Back on Track

 We have endured five days of rain totaling 2.75", and temperatures in the high forties to low fifties with a cold north wind.  It was dismal but my annuals and vegetables were all properly protected, and a few may be a little pale and shivery but they all survived.  May weather came back today with sun and a high around 60F.  Still cool, but fine for the plants as the garden area is about ten degrees warmer.  I moved all of the plants back to the stage where they had been in their hardening off, planted a few root bound vegetables and got the garden back to normal.  I checked on the sweet corn that I seeded last Tuesday on our last nice day.  It did not rot.  It started to sprout.  I moved the toasty warm row cover off of my collection of potted perennials and onto the corn bed to give it a boost.  This row cover adds about another 10 degrees of heat on top of the garden's ambient temperature.  Its amazing.  The corn should pop up in the next day or two.

In the mean time I am warming the soil in the next corn bed with poly carbonate panels.  I will sow this tomorrow or Tuesday, separating the two crops by two weeks between maturity day and planting dates.  Then the panels will go to the next bed to be planted.  I will likely transplant my tomatoes and peppers tomorrow.  I wanted to give them one day of adjustment after their ordeal before I forced another change on them.

Have you ever wondered how long a whiskey barrel planter lasts?  About 12-15 years.  Then the bottom rots out and collapses.  I had found suitably large planters to replace the two near the firepit.  These are resin and 24 inches across at the top.  Only two inches smaller than the diameter of the barrels.  I moved the potting mix out of the top and filled the new planter.  I remembered that I had filled either one or both of the barrels half full with a combination of screened top soil and rotted horse manure before I added the potting mix.  When I got down to that level I found that it was pretty nice stuff.  There were a few rocks and some roots and wood chips in it, but I shoveled it out to use as compost.  It has processed down to about the consistency of worm castings.  I had Heuchera in these the past three years.  When you are choosing plants for a permanent container, you need something with a growing zone at least one zone colder than your average.  This is because the roots will be above grade and will not receive as much protection. All of the Huechera were zone 4 and we are a zone 6a., but over the two winters I have lost more than half of the plants.  I am relocating what is left to the landscape and have chosen a large, robust Hosta variety with a hardiness zone three and a half zones colder.  That oughta do it.

One of the planters disintegrated when we tried to move it.  The one above was in much better shape and has some life left in it.  We stored it away out of the elements because we have one more planter that will probably need to be replaced in a year or two.

Now I have a pretty good assortment of compost materials to choose from as I amend my beds this year.  There is the kitchen and garden scraps pile which needs to be sifted, a pile of mulch muck from the bottom of the mulch bunker that I am going to use to hill up around my potato plants and the whiskey barrel compost that I will mix with my shredded leaves to keep them from blowing away when I mulch the vegetable beds in the garden.  Here are a few lovely spots in the garden today.

Lemony Lace Elderberry, a Daylily and red Onyx and Pearls Penstemon in the background

Woods Hyacinths

Weigelia Shrub