Portland Area Gardening!

remember the little citrus meyeri that could?

here it is about 17 months ago, just a growth shoot poking out of the soil on an otherwise barren plant...



well, that gal is about to give me some citrus. here are some shots of her:



some of the older leaves are yellowing because of temperature swings. this plant is good to 30 degrees, and we have had a few nights below that so far. but this plant hates temperature swings even more. those cold nights have been often followed by warm days.

i'm guessing about a month on these meyeris, which are a hybrid combination of lemon and orange from what i have been told.

remember when that little japanese maple seedling i found while weeding under a japanese maple last year?

here it was about 17-18 months ago, cotyledon and all:



and she has grown mightily. i will actually have to top and prune this little tree this year. as always, trees like this guy and the citrus meyeri get transplanted to a larger container in the spring every year.

2013 gardening has begun!

went out today and bought some amending soil to make my blueberry and strawberry patch more acidic. picked up some ferts, too but i won't be laying those down until the ides of march.

also picked up some improved edible pod sugar snap pole pea seeds.

i weeded the blueberry and future strawberry patches, pulled out all the broccoli and cauliflower stems, raked the soil over the best i could, laid down the soil amendment, and fenced it off from the chickens and ducks.

then i sectioned off the back of the greenhouse, dug up my old strawberry patch, and transplanted to the crowns into containers. i used soil from previous indoor grows that i had laying around in the greenhouse and watered them in. they should start to foliate a little earlier than if they were sitting out in the cold. i'll transplant them on the ides of march when i plant my other crops.

i couldn't till, so i just dug up and raked over the rest of the patch around the strawberries where my early season crops will go. i'll heap on some compost tomorrow and let it cook in before i plant there in two months.

i also cleared the back fence of all of last years bean stalks and am going to plant the peas in a few days when the soil unfreezes to see if i can't get some super early peas this year.

next task is around valentine's day, when i prune back all the trees, rose bushes, blueberry bushes, and whatever else is around.

then the season starts in earnest on the ides of march. that's when the radishes, lettuce, onions, and potatoes get planted. i'll also plant some more blueberries and strawberries.

i can't hardly wait!

well, i couldn't wait.

the strawberries refoliated nicely in the GH, so i planted them today.

tilled out the GH and planted a shitload of early season stuff (since i won't be planting the cannabis in there until late june). planted radishes, kale, romaine lettuce, head lettuce, chard, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and spinach.

then i planted my sweet walla walla onions and fenced them off.

i built a makeshift retaining wall the other day, made a raised bed using soil from indoor grows, and amended with potash. planted the potatoes today: yukon gold, german butterball, and all blues.

then i pulled all of last years corn and sunflower stumps and tilled it all out. will be rotating this year and putting squash where the corn went.

the super sugar snap improved edible pod pole peas will have to wait to be planted until i can till once more and pull my neighbor's weeds on the other side of the fence.

now the wait is on for mid april, when we plant flowers, carrots, beets, and start all the late season seeds in the GH to get an early jump on things.

i worked until it got dark, pics to follow tomorrow.

just some shots from the garden.

corn has been planted but is not up yet, carrots and beets are just barely out of the ground, potatoes have had to be buried twice already in straw.

my two smallest chickens, who can easily jump over 6 foot fences if they want to, are in chicken prison. they destroyed about 20% of my planted corn. they will serve their time in chicken prison until the corn germinates.

enjoy.