LysmachiaMoon's blog: Snow Day!

Heavy snow here this morning, it's really coming down, I think maybe an inch an hour. We're supposed to have a total of about 6 inches, then windy blizzard conditions later today and into tomorrow. I'm staying indoors! I need to get out there to feed the hens and fill the bird feeders, but otherwise, I'm snowbound. This will be a good day to get those cauliflower and brussel sprouts seedlings pricked out and potted on into individual little pots.
The tray of red beets I sowed about 5 days ago are up and growing like crazy! I've got them under the lites. I think this may be a good way for me to grow beets. I'll let them get some growth on them, then pop them into the veg as "plugs", with each plug having a few plants. Beets usually mature at different rates, so this way I'll have a succession of harvests without having to thin the beets because each small cluster will be spaced a few inches apart.
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Although it looks like the Arctic here today, the past week has actually been springlike. I got a lot done, in addition to getting that mess of dead pines cleaned up. I spent a few hours digging out blackberry whips in the newest part of the garden, up beyond the Asian Garden. I cleared that area last winter and popped in some shrubs last spring. It looks pretty good. The blackberries that came back are very thin (but the roots are big), so this second going-over digging out the roots, etc. will definitely knock them back. Also dug out a lot of Japanese honeysuckle and removed the vines. I absolutely delight in the scent of J. honeysuckle in the summer, but it is an invasive and can smother and kill just about anything inside of a year. I don't want to eradicate it but I do need to remove a lot of it.

Once I got the area cleaned up, I planted those two apple trees that I bought on deep discount ($7 each! regularly $30 each!) last fall. Very nice big trees, about 6 feet tall, but I was disappointed in the root balls, which seemed a bit small. Got them in and watered; this snow should do them a lot of good getting established, but I'm worried about the forecast of high winds. They are in a sheltered spot but I won't be surprised if I find them leaning over. If so, I'll stake them (I rarely stake trees unless they are very "whippy" and in an exposed spot. A slight bit of movement actually encourages stronger root growth as the young tree tries to "keep on its feet.")
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Speaking of which: one of the things I like most about horticulture and gardening is that there is constant research going on determining the best ways to do things. A lot of what I had been taught as "best practice" years ago has been proved wrong and better ways of doing things have been discovered. For instance, I was always taught that "digging over" the garden every spring was the only way to have good results. It was back breaking work, but I religiously dug over every veg bed every year. Now, research has proved that it's better NOT to disturb the soil structure like that. There's two paths: for veg gardens, it MAY be necessary to dig over if you have very compacted or heavy clay soil, for a year or two, as you work in amendments (compost, sand, etc.). After that, the key is an application of organic mulch every year, which will break down and be incorporated into the soil. With flower beds/borders, killing off the existing vegetation (either with smothering or spraying), then planting directly into the soil should be enough.

It took me several years to get my veg beds "loosened up" enough to do the no-dig route, but now I'm very glad of it. I have very heavy clay and it's a joy not to have to dig over the veg! A couple of the beds with the worst soil still need a bit of digging to get more compost into them (otherwise the clay forms big clods and compacts together), but all the other beds have been producing very well with just a hoeing and raking before planting.
The key to the no-dig method is (1) mulch and (2) only dig a hole when you are planting or removing a plant.
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One of the stars of the garden this spring is a nice clump of Dutch Iris that I planted in the Dry Garden several years ago. The original little handful of bulbs has multiplied and now I have a lovely big "bouquet" of flowers! It's a good spot for Dutch Iris, tucked into a wide crevice between two gigantic slabs of native limestone and mulched with gravel.

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