Roses

Rose Bed Before

 Last season, the kids were still toddling around throwing everything over the side of the railing. This season, I am excited to finally take down the deck gate, we had added, and hoping the kids are over the stage of throwing things over the railing.

Roses......I actually don't care for them. :) Shocker, right???? When we moved to the house, it was the  middle of spring. The previous owner had planted these climbing roses. They must be hybrid because there has only been one rose hip.

Looking at these branches you would think the roses were dead. Look closer. The red tint you see to them mean they are alive. The grey, brown tint you see at the garbage bin is dead.

What climbing roses like:

• A trellis
• To be weaved horizontally (this is very important)
• Banana peels!!!!
• sun 
• air circulation to prevent mold spots.

What climbing roses do not like:

• being tied (they will die)
• being "trained" to "climb" vertically
• poor drainage

 There are a few ways to address drainage. The previous owners planted them with some pebbles and ground covering plant. Yes, you read that right. This plant (which I'm wondering if it is a type of wild rose) creeps up in the middle of June. Its roots retain water. Its leaves keep the ground covered so that the ground stays moist. It blooms tiny white flowers. It loves the shade that the roses provide. It loves moisture.
I weeded out the ground plant, but hopefully not too much. I was so excited to discover a new climbing rose shoot. Eventually roses will die out if a new transplant is not encouraged.

What I have learned to like about climbing roses:

• Their fragrance
• Their benefits to chicken nests
• Their brambles make a great home defense. :)

Rose Bed After

Step Two

Seed depth

Step two involves a lot of watering. Until time to add mulch, there will be a lot of watering. There is no right or wrong method when it comes to watering per se. I have found that if I water in the early mornings and late evenings it helps - I am getting ahead of myself.

Step two:

• Plant seeds
• Keep ground moist

 Step two seems so simple, yet it is meticulous. You want to plant your seeds with the final product in mind. Envision the size of the plant and space apart appropriately. The back of seed packets give a good estimate.

Seed depth is basically dependent upon the size of the seed. The smaller the seed the closer to the top of the soil it needs to planted. The larger the seed, the deeper it needs to be planted. In general, seeds are planted no deeper than 1" at the extreme end of the spectrum.You are just ensuring the seed is surrounded by moist soil to soften the seeds and help it germinate.

Seeds do not like to drown. Moist soil is critical. Well-drained soil is crucial. My personal opinion, I believe my bed have down so well because I place the topsoil over leaves, grass clippings, and manure. Since these are not entirely decomposed, it allows the water to drain.

Sunday, March 2

Hard to believe it's already March! Everyone is sick with incessant coughs, runny noses, and grouchy! Besides that, us adults in the house are dragging around with the daily necessities.I was able to get out for 20 minutes and poke a few seeds in Bed Number 3.

Bed Number 3 Layers:
cardboard
chicken manure
grass clippings
last year's garden soil


This garden bed is the width of the garden bed so I will be planting in 2 weeks cycles the following seeds:

Peas - Progressive 9
Lettuce
Celery
Spinach

Friday, February 28

Garden Bed 1

This blog is a journal of observation. I planted directly into the soil on February 28, 2014 for spring harvest. The carrots were planted a fourth inch deep. The Onions a half inch deep. I used a muffin tin to mark the spacing of two inches apart for the carrots. I skipped two slots for the onions to planted six inches apart.

This bed I gave the number 1. This bed has the following layers:
cardboard
aged chicken manure
grass clippings
dead leaves
ashes
last year's garden soil
wood shavings
bone meal

I planted a mixture of onions and carrots. I will start the sage indoors and transplant outside. Once the shoots come up in, roughly, two weeks, I will post it's progress along with any troubles I run into. I did become carried away with the carrot seeds. You are supposed to plant every two weeks, but as you can see in the picture I have very little seeds left over.

Close look of onion and carrot seeds look like.

Companion Planting Visual

My favorite Companion Planting Guide has been my original base for my companion planting. I have found more colorful graphs, but not as comprehensive as this chart. I am a visual person. For this reason, I am going to compile pictures of what to plant during spring.

These pictures are by no means a comprehensive chart of companions, but a functional chart used for everyday purposes of planning seasonal gardens.

Broccoli Companions

Broccoli Companions:
Rosemary
Thyme
Dill
Spinach
Lettuce
Marjoram



I ran across another Companion Planting Guide. Although it is not as comprehensive, I enjoy the color coding for which companions are most beneficial together to ward off insects.

Bug Control

Spring Bug Control:
Spinach
Cilantro (also known as Coriander)

This is by no means a comprehensive Spring Planting List, but here is what it looks like:
Waning Moon

Carrots

Onions

Potatoes

Beets 

Waxing Moon

Celery

Lettuce

Spinach

Kale

Cabbage

Peas
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts

Below Ground Companions

Below Ground Companions:

Carrots

Onions

Beets

Sunflowers vs. Squirrels

Beautiful Sunflowers

Sunflower hedge

Had you known me before 2011, you knew I thought squirrels were adorable. We had one side of our house with no plants to protect it from the afternoon sun. I planted sunflowers straight into the NC soil. Boy did they grow!!! They had huge heads and I had a ton of sunflower seeds. I read you were to harvest the seeds by covering the heads with paper bags......the heads were too big to fit into the lunch size paper bags so I tossed them up on my back deck. Next morning I discovered a squirrel eating sunflower seeds and I thought it was so adorable!!!!

I ended up sweeping the deck of all the sunflower shells the squirrel left behind. I decided the next year to plant the sunflowers in a circle. They grew tall with beautiful heads......one day, I looked out and two sunflower heads were snapped clean off. I did not understand. The next day I glanced out and caught a squirrel jumping from the tree above unto the top of the sunflower head. Being too heavy for the sunflower head, the squirrel snapped the head right off. I still didn't despise Squirrels.

It wasn't until I discovered where all my juicy plums were disappearing to did I detest the squirrels. Originally, we had blamed the deer. One day I discovered a squirrel merrily taking a bite out of each plum.

Lessons I've learned with sunflowers:
Don't plant near tree branches
The heads grow heavy and will eventually droop to one side due to the weight.

circle of sunfowers

My Favorite Resources

I remember purchasing my first homestead book, when I was 12. Country Wisdom & Know How

Made Life simpler

First purchase

  It is still my favorite resource by far. Has addresses after each section to order (before computers were really taking off). You can find most of them have websites.

The book covered the basics of gardening, livestock, and home maintenance. There are recipes and plans. Just a great general book. I used to read it and dream of my own place.

My second purchase was specifically for gardening. This was another all-around book for gardening. So much info and practical tips I incorporated.

I am now impatiently awaiting my third purchase in 13 years. I cannot wait to see what this book holds. I don't have many resources at my fingertips, but I make sure it is something I can use continually over the years.