Sunday, October 21, 2012

A Weekend at the Farm October 20-21, 2012


Arrived Friday evening.

  • Zinnias and butterflies were the stars of the weekend.  Gorgeous!  I couldn't get enough of them.
  • My husband finished the bottle tree alley this weekend.  We both agree that it needs some more bottles.  We thought we had enough, but they still look a little bare.  It looks good, though, very colorful.  My husband thinks we're one broken-washing-machine-on-the-porch away from being white trash, but I love it!  Very southern.
  • I trimmed lots of plants that were getting unruly and spilling over into the paths / blocking the paths.  I pulled up lots of zinnia plants that were leaning over and lots of salvia that was looking ratty.  Whatever wasn't too hard and pithy I threw in the new compost pile.
  • Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden.
  • Worked in the Orchard for quite some time.  Pulled up zinnias, seeded more zinnias, pulled weeds, raked here and there.  
  • I staked the blackberries.  I did that pretty clumsily.  I hammered a five foot piece of rebar into the ground, gathered all the long, trailing vines, bunched them together and tied them to the rebar with a velcro tie.  We'll see how it does, and I'll take it more seriously if I have to, but first we'll see if this works.  I needed to get the vines off the ground or they will tip root.  Plus, I can't weed or spray with herbicide if they are trailing all over the ground.  
  • Picked bags of green beans and okra.  Took a gallon bag of green beans over to the neighbors.
  • Weeded, weeded, weeded.
  • Adjusted the sprinklers.
  • Watered all the new shrubs.  Watered the Yuletide Camellias.  All the camellias are loaded with buds.  Watered the Fringe Tree.  
  • I pegged my Madame Isaac Pereire rose.  This is a good rose for pegging.  Pegging is a technique that encourages lots of blooms.  When the branches are fastened to the ground (the branches of this rose are very long - shorter than a climber, longer than a shrub rose) the bud eyes will "break" and branch out with buds.  Madame Isaac Pereire is a once-a-year bloomer, so I want the most action I can get!i
  • I planted a Caerulia Blue Passion Vine against the new arbor that my husband erected last weekend out of goat wire.
  • I planted lots of kale in the Star Garden.  I've no idea why I bought so much kale.  3 Winterbor kale (this is the dark green curly kale), 5 Siberian kale (5 - Good Lord!) and 3 Vates kale.  All this kale because Central Market has a really good kale salad. 
  • Spread some lettuce seed in the Star Garden - a mix of Marvel of Four Seasons, Lolla Rossa, Redina, Red Oakleaf, Red Salad Bowl, Ruben's Red, and Rouge d'Hiver.
  • Sowed Zeolite Calendulas in the Star Garden.
  • Planted 3 Osaka Purple Mustard Greens in the Long Border. 

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