Re: Butterfly Junction

countrynaturals on 3/12/2020, 1:07 pm

@countrynaturals wrote:April 9, 2019 -- 1st butterfly sighting -- Painted Lady. Boy, these early ones are fast.

Okay, here's what it's really supposed to look like:

WOW! Almost a month earlier this year. I saw a cabbage white and a pipevine swallowtail, yesterday. Cool

countrynaturals on 3/12/2020, 3:08 pm

@countrynaturals wrote:
@countrynaturals wrote:Huge garden expansion in progress. I'm planting the Rescue Garden in a combination of containers and BTE. Went to my favorite nursery and scored HUGE! They had 11 asparagus plants that didn't sell last year so they potted them up in 1 gal. pots. They wanted them gone so they let me have them for $6 each! These are now 3rd year plants, already producing spears. I can't believe I could get that lucky, to have a 2 year head start on an asparagus bed.

My next lucky break was strawberries. I have always bought them mail-order and got puny little twigs with a couple of half-dead leaves on them. I'd try to nurse them back to life and always figure on losing half (last year they all died). These babies were only $6.50 a dozen and they're HUGE -- already blooming! All 24 are happy today. I cut the bottoms out of the 1 gal. pots and put them around the bed as a chicken-barrier. I think I'll plant marigolds in them.

The tree trimmers came last week and left me a beautiful new pile of wood chips from our own trees. I still have plenty to use from last year, so this pile will be for 2018.

We have a huge pair of Century Plants (agave) which I hate, but the crazy thing bloomed last year and the skeleton of that blossom is pretty kewl so we had the trimmers take it down for us. We have a huge trunk from it -- don't know what we'll do with that -- and 2 pieces of the "blossom." They also cut down a rotten vine maple, right by the butterfly/greenhouse. Hubby got the brilliant idea to make the stump into the base of a plant table and put that blossom in the middle like an umbrella in a patio table. I probably won't get that until fall, with all his other projects ahead of, but I'm really excited about it. I will definitely be the only kid on the block with one of those. (The tabletop will be on top of the 3 stumps with the agave "tree" supported in the middle.)

Also, the trimmers showed me a whole bunch of "agave pups." They're baby agave plants that sell for $6 to $9. We have about a dozen of them. I don't like them anyway, so we will probably put an ad on Craigslist and see what we can get.

The asparagus bed seemed to survive the fire and get through the rest of the year okay, but there's still no sign of life there this year. Last year we had sprouts by the end of January. I'm not up to starting over on this project, so I'm just hoping it's getting a very late start for some reason.

Looks like at least a few of the strawberries made it. Too soon to tell about anything else. I won't be able to work out there until at least Monday, but all of next week looks good, weatherwise.

Timing is about the same for asparagus this year, but the spears are skinny for some reason. I was expecting nice fat ones, since I side dressed this bed with compost and fertilized with liquid bone meal. There are only 3-4 spears up so far, so I'll just leave them alone and wait for better things to come.

countrynaturals on 3/15/2020, 10:38 am

@countrynaturals wrote:
@countrynaturals wrote:
@sanderson wrote: It's so manageable!

Yeah -- that's it -- just the vibe I was going for! Actually, I may throw caution to the wind and plant a few artichoke seeds. I lost my 2nd year bed to the fire and they take so long to establish, that I need a head start. I still have one little plant that survived in a 1-quart pot -- amazing!

I'm giving up on artichokes. I just read that they like mild, damp weather -- not exactly our situation. Also, the one in the container -- tho still alive -- loses an old leaf for every new one it sprouts. Time to throw in the trowel!

I'm such a liar! I'm actually expanding my artichoke bed. I already have 4 plants doing well at Katie's. Now I'm planting seeds for another 6 plants over here in the pool area.

countrynaturals on 3/15/2020, 10:46 am

@countrynaturals wrote:Worst hail I've ever seen.
Here is the master bedroom balcony, with baby cabbage and baby pak choi in the containers.

Here is the kitchen balcony, with romaine in the planter boxes.

Yesterday's hail didn't do any damage here, and didn't last long, but it was so plentiful elsewhere, it made the evening news.

We have nothing but rain in our 10 day forecast, so the only gardening I'll be doing is seed-starting and trying to keep my little cart plants alive. Maybe I can sneak out to the balcony and pull a radish once in a while. I give up!

