Monday, 30 May, 2016

Ordered Garden Loam from new landscaping company. They delivered it tonight. It looks like wonderful stuff. We will begin building a few beds tomorrow and use the last of the original stuff to line the very bottom of the beds and then top it up completely with this wonderful new loam. Cannot wait.

Frank installed the nest boxes in the chicken coop. Looks great.

The heat wave has finally broken. I celebrated by running the lawn mower and cutting the front lawn and half of the east side of the house. I had forgotten that I actually enjoy cutting grass.

Sunday, 29 May, 2016

We are in the midst of our first heat wave of the season. The humidex reached 100 here today. I have done almost no work in the garden for the last 3 days because of this heat. Did a few minutes of weeding this morning but that was about it.

Frank has been working on cutting the grass but we are looking at garden tractors as we would prefer to keep all the grass anywhere around the house short to reduce the problem with ticks.

I have planted out all the germinated beans and filled one whole bed with three different varieties.

Continuing to weed the asparagus beds almost daily. Tufted Vetch and of course the blackberry and raspberry canes still trying to grow in the beds. I am trying to stay on top of them. A bit behind in beds 4 and 5 due to the heat.

Need to weed out the bed with the parsnips now that they have finally begun to germinate and I can see them.

Something was eating the brassicas... again. I made wire hoops from a roll of wire we had and covered both beds with row cover. It would appear that is has worked. We checked today and counted the missing plants so we can continue to check and see if there are any more missing. I will just go to a garden center and pick up a few plants to replace them.

The bed with the peas is doing very well. I have compared the direct sown plants to the transplanted ones and really, the DS are doing much better. Will not bother to transplant spinach and beets in future. Not worth the trouble. 

The beets did not transplant well. We have lost most of them. Will clear most of that bed and just plant seed. Lesson learned from this experiment.

Wood order has come for the new raised beds in rows 2 and 3. Frank began to cut them up today. Will begin to build the beds this week. 

Tuesday, 24 May, 2016

Frank cut the front lawn area, lots of grass but now it looks amazing.

I weeded out the entire carrot bed. There are some misses in germination so I will take out some seed and fill in the spaces. Cannot really tell what are parsnips and what are weeds so will wait for another few days and hopefully will be able to tell by then.

We planted out two full beds of leeks. Still have quite a few left over so will look for somewhere else to put them.

I have pulled that tarps off the remainder of rows 2 & 3 and then laid them over row 4, sometimes double or even triple thick. All are weighed down with rocks, bricks and whatever else I could find.

There is a lot of weed growth from under the tarps. A very good size area was under the straw from when we built the house so it is pretty clear.

Noticed a huge flat rock that it looks like may possibly be in a pathway. Fingers crossed for that one.

Something ate one of my broccoli plants and one of my Brussels Sprout plants. Only one of each and all they did was bite off the leaves and just leave them. Last year when we lost ALL the plants they were eaten totally with no evidence left over. Fingers crossed for that also.

The weather has been utterly unbearable. SO HOT. I can work outside for about 15 - 20 minutes and then I must come inside to cool off. We had all the windows open all night and the house went right down to 63F degrees. Actually cold when we got up. Got all the windows closed quickly and closed the curtains in our bedroom and in the living room and the house remained quite cool all day. It is 5:00 pm as I write this and the sun is full in the west pounding down on the house and the temperature in here is still only 69F degrees. Very comfortable. The key to all this is being able to open the windows at night to cool off the house. The problem with this is when the nights are unbearable also and the house cannot be cooled off. Welcome to a hot, humid Ontario summer.

Apple trees are in bloom and look simply lovely. Daffodils underneath them are just finishing. Far too hot and they finished quickly.

The beets, spinach and chard that I transplanted are not doing well. However, the spinach that I direct seeded is looking wonderful. Note to self: no more transplants of spinach, beets or chard. Not worth the extra work and it does not do as well.

Monday, 23 May, 2016

Another hot spring day.

Frank worked on the coop. Installed the large window Beth gave us. It looks terrific. He also build 4 nest boxes. They are 12" x 12" with a hardware cloth floor. Easier to keep the boxes clean as all the dust and fine particles from the straw bedding will just fall out.

I continued working in the garden. Cleaned up one of the tarps (garbage) and began removing rocks and bricks from some of the remaining tarps as they will be moved tomorrow.

Finished laying stone to the end of fence panel 2 behind the raspberries.

Weeded the asparagus of vetch and canes... again. This is going to continue all summer, I just know it.

Gave everything a really good watering in the evening. It has been so horribly hot that a lot of the newly planted veg is really suffering, especially the beets and broccoli. I hope I do not lose them.

Sunday, 22 May, 2016

Started out as an absolutely perfect summer day... in my opinion anyway.
Good strong breeze and lots of sunshine. Kept the Black Flies away... or so I thought. By the end of the day I had blood running down the back of my neck where the little beggars got me good. I have never had this many Black Fly bites before. One of them even got me inside my ear. Very itchy and unpleasant.

