Butterfly Junction

I don't know what else to say.

Okay, here is my SFG status report for the start of the 2018 season:

My first surprise upon inspecting the Salad Bar was the tromboncino squash plant from last year, trying to make a comeback. Can you believe it? There's new growth all along its main stem. Should I cut off most of it to help focus its energy or let it do its own thing?

My next surprise was an ugly old snow white cherry tomato, still hanging from last fall. I took a bite, just for grins, and it was awesome! Then I went looking for more and found these. Can you believe I'm having tomatoes from the garden in January/February? 


Sugar Snap peas are doing great -- in and out of their jars. One plant has at least 4 peas on it, but they don't get nearly as plump as the later ones. Still delicious, though.


Carrots, Daikons, and kale are all doing great.

Yum!  I would cut the squash down so it can focus.  I am loving your garden!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yum!  I would cut the squash down so it can focus.  I am loving your garden!

Done!

countrynaturals wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yum!  I would cut the squash down so it can focus.  I am loving your garden!

Done!

Died! 

JACKPOT! 2 years ago Hubby built a huge extension on the chicken coop, for the rescues that couldn't be free-range like the others. That area is like an aviary, with trees and dirt. Last night I had to shoo the ladies back into the main coop. When I walked across the back, I almost bounced. That dirt/hay/leaves/poo/food/etc. had turned into the most perfect compost imaginable. AND THERE'S A TON OF IT! 

My biggest garden problem has been dirt. What we have here only grows rocks. I've spent hundreds of dollars on store-bought soil, with mediocre results. I used leaves and chips to stretch my purchases, but all that did was decompose and shrink until my beds are all down about 8". This year's compost bed, plus the mother-load I found in the chicken yard, will give me the richest soil imaginable for my spring planting. I * AM * A * HAPPY * CAMPER! So, who wants to come help me move all that compost? Hmm?

Here's a closeup:


Here's the long view, so you can see how much I have. (Eat your hearts out. )


Here's a sunflower plant, happily growing in this rich medium, behind a chair where the chickens haven't found it, yet. Looks like I'll have a flower by next week.

I've been in a panic for the past 3 days. 5 of my 11 asparagus plants started coming back, then nothing! I've been pacing and wringing my hands, but it didn't help. 5 asparagus plants would never yield a meal. This morning I was going to try tears, but it wasn't necessary. 9 of 11 are now "spearing."  LIFE IS GOOD!

This pic was from a few days ago. I'll post another one when they're really impressive.

Patience, Little Grasshopper.

sanderson wrote:Patience, Little Grasshopper.

And another thing -- I put a makeshift fence around them, to keep the chickens out. The plants were all properly spaced, 2 rows, with plenty of room in the middle to spread. Doncha know, they're all sprouting out, so I had to redo the whole fence, and there's still a gaping hole in the middle, with nothing growing there.

YEE-HAH! All 11 asparagus plants survived the "winter".   I think I'll treat them all to another snack of compost.

10 more days of real winter -- cold, rain, maybe snow, and wind.   I'm going to plant melon seeds inside and hibernate.

Melons!  Love ‘em!

Countrynaturals, I'm impressed (and a bit envious).

farmersgranddaughter wrote:Countrynaturals, I'm impressed (and a bit envious).

Thanks FarmersGD. We got soooo lucky when we found this property. It took 2 years of looking, but it was well worth it. The Salad Bar is kind of a peace offering from Hubby, who absolutely refuses to control his free-range chickens. 

I agree about the melons, Scorpio. I'm gonna plant twice as many as last year. Hopefully, with my much improved soil quality, I'll get a better yield. Last year was very disappointing. 

CHRISTMAS IN MARCH! I bought 2 99-cent poinsettias for Christmas. I do it every year for decorating, then use the dirt and pots for gardening later on. This year, they're still as pretty as they were in Dec.   (This has never happened before.)

So pretty!  I got one from church, and it too is still lovely!  A splash of color!

Scorpio Rising wrote:So pretty!  I got one from church, and it too is still lovely!  A splash of color!

Have yours ever lasted this long, before? I wonder if they're doing something different or they've come up with some new longer-lasting variety. 

Yeah, I have actually over wintered one, it was a speckled variety that was new at the time...I have kept them alive.  They need to go dormant for a while, no water, light, etc if you want to keep them alive

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yeah, I have actually over wintered one, it was a speckled variety that was new at the time...I have kept them alive.  They need to go dormant for a while, no water, light, etc if you want to keep them alive

I tried it once, too, but they can't survive our extreme summer heat outside. These 2 are so pretty, I think I'll make house plants out of them for a little while. I looked up the poisonous factor and it said that it's greatly exaggerated, but I still won't compost when the time comes. I'll just dispose of the plants, compost the dirt, and save the pots.

Do the cats have access to the poinsettias?

sanderson wrote:Do the cats have access to the poinsettias?

They aren't supposed to, but I found one sleeping on my seedlings a couple of weeks ago. I was fuming for days. Anyway, the seedlings were closed to the poinsettias, but he didn't pay any attention to them. I looked it up and found this:

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/poinsettia/

I won't compost the plants, but I'm not worried about the cats chewing on them in the house. It's not something they do.