Golden Autumn Day

Yesterday seemed like the perfect fall day.  It was sunny, crisp and still. I drove over to Hampden in the morning to meet a woman who owns horses, and I cut through the back roads in order to take in the autumn colors. The fall leaves are officially past "peak" (especially after that horrendous rain we had this week), but the trees are still so beautiful. It's a joy to be outdoors.

I met Deb over the phone recently when someone told me I could get some free horse manure from her.  I want to amend my soil before the snow flies so it's ready for planting in the spring.  My sister-in-law, Carol, has an amazing garden in New Jersey and she swears by horse manure.  I'm also going to mix in some compost that I have lying in piles at the back of my yard.  I started these piles 2 and 3 summers ago, knowing that eventually I would get some compost out of them!  Now, I have lots.

I spent a little time in the garden yesterday, gathering seeds.  I cut off a huge sunflower head, and I ripped out all of my bean plants.  Rabbits had wiped out all of my beans the year before.  I planted the 5 or 6 seeds that I had left in a container, which yielded enough seeds for this year's bed. And with my new fence up, I was able to grow 55-60 plants. These are black beans, by the way. It is my first experiment with beans.

Soil Test Samples

Now that I know how important the pH of the soil is for growing any particular thing, I'm going to need a lot of tests done, because I want to grow so many different things. I wonder if I should buy my own soil test kit?

I suppose the best time to test the soil would be in September, that way I can get the beds ready for spring, or I can plant something in the fall, before winter.

• Front beds (3) azaleas, roses, hollies
• Blueberries
• Strawberries and raspberries
• Vegetable garden - large
• Vegetable garden - small
• shaded part of yard/shade garden
• Perennial garden
• Asparagus bed

Garden Notes - May 27, 2013

I was outside by 10:30 this morning, determined to make the best use of this gorgeous day.  I didn't stop until 4:30.  I only stopped because I could feel my shoulders stinging from sunburn.  But, it was a productive day!

First, I brought out all my plants into the sunshine and checked everything that I had already planted.

Next, I went to work in the front.  Jamie is anxious to get the mulch down, but I wanted to prune all the azalea bushes, hollies, and Japanese barberry bushes first.  I pruned them as far back as I could. Every year we mulch first, but then after I prune the bushes, I feel like I'm scooping up all the mulch when I pick up the branches.

I also did a lot of weeding up front. I still need to fertilize all the bushes up front, but I can do this after the mulch is laid.  The front is now ready for mulch.

The front took most of the day, but after I fertilize and mulch, I won't have to think about it again until next year.  And it looks so pretty!  Michael finished painting the rose trellises, so I'll put those in place tomorrow or Wednesday. And I planted the Snowball marigolds that I grew by the Midnight salvia and roses.  It should look lovely when they bloom (although I think the salvia will be spent).

Then I worked a little bit on the perennial garden.  I planted the Baptisia plant I bought at the plant sale, as well as the two Rose Campion plants.  I weeded a little bit and cut some dead canes off the climbing rose, and had to prune back a butterfly bush the a deer pushed over. Grrrr.





I planted all of my French marigolds, too - some at the edge of the perennial garden, some along the edge of my bean garden, and the rest along the edge of my vegetable garden.

Actually, before I planted the marigolds, I started to rake and shovel the vegetable garden.  It was impossible!  It was all hard and lumpy, and now I feel really bad that I put my seedlings into such unprepared soil!

When I realized that it would take me all day to prepare the soil, and that I already had an aching back, I worked up the courage to pull the rototiller out.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to start it up, since I'm not really good with machinery.  Well, it started up (after a prayer!).  In no time, the vegetable garden, James' pumpkin patch and my bean garden were in perfect condition for planting!



So, moving right along!  Tomorrow, I plan on putting in the rest of my seedlings, all of my seeds, and my dahlias.  I plan on setting up some fences and the rose trellises, doing some fertilizing and setting out some mulch.  Another busy day!

A couple of concerns.  The deer and rabbits.  And the fact that a few of the plants are struggling (see plant on left.  Yikes!).

Update on Blueberry Bushes

I put in my blueberry hedge in September.  Well, it didn't take long for the critters to discover them, and they immediately devoured the tender stems:



I recently surveyed the damage and could see that if these bushes are going to survive, they are going to need protection of some sort.  This picture shows nibbled branches:

I also needed to amend the soil, because the soil test reported that this soil is too alkaline.  I added some "Holly Food", which is good for blueberries, too.  It needs to be applied again in a couple of months:

So, I picked up some wire mesh and constructed some "cages" yesterday (April 22).  After I amended the soil, I buried the bottoms of the cages in the soil and covered them with some dirt and mulch, to help keep them anchored:

Today, I went out to inspect them, and I discovered that some creature was trying to dig under the cages!!! Four of them!!!!