Frank cut all the grass in the kitchen garden and it just looks wonderful.

I weeded out the beds for all the brassicas and then planted out two beds of them. Two varieties of cabbage, kale, Brussels Sprouts and kohlrabi interplanted and then in the second bed, all broccoli interplanted with lettuce. All the kohlrabi and the lettuce should be out of there before the other plants need the room.

Planted out one other bed with 3 varieties of beets that I started in the house and then filled in with some Swiss Chard. The bed it not really full so I may go back and sow some beet seeds to fill in the gaps.

I am daily going through the Asparagus beds to pull out any Tufted Vetch that I find and there is ALWAYS some growing somewhere. I also pull out the Raspberry and Blackberry canes. This will become less of a problem as I work my way along the Raspberry border removing all the plants to a hedgerow along the property line where they can misbehave as much as they like.

Laid down several barrows of pea stone on the path behind the Raspberry border. I am now 25% done and although that does not seem like much, it really is and I am pretty happy. Wish it were all done but that will come in time.

The Apple trees are coming into blossom. Alas, not all of them, but some. I can see nothing yet on the plum tree or the pears and certainly not the apricots as they are still far too young.

Saturday, 21 May, 2016

Very little work beyond watering the plants that are waiting to go into the garden and pulling out some of the couch grass that is still coming up through the cardboard and the mulch along the side of the drive. When I continue with this along the rest of the drive I will need to lay down a lot more newspaper, top that with cardboard and then add the mulch as a lot of weeds are making it through. Very annoying.

Black Flies still very bad. I have untold bites on me. 

Friday, 20 May, 2016

The Black Flies are horrendous. Have had to work continuously in the bug shirt. It was quite warm, in fact, almost hot today and I was boiling in that blasted bug shirt.

Got several bags of soil amendments added to three of the garden beds, namely some peat moss to aid in moisture retention and also some composted manure.

Continued to clear out the nursery border. The couch grass is absolutely everywhere. I am merely trying to keep it in check at this point as ultimately everything will be dug up and moved elsewhere and then I can really get in there and clear it out properly. Slow work.

Also did some work on the pathway behind the raspberry border. Laying down landscape fabric and pea stone. Very slow work in the bug shirt (too hot) but did manage to get a bit done.

The tufted vetch and of course the raspberry and blackberry canes are still coming up in the asparagus beds. I will simply continue to pull it out daily as I see it in the hopes of eventually killing it all off. Fingers crossed.

Thursday, 19 May, 2016

Errands today to pick up some bamboo to make wigwams for the Broad Beans and also some netting. Going to try it on the brassicas to hopefully defeat the Cabbage White Butterflies. If they can still get through the openings, I will use row cover and use the netting on the blueberries to keep the birds off.

Lovely day today. Sunshine mixed with the odd rain shower which we do really need.

I continued working on cleaning out the nursery border and also the Raspberry border. 

Thoroughly weeded out bed 8 in row 1, set up the two wigwams and also the contraption that I bought from Lee Valley for the cucumbers. Planted out all the Broad Beans so they can grow up the wigwams. Also planted out Kohlrabi behind the peas.

Frank did a bit of work on the chicken coop (starting on the shingles) and he cut TONS of grass. Even though a lot of it is just perennial weeds like couch grass, clover and who knows what else, it is all lovely and green.

The Couch grass is getting through the cardboard and black mulch down the side of the driveway. I have sprayed it with vinegar to no avail. I will simply go down there once a week and pull it out. Not going to bother to dig it out just yet. I will do that in a couple of years when I plant out that area.

As I sat weeding in the garden this afternoon I could not help but notice the overwhelming amount of bird song. It was simply splendid and I sat for a while just listening to that glorious chorus of song. Brilliant.

Wednesday, 18 May, 2016

The Black Flies are horrible. Needed to keep on the bug shirt the whole day in the garden.

I have weeded out beds 1, 2 & 3 in row 1 so they are ready to plant out tomorrow. Weeded around the peas I have planted and then proceeded to plant out all the remaining peas that I had pre-germinated. Planted all the baby spinach plants in front of the peas. Filled the entire front of the bed.

Continued with cleaning up the nursery border. It is hard graft doing that but it will eventually get done as I work on it for a bit every day.

Have also been working on the Raspberry border. Dug up 4 of what I hope are the old raspberries that we brought with us from the old house and potted them up. Continued to weed and clean out behind the border. Almost at the end of the second fence panel so that means almost 25% done. It is actually going a wee bit faster than I thought it would.

Harvested a good amount of asparagus for dinner tonight.

Todd came over and gave Frank and hand today for several hours and they got the entire roof finished on the chicken coop. It looks fantastic.

Sunday, 15 May, 2016

Weather utterly foul today. Cold and unbelievably, it actually snowed! Of course it did not gather on the ground but for a while it was blowing around quite hard out there.

Absolutely nothing done in the garden ... simply too miserable to work.

I gave Frank an electric digital smoker as a gift and today he used it for the first time to smoke some trout. We had it for dinner on a large salad and it was utterly delicious! Well done Frank!

