Morning all!
I overdid the dahlias yesterday and have only 48 left to get in the ground. Screwed up my staking so I lost one of my few long rows but I'll just deal with it and see what I can do squishing plants here and there.
I was going to head out right about now but we are to have some heavier storms soon enough according to accu, so I may just get dressed and haul the rest of the dahlias out and site them in and make sure I've enough room for them and my dumb spacing mistake.
My soil amending I'm so proud of. Usually the dirt in the dahlia bed is hella terrible. My soil super sandy and you dig a hole and it fills right back in type(don't ask what I fear under my house!). Well I'm happy to report the soil is now black and dark and just holding moisture in and looks good. And the worms! I finally have worms! They like the rabbit poo!
I did get the seedlings in and hope they perk back up nicely! They were stressed out and wiry and kind of all over the place. I'm hoping they'll straighten up with sunshine on them, in the dirt, with straw and fertilizer. I lost two of them, that's fine, I have two batches with maybe 8-10 siblings so will see what comes from them.
This year unsure how all of this will do. I guess soon enough I'll see what takes off if at all. I am hopeful they'll all bloom heavily. I'll also be putting 12 2023 seedlings in the ground that didn't bloom last year. The reason there are 12 is it's really 6 that hadn't bloomed but I planted two of each to see what I have. Either they'll be great or they'll be sketchy.
Well, I should grab my second cuppa and get dressed and at least go get those last pots sited and make sure there is room for my mess up. Then I'll work on the hose switch and start to snake that in place. I'll need the hubs to help get it in place on the faucet. I've been having him tighten things up for me so it doesn't leak.
And then once the dahlias are done I still have annuals to get in the ground by the dahlias. Good news is it should hopefully go quickly once I take time.
I'll be glad to have it all growing and glowing!
Need to find my garden mojo. Yesterday I got nothing really done except sorting the dahlias by height on the porch. My excitement over the last few days has been low in regards to the garden, the date in the calendar, the amount of stuff that needs to be done and moving forward. Throw in trying to get to all these graduations, dealing w my mom, making sure 4h projects are underway … I cry UNCLE!
Too much and feeling overwhelmed.
So I hope after I get my second cuppa in, and the light emerges, to head back out to the porch and get the dahlias into their rows and ready for transport to the bed. And maybe if the rain holds off I'll get those stakes in. Still haven't found a tape measure to help me out as kid2 has absconded with all of mine. He has this uncanny knack for taking all my tools that I plan to use. It never fails. I may see them on Monday with plans to use on Wednesday and they are now gone. Like my blue tape. He used half a roll on a stupid box for recycle and now I need to buy another roll so I can paint. Never asks, just has a project in mind and mom has the supplies somewhere and what's mine is his.
Anywho, I'm hoping to keep moving if get this plant out done and happily growing.
Time to see what the gardens can do and spring forward.
Happy day to you all. Stay safe with the future weather today.
Hah!
Totally not gardening - but why are lemon bars so dang good and so dang spring?!
I made a pan to go with dinner - pork chops and asparagus. I think it sounds springlike and may throw some potatoes on board as well.
As for the garden: well I'm not on board today. I've been trying not to cry today - one of those days where everything is apparent and I feel I've no control in any situation including the garden! I've got a few things done, but largely have not done much.
Got the potting cleanup done but have not washed the containers or stored them, but the soil and extra pots away, the chair away; that type of stuff. I then moved 3 wheelbarrows of compost to the front lawn. The hubs wants to reseed and I finally convinced him to try it through compost. Will see if that works. Long ago street construction and poor soil put back in place. Throw in salt, winter etc it needs some love. But my back said … lift another forkful honey and I promise you won't be able to plant for days. So I stopped.
At least I got some out there for the hubs to use and they can figure how to do it themselves for the rest.
I still need to sort my tuber pots and I still need to drive my stakes. I just don't have dahlia mojo today. And why do the planting when the heart isn't in it. Plus it's hot and humid out for being overcast and May. Yuck.
I may head out and do the sort. I need to get a bunch of indoor stuff started anyway, maybe while it starts I can sort.