**AtlantaMarie** on 3/18/2020, 7:40 am

Oh, my.....

countrynaturals on 3/19/2020, 10:32 pm

California is now on lock-down. Shocked

ralitaco on 3/20/2020, 8:55 pm

@countrynaturals wrote:I'm such a liar! I'm actually expanding my artichoke bed. I already have 4 plants doing well at Katie's. Now I'm planting seeds for another 6 plants over here in the pool area.

countrynaturals on 3/22/2020, 6:34 pm

Finished the last of my seed-starting until the middle of April. Butterfly Junction - Page 38 43549

**sanderson** on 3/24/2020, 4:09 am

countrynaturals on 3/24/2020, 10:33 am

@sanderson wrote:

Thanks, S. This was my most ambitious spring start ever. I now have a cart-full of starts, 2 heat mats of seeds, plus 36 Jiffy Pellets of peas and radishes, a sprouting sweet potato, and winter crops producing on the balcony and Salad Bar. I also have a few struggling onions to transplant.

My only concern is the asparagus bed. I thought I had done everything right, but my early spears are too skinny to eat. This is a 4th year bed, so I was expecting a whole lot more. Hopefully, this is just their warm up act. thinking

countrynaturals on 4/7/2020, 9:26 pm

Okay, here we go 2020. This is the best start I've ever had, by a wide margin. It took 2 hours just to process the pics. I had to start a new folder for them.

I took the plant cart outside to stay, pulled most of the little guys out of it, and started organizing. Some of these babies are happy campers, but some are not. I think they'll all make it, however, and there's plenty of time to start over with any that don't.

Hot peppers -- several varieties. These will eventually go into planter bags and live under the kitchen balcony.

The Serrano pepper lived in the house all winter. It has 3 blossoms and 1 tiny pepper, already. I'm sure it will be a lot happier outside.

The Super Sweet 100 cherry tomato plant from last year already has some little green tomatoes. I took a cutting from this one that already produced one little tomato inside. It was delicious.

I also have a whole bunch of other tomatoes in various stages of development.

Time for dinner. More later. geek

**Kelejan** on 4/7/2020, 10:29 pm

Great start, CN. You are not going to starve this year.

**AtlantaMarie** on 4/8/2020, 8:20 am

Looks great, CN!

countrynaturals on 4/8/2020, 8:57 am

Thanks Kel & Marie. Would you believe it's gonna be too hot to garden by 1pm? Butterfly Junction - Page 38 671790

Thankfully, this is just a 1-day heatwave, so I should still be able to take my time and get everything in the ground at my own plodding pace. Rolling Eyes

Here is the stuff I plan on planting out, today.

Radishes on the balcony. Sugar Snap peas in the Salad Bar. None of my fall peas ever produced. Time to plant more seeds inside.

Mixed up onions. Some on the balcony -- others in containers at Katie's.

Parsley that nobody wants. I'll put it in a container and try to give it to son. Otherwise, it will be rabbit food or ornamental -- maybe both.

That's probably all I'll get done, today. More, tomorrow. Butterfly Junction - Page 38 1787710427

countrynaturals on 4/11/2020, 7:54 pm

Got the peas, radishes, and kale in, and the Linear SFG bed started, but ran out of time. Katie had me on a rock-painting Easter project. Hopefully, I'll get more done, tomorrow.

countrynaturals on 4/12/2020, 2:33 pm

THE JOKE'S ON ME! Embarassed

I planted a bunch of exotic stuff this year, including Zucchino Rampicante.

I've also been lamenting that I couldn't find Tromboncino squash, anywhere.

I just discovered THEY'RE THE SAME THING! "(Cucurbita moschata), an Italian heirloom zucchini also known as Zucchetta Rampicante or Tromboncino squash."

darn funny

The best part is that NOW I HAVE 4 OF THEM! Razz

countrynaturals on 4/22/2020, 2:11 pm

Still working on transplanting tomatoes and hot peppers. The peppers and some tomatoes are going in grow bags. Some other tomatoes are going in containers in the Salad Bar. The difference is that I can bring the grow bags in for summer and winter. The rest have to fend for themselves.

mollyhespra on 4/22/2020, 2:36 pm

@countrynaturals wrote:THE JOKE'S ON ME!

I planted a bunch of exotic stuff this year, including Zucchino Rampicante.

I've also been lamenting that I couldn't find Tromboncino squash, anywhere.

I just discovered THEY'RE THE SAME THING! "(Cucurbita moschata), an Italian heirloom zucchini also known as Zucchetta Rampicante or Tromboncino squash."

The best part is that NOW I HAVE 4 OF THEM!

Good one!!!

countrynaturals on 4/29/2020, 2:44 pm

Here's my new tomato/pepper garden, in bags, behind the kitchen balcony.

countrynaturals on 4/30/2020, 7:42 pm

My favorite crop -- Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars! happy turtle

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