Showing posts with label Garden clean up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden clean up. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Midwest Gardening 2025---Projects and Late March Spring

Ad-Free Blog
You know I crabbed about critters and bunnies last year, and last Fall I dug out our well plot of the 30+ year old Day Lilies...sifting the dirt and getting MOST of the roots out. We splurged and planted purchased Tulips, some transplanted Daffodils and lots Iris I got from a friend. Then the plot was covered with leaves, and we laid heavy plastic fencing over the whole thing and rocks everywhere to keep the edges down. 

Lo and Behold, there was a softball size hole in the fence last week, so that is why we built walls to try again.

oldnewgreenredo

Besides the hole, I very quickly saw the mesh of the fencing wasn't big enough for the sprouts coming up. So, I pulled it all up, replaced more leaves on my bulbs' growth and fenced the whole area in. We don't through anything away, so some fenceposts were new or used, and some really old. The blocks are holding the edge of the fencing down, and so far no critters have bridged my little plot of Spring bulbs.

oldnewgreenredo

The big black pot is currently covering our well, the saucer is balanced against a trellis for the Clematis. Here and there you can see the Tulips and Daffys unfurling. I heaped more leaves in here afte the photo as our night temps are still below freezing.

oldnewgreenredo

Honestly I can't wait....winter has been dreary here. 

TIP: I leave all the flower beds covered in leaves and old blooming stalks until it is warm enough to support the bees and helpful insects that are so necessary for polinations. I do clean up stairs, concrete, walkways and anywhere else that just leaves congregate in winter.

oldnewgreenredo

This is the extra stuff stored in the greenhouse I just had to pitch out for the moment.

oldnewgreenredo

I was so ill last Fall, the last of the garden pickup didn't get done, and Hubby was also dealing his friends illness, death, and then estate. 

oldnewgreenredo

 Literally the weed cloth is still down, and you can see the veggie garden really needs a clean up!

oldnewgreenredo

Moving around the yard...we had a DRY winter, very little snow--but we did have a lot of rain late last Fall. 

Everything is dry right now, we need rain.

oldnewgreenredo

How about the precision drilling on this branch...these holes are all @ 1" apart. Made me smile! The birds hard at work. This is the reason we have cement panel siding on the house...lots of Woodpeckers...LOL.

oldnewgreenredo

This is a LIME Heuchera or Coral Bells trying to come up in a patch of sun in our shady back yard. I covered it deeply with extra leaves after grabbing this shot.

oldnewgreenredo

I call this my squirrel feeder, supposedly a bird feeder four feet off the ground, LOL! Let's call it a dog, raccoon, possum feeder. Grins.
I'm going to put a vine plant in here, a good excuse to buy a different new plant.

oldnewgreenredo

The birdhouses along the fence are favorites of our little sparrows...and occasionally nuthatches.

oldnewgreenredo

I have so many Iris and new perennials planted here last year, I do hope everything made it. 

oldnewgreenredo

This was our crazy bush sunflowers that grew 10 feet high...I left the branches in the lax cleanup---and they have been filled with birds picking at the seeds all winter.

oldnewgreenredo

I'll pay for not getting this wreathe area cleaned up---that wreath had sweet peas on it. Planted some 40 years ago from a package of seeds. They are all pale pink now---but I bought another mixed colors package to start some near the veggie garden for pollinators.

oldnewgreenredo

The pond is always so sad this time of year. The fisher kids are all dark and cruddy, when the sun hits them they will brighten up. Everything needs new stain and paint this year. A whole year's worth of projects for sure.

oldnewgreenredo

My only actual SPRING blooms, a couple of crocus-peeking up-so dry-and skinny.

oldnewgreenredo

I couldn't stand the lack of color so I jammed a 90% off tulip bush from Michaels in a pot.. along with some fake grass plants I've had for ages. 

oldnewgreenredo

Our Barberry Bush on the left seems to be the only severe winter damage. This is the south side of the house and under an eave. We water heavily during the green months, but clearly it isn't happy. I will trim is out and see if it survives. It's sister looks great they were planted at the same time. Iris and Daffodils are coming up here.



