MAY
It was beautiful outside and I couldn't wait to get out of work to get started in the garden. I came home and got to work right away. I pulled some lumber out and cut and assembled the short sides and braces for the next 3 beds I had to build. I put the smallest one together as it was only 2'x2' (for the horseradish).
Saturday, May 7We got up and went to the market for Indian food, came home and ate and drank coffee. I didn't get into the garden until noontime. I cut the long sides for the other 2 beds I had started the day before. It was taking forever to change the drill bit to the screwdriver bit constantly and really impeding my progress. So off to Canadian Tire we went for another cordless drill. I found a nice Mastercraft 20v drill/driver for $89, which was 50% off, so a pretty good deal. Grabbed another coffee and back home we went. Drank coffee and had lunch while we waited for both drills to charge. Once the drills were charged we put the other two beds together very quickly. Placed all 4 new beds (one we built during the week), measured and lined them up well and then I filled 3 of them. The 4'x8' bed I'll fill tomorrow. I also took the rake and prepped one of the 4'x8' wooden beds I built last year for planting. It took about 5 minutes to break up the top 6" of soil and rake it smooth. The raised beds are worth all the work and every penny so far. They are a lot of work and cost to put in, but save you so much time planting, weeding, and harvesting that it is well worth it. Plus just having them raised 10" is so much easier on your back. I sit at a little $20 potting bench Erin bought me at Canadian Tire about 3 years ago and barely have to bend over to plant or weed. It makes weeding almost enjoyable. Almost.
After beds were placed and filled I planted the Jerusalem artichokes and horseradish that came in the mail last week. I had a ton of Jerusalem artichokes left over. Erin suggested planting them on the edge of the property somewhere, so I think I will. I also planted half of the 4'x8' bed I prepped on Saturday. Half spinach, then a row with a square foot each of arugula, mustard, swiss chard and radish. The last 3 rows will be filled with lettuce. I'll plant those tomorrow, weather and time permitting.
Sunday, May 8
Finally got the nail gun going and put the 20" potato bed together. Compressor and nail gun both worked really well. Got the bed placed and hopefully will get it filled this week sometime. Finished filling the carrot bed with soil and planted most of it. Need another package of carrot seeds to finish the bed.
Tuesday it rained, boo. I was sick on Wednesday and spent much of the day asleep on the couch, but then around 6:30 felt a bit better and went out to plant the lettuce I still hadn't planted. After the lettuce I topped of the next bed and raked and planted the beets; Merlin, Touchstone and Chioggia. Very pleased with my progress thus far, and only the 8th of May.
Thursday, May 12
Not much done since Tuesday, but this afternoon I cleaned out the small cinder block bed and also filled the 4'x8' bed I built last weekend. I cleaned out half or two-thirds of the strawberry bed, trimming off the brown leaves and leftover runners. Also noticed that the haskap and blueberry bushes are budding. Buds are open on the haskap already as they're earlier than the blueberries. I cleaned out most of the leaves I had mulched with in the fall. I cut the last of the lumber from Kent's into pieces for the first 4'x8', 20" deep bed for the potatoes. After that I'll have to pull some things out of the shed so I can get to the lumber that was leftover from the fall. I'm glad now I bought it. Still waiting on the soil.
Friday, May 13
I didn't get much done outside this week but my potatoes and fruit trees arrived, so lots to do this weekend. My truck-load of soil arrived Friday, finally. Better late than never and it was a nice sized load so I was happy. I did spend part of the week filling the potato bed and planted it on Friday (half Chieftain, half Blue Russian). I also got more carrot seeds and finished that bed out, making two more beds done and planted. I weeded the onion bed and topped it off with soil. The mint had tried to start taking over the bed so I pulled out all the roots that had crept in and now it's ready for planting.
