(no subject)
yesterday we went to a house warming party. being totally skint so unable to buy a present, we stopped on-route and gathered red bud blossoms for them. red buds are one of the first trees to bloom in spring, and are a deep pink so show up incredibly against the still-winter landscape. the buds are not only really pretty and fragrant, they are also edible. they have an almost nutty sweet taste. it was really cool to introduce five adults and two children to a new taste sensation the red bud blossoms were a hit, especially with the kids who thought it was super cool to eat such pretty flowers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis_canadensis
i put some red-skinned potatoes in a small bed yesterday, pulled the turnips and kale that over-wintered and have now gone to seed, and tidied up their spots to replant some store-bought baby plants that i have. i also started a whole bunch of warm weather stuff including a bunch of flower seeds, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, watermelon, beans, okra in flats in the house. it's really warm outside right now during the day, but nights go down chilly so the house is the best place to start them. i've been using store bought dirt (composted hummus and manure (from chickens) and composted cow manure and also store bought peat moss to supplement the soil here. most of the beds i'm planting in right now were mulched with leaf and grass clippings over-winter so these beds should be nice and healthy and ready to feed my plants. i've been liming the beds, too. *fingers crossed*! the dirt definitely looks much healthier than it did when i first started digging into it. full of organic matter and earthworms! i keep a big bucket of compost tea on the go and feed everything with that quite frequently, and i supplement that with my pee!
we lost a hazelnut tree this winter and the goji berry i bought died. thankfully i'd ordered that from a place with a guarantee so another one is on its way. they shipped it too early last time and it didn't survive being kept in the pot, but this one will be able to go straight in the ground. the baby chinese chestnut that i sprouted last year doesn't look like it's going to make it back from winter slumber. it's still red and flexible but it's not sprouting its new leaves. the larger one out back is budding out but the baby isn't. i'll keep watering it in the hopes it's just a slow starter!
spring is here finally. we went from winter into summer and then into summer drought, but the trees hadn't leafed out at all, which has made it really strange. the leaves are all sprouting now, though, so the mountains have a luminous green-gold to them that's invigorating to see. god it's beautiful!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis_canadensis
i put some red-skinned potatoes in a small bed yesterday, pulled the turnips and kale that over-wintered and have now gone to seed, and tidied up their spots to replant some store-bought baby plants that i have. i also started a whole bunch of warm weather stuff including a bunch of flower seeds, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, watermelon, beans, okra in flats in the house. it's really warm outside right now during the day, but nights go down chilly so the house is the best place to start them. i've been using store bought dirt (composted hummus and manure (from chickens) and composted cow manure and also store bought peat moss to supplement the soil here. most of the beds i'm planting in right now were mulched with leaf and grass clippings over-winter so these beds should be nice and healthy and ready to feed my plants. i've been liming the beds, too. *fingers crossed*! the dirt definitely looks much healthier than it did when i first started digging into it. full of organic matter and earthworms! i keep a big bucket of compost tea on the go and feed everything with that quite frequently, and i supplement that with my pee!
we lost a hazelnut tree this winter and the goji berry i bought died. thankfully i'd ordered that from a place with a guarantee so another one is on its way. they shipped it too early last time and it didn't survive being kept in the pot, but this one will be able to go straight in the ground. the baby chinese chestnut that i sprouted last year doesn't look like it's going to make it back from winter slumber. it's still red and flexible but it's not sprouting its new leaves. the larger one out back is budding out but the baby isn't. i'll keep watering it in the hopes it's just a slow starter!
spring is here finally. we went from winter into summer and then into summer drought, but the trees hadn't leafed out at all, which has made it really strange. the leaves are all sprouting now, though, so the mountains have a luminous green-gold to them that's invigorating to see. god it's beautiful!