20°F and the snow started. Long growing season!

I will not mow the lawn in December

2012-12-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

My neighbor is mowing his lawn on December 10. Predicted snowfall tonight. At noon it is damp, heavily overcast and 33 °F. The lawn does not need it.

The end

2012-11-12T12:46:00.003-08:00

Last night's freeze marked the end for the Swiss chard. The spinach, lettuce and radishes suffered but might survive a little longer. I picked and ate a small, yummy radish that might be my only one from the fall crop.

02 November 2012 quick walk

2012-11-02T15:52:00.001-07:00

Swiss chard and lettuce harvest continues.

Radish and spinach, nothing yet, but we have not given up.

Will the Perilla return from seed? We hope.

The spice garden.
Anyone need fresh baby cilantro, dill, curly parsley, sage, thyme, chives, edible mums, oregano, rosemary.... free! you pick!

Raspberry work

2012-10-11T14:15:00.002-07:00

Tied up the tall canes to the trellis.
Three bags of chopped maple leaves into the beds.
Next year will be a better raspberry year.

Final harvest

2012-10-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Peppers, eggplants, pumpkins and tomatoes are done.

Homemade from scratch pumpkin pie.

Freeze

2012-10-08T03:01:00.003-07:00

I looks like we had a frost while I was away last week, but it is 28 °F now and I expect most of the summer garden will be done.

The front walk

2012-09-27T07:55:00.001-07:00

I am very happy with the way the front walk looks after the first year, entering its second autumn..,

Frost!

2012-09-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

First light frost of the season last night. Good thing I covered up the beds. Let's see if the tomatoes survived.

Radishes and lettuce planted a couple weeks ago are starting to look good.

The aster blossoms

2012-09-23T06:57:00.001-07:00

Honeysong purple Stokes Aster has its first bloom on the coldest morning since spring.

Mr. Stripey and friends

2012-09-23T06:10:00.001-07:00

I hope the vines did not freeze overnight.