Saturday, May 14
Woke up to the expected rain, but it cleared up in the afternoon so I had the chance to go out and plant one tree. I have three that will be 30+ feet tall (two heartnut and one mulberry) so I will be planting those in the far back. I was horrified when I started digging to find out we have nothing but clay on that side of the property. Now when I say clay, I don't mean soil with a high-clay content, I mean it is clay about 6" down. Solid clay that I could have scooped up and tossed on a pottery wheel and thrown a rustic coffee cup in 5 minutes-kinda clay. So, I finished digging the hole but then I dumped two wheelbarrows full of soil on top of it to create a big mound. I planted a heartnut tree (like a walnut, but sweeter) in the mound so most of the roots would be above the soil line. We'll see how that works out. I purchased twelve 4'x8', 6 gauge panels of concrete reinforcement wire to make protective cages out of. I made one easily enough for the heartnut tree, using zip ties to connect the sides to make the hoop. I pushed it deeply into the mound of soil around the tree and it was buried several inches. Hoping that will hold it but I may have to get some stakes if it doesn't. Garden is looking pretty good, overall. I'm a little behind this year, but a few things well on their way.
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| Raspberries |
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| Rhubarb |
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| Forget-Me-Nots, a sure sign of spring in our yard. |
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| Asparagus is coming along very well. First taste is coming soon! |
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| Parsley came back. Hoping to harvest some seed from it. |
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| Oregano back again. |
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| After the rain. |
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| Garlic is growing quickly! |
Seedlings are coming along very nicely this year. Usually by this time everything is starting to yellow and the tomatoes look sickly and around now I would start saying "I don't think the tomatoes are going to make it this year...." This year I started fertilizing about 2 weeks ago with diluted fish fertilizer (1/2 tsp. per gallon). Seems to be keeping everything green and happy.
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| Tomatoes in the window. |
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| Basil, peppers, various herbs, shallots, calendula, osteospermum, petunias, celery. |
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| Basil and peppers |
Wednesday, May 18
Came home and went out to plant trees. I managed to get two done before giving up due to the high concentration of black flies. We live near the river, so the near-constant breeze usually keeps the black flies away. But not today. Today the air was heavy and dead. There was no wind whatsoever and the swarm of flies around my head dizzying. I got another heartnut tree and mulberry tree planted before I gave up, bolted inside, went for a Tim's and gave up on the garden for the night.
Thursday, May 19
It was nice out today, though very overcast all day. Warm with a nice breeze, even after I got off work at 5:30. I planted a 4'x4' bed with 1/2 sorrel, half kale (Red Russian and Lacinto). After that I put together two more fruit tree cages and put them around the trees I planted yesterday and watered the bed and trees both in well.
Friday, May 20
Came from work and mowed the lawn until dusk. Very happy to have that out of the way.
Saturday, May 21
I built another bed, filled it and planted with kale, rutabega, parsnip, and leeks.
Sunday, May 22 - Friday May 27
I raked up one of the 18' long cinder block beds for the onions. Turned out I didn't plant enough so I ended up putting the shallots and green cabbages in that bed as well. Took me the entire week to plant that bed, when weather permitted, which wasn't often.
Saturday, May 28
Finished the cinder block bed, minus a few cabbages I need to get on Monday at Mr. Tomato (apparently I didn't plant enough). Mr. Tomato, a local plant nursery is in the process to transitioning to organic, so we know they aren't using any chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Sunday, May 29
Erin weeded one of the in-ground beds while I planted red cabbages. I finished that task and set to digging out all the mint that had spread through the middle cinder block bed. Once that was done, I topped the bed off with some soil and planted Brussels sprouts, more radishes, arugula, mizuna, and mustard greens. I also started mowing the lawn again, but only got halfway before the blade wouldn't engage. Off to the shop it goes, yet once again.
Monday, May 30
Today was pretty dreary when we got up and it took us awhile to get going. We finally went out around noon and Erin set to weeding more in-ground beds while I finished planting lettuce in the middle cinder block bed. It was slow going for me, though Erin finished weeding 3 of the 8 in-ground beds, plus the paths in-between today. I had a late start, but while she was off running errands I planted a Mazza cherry tree and topped off the first in-ground bed, raked it and prepped it for planting. Erin returned when I was almost done and disappeared into the house to make supper. After a quick supper, we came back out and she prepped a 4th in-ground bed while I planted all the herbs in the bed I had prepped. Overall, we ended up getting a lot done today!