I went out and collected a small handful of asparagus but it was not enough for a meal. Hopefully more tomorrow. The raspberries and blackberries are trying to send up new canes in the beds again. Will need to get out there this week and remove them all .... again. Also, the Tufted Vetch is making a determined attempt to establish itself as well. My goal is to stay on top of these beds all this year to see if I can seriously reduce the weed pressure in them.

We found what we believe to be a single Morel mushroom in one of the Gooseberry boxes. It is quite small but it certainly looks like a Morel. Will need to investigate to see if there are any poisonous mushrooms that look like them. It is very small to eat but I suppose I could put it into something.

Saturday, 14 May, 2016

Foul weather again, but much needed rain.

Went into town and did indeed purchase a Yew Hicksii. Nice one with many little branches which is perfect to take multiple cuttings later in the summer.

Also purchased a Viburnum Snowball bush to replace a casualty down the drive. I have always liked these plants.

We took yet another load of brush from the front wooded area to the dump. Frank has been doing a splendid job of clearing out in there. It actually has begun to look a bit like parkland now that he has limbed up the trees and cleared away all the dead branches and brush.

The temperature has plummeted yet again. As the day wore on we could feel it getting colder. 

Friday, 13 May, 2016

Much needed rain has finally fallen. Skies cleared in the late afternoon to brilliant sunshine and a fierce wind. 

We had left the tomato plants on the side porch over night for their first taste of staying outside all night. The temperature is supposed to drop again tonight so they will need to come back inside. Much time is spent moving them from place to place.

We went to a nursery today and have found a replacement crabapple tree for the one that died down the drive. Will go back on Monday to get it, property armed with protective plastic to keep it safe on the drive back home in the truck.

I am also looking for a Yew Hicksii which I am intending to propagate. I am hopeful that it will be hardy enough for this area. If so, I intend to begin making hedges from it. 

The asparagus is growing right before our eyes after that heavy rainfall and now the sunshine. Likely have the first cutting tonight for dinner.

Thursday, 12 May, 2016

Frank has dug out the one large blackberry bush. The canes were going all over the place and a lot of them are popping up in the asparagus beds. I cut back 5 pieces and potted them up to be transplanted elsewhere later.

Continued to work on weeding the raspberry border. Almost to the end of the second fence panel. 6 more to go.

Began also to weed out under the Kiwi and then onto the nursery border. Got about 5 feet of that done. The couch grass is unbelievable in there. I tried to get it all but I know that it will be back.

Went to a couple of garden centers looking for a tree to replace the dead Crabapple. Could not find one I liked but there are a few others in the area to check.

Did purchase a small plant of Green Mountain Box and a small plant of Hidcote Lavender. Intend to propagate these and see if they are hardy enough to use as edging to the proposed cottage garden.

Frank has been working on the chicken coop. The four exterior walls are now in place.

Wednesday, 11 May, 2016

Finally finished cutting down all those blasted raspberries. We hauled them away to the dump.

I started weeding out the raspberry border at the west side where the canes are that we transplanted from the old house. It is very slow work.

Installed some galvanized pea fencing in one bed. It looks good and strong so we will see how it works out. If good, I will purchase a second section for the other bed.

Monday, 9 May, 2016

The last two days have been very sunny but cold and the wind has been causing a wind chill. We have had frost at night so all the plants have had to come back inside. There is no point in trying to grow them just to leave them all outside to freeze. 

Frank noted that a few of the Asparagus spears appear to have been hit by the frost. Thankfully the fruit trees are not yet in bloom.

Have done absolutely no work in the garden because of the cold. They are predicting better temperatures for the next few days so will get back to work. That will help to take my mind off Teally as well.

Saturday, 7 May, 2016

Spent a bit of time in the garden today continuing to cut back the raspberry canes. Hard to concentrate because of Teally.

The Black Flies have started. Had to wear the Bug Shirt.

Friday, 6 May, 2016

We lost our beautiful sweet boy Teally today.

Tuesday, 3 May, 2016

Not been keeping track as Teally very sick for last week.

Frank filled Asparagus Bed #4 with triple mix for me while I weeded out Asparagus Bed #5. LOTS of couch grass. Frank then topped up the bed for me.

Work is proceeding on the chicken coop. Frank has dug it out down about a foot or so, laid 1/2" hardware cloth all around for protection, laid in a couple inches of pea stone and rocks and then replaced the soil he had dug out so that the coop will have an earthen floor.

I managed to get out to the garden to do a wee bit of work. Worked at weeding the raspberry border a bit. 
Planted one entire bed full of parsnips and 4 varieties of carrot.
Planted spinach, mesclun lettuce, arugula and two varieties of radish in behind the first area planted with peas.
Gave everything a good watering and also watered the garlic which is growing a treat.
Also made a quick trip around checking all the cleared areas looking for weeds.
The daffodils planted under the 4 apple trees are in bloom and look wonderful.

ALL the seedlings of all varieties spent a bit of time outside today as the weather was wonderful.