Culling

The indoor plant rack is still suffering from the attack of the spider mites. There are tiny webs on nearly everything including the lantana, pineapple sage, and especially the brugs. One day this coming week, I need to take everything to the shower and give them a good bath. A jet of water should remove most of the mites and their webs. Spring can't get here soon enough for my Honeycomb cuttings. Only two have survived the winter, slowly turning yellow and dying under lights. I took cuttings from the largest to see if they can root in the cloner. Stressed plants don't usually fare too well.

I culled a bunch of things this morning including my 5 largest pineapple sage plants. I had stuck them last fall in terrible soil. I'm surprised they made it this far. I used the tops to stick more cuttings in the cloner. I've got another 12 and plenty of seeds. I'm not worried. It had to be done to make room for the plants that have rooted and need to be potted soon.

Valuable real estate has been gained on two shelves.



The cloner is getting used again.



Last night, I arrived home from work to find that my parents had made an unscheduled visit. They were supposed to bring this up on Thursday. It burns better than my wood. I'll move some inside today and maybe split some of the larger pieces if I have time.



On the agenda today: Move the compost bin to a less visible area behind the dead oak tree. Rake and shred all the leaves in the meadow. I'll scatter the finely chopped pieces back over the area. The large leaves are making it difficult for the warm sun to reach the soil. It should warm up quickly beginning next week. I'd like to see it dry out a bit as well. The perennial bed needs the same treatment, but there is still snow on those leaves this morning, although less than yesterday.

I'm only on my third cup of coffee. It's 28 degrees and sunny. The overnight low was 25. By Friday, we should be back to more normal February temperatures. I hope.

10:37am - The compost bin has been moved to behind the tree trunk.



The pitchfork didn't survive the move.



The hoophouse has lots of moisture on the plastic. That's a good sign that things inside are warming up again.



On the North side of the house, there's still plenty of snow.



The ground here is frozen solid. It's been a hard winter with no sunshine on this soil. It will be June before the soil is really warm again.



It's 36 degrees. Still sunny. Heading outside to rake some leaves if the ground isn't too wet from thawing.

12:53pm - It feels good to be working outside again. It's only 41 degrees, a heatwave!

A better shot of the compost bin's new location.



I dig a lot of digging this morning for enough rocks to finish the shrub island's edging. Everywhere I put my mattock, there was another pile of stone. The Farmers Almanac suggested today would be a good day to dig.



Two large stones in the gully need to find their way into the yard. If only I could levitate them. I'm going to wait for help on these.



I finished the edging on the shrub border. It took 6 wheelbarrow loads of stone.



And I raked the leaves off the meadow. I might wait a few days before putting them back. The ground is soaked.



Lunch - Leftover ziti that Carla made and a store bought pizza.

I turn my back for one day...

I kept telling myself to water the basement plants yesterday. I thought about it almost every time I walked down the stairs. It was so nice I ignored the nagging voice in my head and spent the day outside. They'll spring back. I hope.



In the cloner, there are lots of plants that need potting. Maybe I'll get to it today. Maybe tomorrow.



It's 43 degrees, the high for today. The wind has died down. Tonight, we'll drop to the mid 20s. The chance of wintry precipitation forecast for Saturday is gone. As soon as the sun tops the trees out back, it'll be sunny and cool.

Only 100 days til spring. Or 2410 hours. That's like two weeks.

Honeycomb, honeycomb

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

When I was a kid, I'd hear that jingle every time I sat down to watch my Saturday morning cartoons. It was a breakfast cereal. Yesterday, one of my customers brought me a different kind of Honeycomb.



I put 6 cuttings in the cloner on my lunch break. The rest are in water along with the Salvia leucantha branches she brought too. I'll stick some in the cloner and the others in soil. I'm not sure which method will net me the best results as I've not grown Mexican sage before. I do know that fresh new growth from butterfly bushes stuck just over a week ago are already rooting in the cloner. I'm really excited to add both of these plants to my gardens.

It's 39 degrees and slightly hazy this morning. I'm going to spend a little time in the basement rearranging my plant rack. I've mailed out a few cuttings to people already. I need to get a few more ready to go after Thanksgiving. Everything needs to be watered again. The wood heater is drying things out quickly. The pineapple sage cuttings are trying to bloom again.

I also need to get my hoophouse beds ready. I need to cut the rebar and drill the holes in the two small raised beds. Lots of things to do today. But first, coffee.

10:21am - Repotted some of the brugs. A few of the cuttings have wilted and died with no roots formed. I've still got lots left.

The butterfly bushes I stuck last week are rooting.



I stuck 12 cuttings of Honeycomb in soil. I have 6 others in the cloner. I stuck 3 cuttings of S. leucantha in the cloner and another 6 in soil. I'm using 6-pack trays and gallon sized ziplock bags. The medium is half peat and half perlite. I finally broke down and bought a bag of perlite last week. It makes the medium fluffy rather than hard packed. I like this stuff.

Heading back downstairs to cut the rebar for my two smaller raised beds. 3.5 hours til work. It's 50 degrees.

The Nursery

While I was loading empty greenhouse racks into a truck today, I spied something out back of the store. We get these things from time to time for displays. Someone usually claims them and when they're emptied, you have a day to pick them up or they are tossed into the garbage. This one was claimed by the woman I replaced three weeks ago. How it managed not to find its way into the dumpster is beyond me. But there it was. As soon as I returned from lunch, I inquired as to whether it was claimed. My manager told me to take it tonight. He was supposed to have someone dump it this week.

So, low and behold, I have a new rack for my seedlings and plants. I can get them out of the hoophouse and have more room for my seeds. 10x20 trays fit perfectly with six to a shelf. Three shelves means 18 trays. I can fit 12-14 cups per tray. Next year, I'll turn the entire thing into a mini greenhouse and use it to wintersow my annuals. I have another shorter one already in the garage, but it holds all my gardening junk. There are two more in the store right now. In a couple weeks, they'll be emptied. I might try to get another, just in case I sow more seeds than I can possibly use.

I think it's time to start thinking about a plant sale next spring.



The shelves are adjustable. Right now, it's attached to a pallet. If I remove that, I can lower the bottom shelf and give the plants more room. A few pieces of wood across the top can support whatever I find to cover it in case of frost, which is looking less and less likely with each passing day.