Tuesday, May 31
We got up and hit the ground running today. I was out the door by 10am to Kent to get lumber, stopped at Mr. Tomato after loading up for a couple of herbs I was missing, tarragon and rosemary. Grabbed some extra cabbage as I hadn't planted as many as I needed apparently and some celery as well for the same reason. Made one last stop for coffees on the way home and then a short break at home to drink them before heading out to cut all the lumber I'd just bought. Figured out how many 8' lengths and how many 4' lengths I needed and cut them all. Then off to Envirem, a local organics company. We filled the truck bed up with 30 bags of natural cedar mulch and 6 bags of sheep manure. Back home to plant a few cabbages and the tarragon and rosemary, while Erin made lunch. After vegan chicken burgers, iced coffees, and an episode of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we were back at it. Erin weeded more of the in-ground beds (6 done now). I planted most of Mom's petunias (my Mom loved petunias, always had baskets of them around. I plant some every year just for her). After those were planted, I set to building the blueberry bed. It went together very quickly since the pieces were already measured and cut. Once that was done I planted the scallions while the black flies feasted on me. I finally gave in and retired to the house to put pants on. During my break the sun came out again, so I went out to finish the scallions and to get the pea fence out. The pea fence had come apart a bit so I put in back together and got in set in the ground where I want it. Off to Tim's for another coffee and I called it a day.
Friday, May 20
Came from work and mowed the lawn until dusk. Very happy to have that out of the way.
Saturday, May 21
I built another bed, filled it and planted with kale, rutabega, parsnip, and leeks.
Sunday, May 22 - Friday May 27
I raked up one of the 18' long cinder block beds for the onions. Turned out I didn't plant enough so I ended up putting the shallots and green cabbages in that bed as well. Took me the entire week to plant that bed, when weather permitted, which wasn't often.
Saturday, May 28
Finished the cinder block bed, minus a few cabbages I need to get on Monday at Mr. Tomato (apparently I didn't plant enough). Mr. Tomato, a local plant nursery is in the process to transitioning to organic, so we know they aren't using any chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
Sunday, May 29
Erin weeded one of the in-ground beds while I planted red cabbages. I finished that task and set to digging out all the mint that had spread through the middle cinder block bed. Once that was done, I topped the bed off with some soil and planted Brussels sprouts, more radishes, arugula, mizuna, and mustard greens. I also started mowing the lawn again, but only got halfway before the blade wouldn't engage. Off to the shop it goes, yet once again.
Monday, May 30
Today was pretty dreary when we got up and it took us awhile to get going. We finally went out around noon and Erin set to weeding more in-ground beds while I finished planting lettuce in the middle cinder block bed. It was slow going for me, though Erin finished weeding 3 of the 8 in-ground beds, plus the paths in-between today. I had a late start, but while she was off running errands I planted a Mazza cherry tree and topped off the first in-ground bed, raked it and prepped it for planting. Erin returned when I was almost done and disappeared into the house to make supper. After a quick supper, we came back out and she prepped a 4th in-ground bed while I planted all the herbs in the bed I had prepped. Overall, we ended up getting a lot done today!
Tuesday, May 31
We got up and hit the ground running today. I was out the door by 10am to Kent to get lumber, stopped at Mr. Tomato after loading up for a couple of herbs I was missing, tarragon and rosemary. Grabbed some extra cabbage as I hadn't planted as many as I needed apparently and some celery as well for the same reason. Made one last stop for coffees on the way home and then a short break at home to drink them before heading out to cut all the lumber I'd just bought. Figured out how many 8' lengths and how many 4' lengths I needed and cut them all. Then off to Envirem, a local organics company. We filled the truck bed up with 30 bags of natural cedar mulch and 6 bags of sheep manure. Back home to plant a few cabbages and the tarragon and rosemary, while Erin made lunch. After vegan chicken burgers, iced coffees, and an episode of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we were back at it. Erin weeded more of the in-ground beds (6 done now). I planted most of Mom's petunias (my Mom loved petunias, always had baskets of them around. I plant some every year just for her). After those were planted, I set to building the blueberry bed. It went together very quickly since the pieces were already measured and cut. Once that was done I planted the scallions while the black flies feasted on me. I finally gave in and retired to the house to put pants on. During my break the sun came out again, so I went out to finish the scallions and to get the pea fence out. The pea fence had come apart a bit so I put in back together and got in set in the ground where I want it. Off to Tim's for another coffee and I called it a day.
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