Do any of you suffer from mid plant out plant out? Totally suffering from that! I don't know it's just that I'm tired or too much of life is in my way and clouds my day. I wish it would shake and having the rain off in the distance is driving me nutty like can I or can't I plant, is the bed too wet to work in from overnight, or should I not be handling metal posts if there is lightning in the area? See all sorts of things! It's probably more just lack of good mojo and a desire to not do a damn thing.
My irises are just starting to bloom. Beautiful! I wish they had a longer bloom time and more stalks in each plant. They don't in my neighborhood.
I guess I should get the indoor stuff further along and maybe it will allow me to go to the porch and sort. And maybe kid2 will help me set posts. And maybe just maybe my outlook looks much better than it does right at present.
Today is Saturday. Today I hope to get closer to getting the dahlias in the ground. Except today I will probably be found in the south bed weeding and planting and throwing compost. Then move to the dahlia bed and work on the weeds at the perimeter mixed w the iris. Really I would love just a bed of iris but this isn't the yard for that. Too small and my kid2 and hubs both prefer grass to mow.
I have not even gotten my dahlia porch sort done. I had thought maybe when I got home last night, but that was a no. I was just tired.
Maybe today's work will be lighter than I think and I can start getting all the stuff into the dahlia bed. That will be good. I'm ready for some good growing!
My limited thoughts on the dahlias if IF I get that far, would be putting the lead stakes in, getting the hose ready to drop in place and the dahlias in order by row. Not sure I'll get that far and not sure my body will be accepting of demand today. But I'll try and see where it takes me.
Hope everyone is well and hope your garden spaces are starting to look good and full!
It's been pouring since I got up at 245ish. We need the rain, I delighted in its smell! Then the sound when it became more of a gulley washer a few times. Except round these parts gulleys are coulees and so you know, I have my moms colloquialism going on. She's from Iowa.
Yesterday was a lot of work, so I'm kind of glad with the rain today as I'm taking some rest. With my tasks yesterday I need it!
I finally got 8 dahlias planted - shorties only 24-36" varieties unless the new ones are mismarked. But I won't worry about that now. So far they are all 10" or less, I brought them right up to the milkweed that self planted right at the front edge of my bed. I then threw finished compost all around that whole bed both sides. I got the skinny south planted and mulched w the compost. Soaked both areas twice yesterday. Got home from clinic and grabbed the pails of rabbit poo and loaded the garden boxes with it and then the trenches of the iris box, came back to the garden box's and planted the cukes and got its trellis in place. And then watered knowing that it might rain today, the plants were thirsty. The robins were swimming in the sprinkler drops - ok divebombing and almost back stroking if birds swam. It was fun times in my garden for the fauna. So a lot got done.
I know I primarily use this to write and keep track of my seedlings but I've been busy in the gardens and beds and I'll babble on such. And a day off is good. Tomorrow will be the same. And then I can plant through Tuesday less a doctors appt and hope I can finish up Monday. But that's asking a lot of my dahlia gumption and piriformis!
Today I brought up the two flats of annuals and the remaining 42 dahlia pots. Got them on the porch and gave everything a good water. They are jonesin for the earth I think. Soon little guys!
Then I went out and took notes on my iris areas. I have a lot of tall bearded and in my newlywed state of feathering a nest, didn't realize keeping the names with them would be a help in the future and so I have a whole bunch with no names. In fact I'd say 3/4 of my iris are without their names. Grrr. I have since learned and now keep the names somewhere with them. I do hope the NOID people can help me out. I have 36 NOIDS in my box, 40 in the south bed and two more beds with a ton in them as well plus all the ones that I have a name for but that vendor sent me a lot of mislabels on those few that have already bloomed. And I don't have legs to complain because it's been 3-4 years and they haven't bloomed yet. Some of them were very small and finally have gotten to normalish size and others sank in my soil and didn't have sunshine on their feet. Yay sand.
So I've been busy and taking a day off isn't too bad and it gives my body a bit of a break. And also allows me think a bit more.
I do need to make my dahlia hangtags w their names. I have the saved ones from last year but new dahlias, more dahlias etc. I guess I can work on that now. Or do dishes. Nope I think I'll work on the tags. 
Enjoy your green spaces! Time to get mine finished up and growing!