I was glad to know that I had protected these plants.  Well, later in the day, I caught the creature in the act:







Guilty!

"Who, me?!"

Yes, you!

I had to put Shadow in the house after he did it again.

Anyway, like the fruit trees, I never got around to pruning the older blueberry bushes, and will have to make it a priority next March.  It's not the end of the world, but neglecting the bushes sure won't bring much fruit.

Incidentally - one of the biggest mistakes I made was buying such immature plants.  I should have paid more to have bigger plants, then we'd be eating blueberries so much sooner.  I'll be lucky if I get blueberries in 3 to 5 years!

Testing Soil and the Soil Analysis Report

I got my analysis back from the Soil Testing Lab at UMass a couple of weeks ago. 

The form for the test can be found here:  http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/

Every thing looks good for the perennial bed, but the vegetable garden needs some adjustment.  The report said the soil pH is 6.1 and that I should add dolomitic (magnesium rich) limestone - which I did this weekend.  The report says to add the lime as early as possible prior to planting.  Planting is still 2 months away.

 

 

 

I used 45 lbs., or 15 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. My plot is roughly 300 sq. ft.  I poured the rest of the 50 lb. bag into the other bed, which is 32 sq. ft.

 

I also need to add about 15 lbs. of 5-10-10 fertilizer to the large vegetable bed, and 4.8 lbs to all the smaller beds. I can also use this for annual flowers and roses.  See the report for details.  Should be done in early spring... now.

 

4/19/13 - UPDATE
I bought a 5-10-10 that was recommended at Sixteen Acres Garden Center, but when I got it home and started to apply it, I read on the bag that it possibly causes cancer, as well as birth defects - in the state of California! Well, I guess it would cause those problems here in the state of Massachusetts, too!  So I decided not to use it and look for some organic sources of nutrients, instead.  One thing we learned again and again in WMMGA - READ THE LABEL!!  I guess I need work on this.

Anyway, the soil report said to add 1 bushel of manure per 100 square feet.  My large garden is 300 sq. ft., and the smaller gardens add up to almost 200 sq. ft.  It turns out that a bushel of manure weighs roughly 75 pounds.  So off to Home Depot I go, and bought 12 25-lb bags of the stuff.  Again - READ THE LABEL!!!  When I got home, I discovered that only have of the material in the bag was actually manure.  The other 49% was peat moss, etc.  I used it anyway.

I also added blood meal (nitrogen), bone meal (phosphorus) and wood ash (potassium).  I used the recommendations on the UMass soil report.

I spent the last 2 days finishing the large garden bed.  I still have the smaller ones to do.  I'm taking a break because my back is breaking.

April To-Do List

Outside:

• Begin working and amending the soil (if it needs it)
• Add lime to the vegetable garden (it needs it this year)
• Add elemental sulfur to blueberry hedge and other "acid-loving" shrubs (if needed)
• Prune apple trees and other fruit trees BY FIRST WEEK!!!
• Weigh down branches on fruit trees to encourage wider crotch angles
• Prune rose bushes when forsythia blooms
• Fertilize rose bushes before their leaves appear
• Scatter seeds in perennial bed (poppy, foxglove, cleome)
• Continue pruning bushes that need it - most should have been done in March!
• Sow seeds indoors: 

Seeds, Indoors:

• Cucumber : April 26 (Started on April 17th, transplanted April 28)
• Tomatoes: April 12 - 19 (I started these on April 6th; by April 17, all have sprouted)
• Marigolds -French, Snowball:  April 12 - 26 (April 17)
• Marigolds - Yellow: (started April 25)
• Dahlias (Potted on April 23)
• Zinnias:  April 12 - 19 (Started on April 17th)
• Basil:  (started April 25)
• Cabbage:  (started April 25)
• Cantaloupe: (started April 25)
• Watermelon:  (started April 25)
• Bachelor's Button:  (Started April 17)

Tubers, Indoors:

• Bring out dahlia tubers and start indoors by mid-April

Update:  Today is May 6th and I still have 3 weeks before I put my plants in the garden.  When the time comes, I will determine whether I should have started any of these earlier or later.

Soil Test

I sent some soil samples to UMass on Thursday.  I did this last year as well; UMass sent back a report which I used when I planted my blueberry hedge.

This year, thanks to some guidance from the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener's Association, I sent several samples of soil to the lab - one for my perennial bed, one for my vegetable garden and fruit trees, and one for my blueberry hedge.

I dug about a cup of soil from different spots in each of the beds.  I put everything in plastic baggies, filled out the form to indicate the tests that I wanted ("basic" and "organic matter"), indicated what I am trying to grow, and sent it off (with a $37.00 check, for 4 tests and reports).

The only step that I didn't do was spread the soil out on a sheet and let it thoroughly dry.  I don't know how important this is - I'm hoping that it's not.

UMass Soil and Tissue Testing Lab - http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/