oldnewgreenredo

In the same bed, My Giant Sedum. I call them bushes as they get huge. Amazing how they start like teesny rosebuds.

oldnewgreenredo

This is where I have tried to clean up in years past and bees flew out of the debris...so now I leave it messy and alone. (Besides I'm deathly allergic to bee stings)

oldnewgreenredo

Another OLDNEWGREENREDO project??? This won't fit in the rock bed because the legs bow out front and back...DARN. It will land on the front porch. Everyone needs a six foot long planting bench? Maybe.

oldnewgreenredo

Out on our Mound (now a flat mound) by the street, lots of Daffys and Tulips should come up.  Our Evergreen bushes don't look very happy, they need water. We can't water yet as our exterior faucets may still freeze and hoses burst if water freezes in them.

oldnewgreenredo

Up by the porch I plopped another fauxTulip bush and some faux Grass, it really does help a bit.

oldnewgreenredo

PS our gray carpet on the porch pavement is fading to pink from gray. Oh Dear, in one year, pinkish really doesn't go with a yellow, brown red house? 


oldnewgreenredo

We need rain......and the kids need new poles again...they blow away 
to WHERE?
Happy March Chicagoland Spring! 

What's BLOOMING in 
YOUR NECK
of the WOODS??




All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown.  








 

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Midwest Gardening 2024: Last of the Garden!

 Ad-Free Blog

Quick Post this morning!

Sunday, my son and family came to help us with the yard. We got the backyard pretty well cleaned up and the Caladium and Dahlia bulbs dug up to store. All the smaller pots cleaned and emptied and stored. Most of the dirt from the pots went into the bin in the greenhouse, and the pots that I use to start things are there also. 

Since I still can't bend over or exert more than 10# lifting or pushing, my D-in Love dug up all the beets and Carrots and Parsnips.  I knew they would be pretty good if slugs didn't get at them. All the greens have been rich and lustrous.

I made Beet Soup in August when I did the last thinning and had lots of small beets, and the soup was delicious.



The Carrot patch was going to be a mystery, because when I thinned twice they were very tiny.

I watered heavily two days before, so they came up pretty easy except for the really long parsnips.



Here is what I planted last Spring. Dates I have are 5/16-18 into the ground. This was the last area of the garden to be planted besides transplanting peppers and tomatoes.


Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Parsnips...
wait unti you see. 


New variety I tried, Danver by Ferry Morris. Normally I do Chantenay but they are really small. The Danvers An incredibly sweet, stubby, carrot for mass planting.


I tried this blend, thinking of roasted carrots for the Holidays.


I tried a bit of old seeds ..these are Faxil Rainbow Carrots. All the areas of carrots came up thick!

I planted two kinds of beets...


Detroit Beets are the workhorse of home gardens. We always get beets from them, but the critters and bugs loved them too. So this year I planted all my roots in semi-shade in a different area.


This is roughly a Gallon of Beets. YUM and all a pretty nice size. I will get maybe two jars of small beets for pickled beets.

The others were those tape strips-not sharing the package (Burpee)---which performed Very poorly...compared to everything else---and only 6" away from all the wonderful beets and carrots we did GET!

Here's Our Haul!


Lots of CARROTS, there are some other small carrots in here besides the Danvers. 
We sorted according to size. My D-in-Love took a big bag of everything home. These photos are after she got paid in produce...lol.
This bowl is  18" wide for scale! 


These are our large Carrots and Parsnips.

This is a HUGE Bowl -18 inches, 
WOW!


We did a hose scrub. I'm storing them like this in our porch fridge, instead of scrubbing them so clean they spoil fast. I can always scrub them before cooking.

I have lots of recipe's planned. 

I'm a little disappointed that there weren't more of the different colors, and it is hard to tell which are parsnips and which are carrots. But, we love both so it won't matter when they are being eaten.

This is the area that I blocked off with fine mesh over our normal fencing.

 Clearly the bunnies didn't get in here....

YAY! 

HOW WAS YOUR HARVEST?

If You enjoyed this post please FOLLOW IT in the upper right hand corner, to get just one email of each AD-Free post.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.


Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question. Please don't use my photos without my permission.
 Sandi Magle

OldNewGreenRedo