Time Spent at the Farm

 

Johnny Jump Ups.

3.22.23 - I drove up during the lunch hour to clean up after Airbnb guests, and I worked from there for the rest of the day.

I pulled up some some spent Purple Phacelia in a few spots in the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.  I sowed Zinnias and Cosmos in those spots.

Watered all the Hyacinth Bean seedlings that I planted last I was here.  Most of them have germinated.  

I took pictures of all the empty pots I want to re-fill around the pool and in the Medicine Garden to help me remember how many and what size they all are.

Walked the gardens and pulled a few weeds, but there wasn't much time to do anything else.

3.28.23 - I drove up after work on Monday evening and took Tuesday as vacation.  Wednesday, more Airbnb guests.

At daylight I planted 5 Mangaves in the pots around the pool.  Mangaves are a cross between Manfredas and agaves.  They like it dry, so they should like being around the pool.  I planted a Racing Stripes, Frosted Elegance, Falling Water, Pineapple Express and Mission to Mars.  I pulled off some pups growing at the base of a couple of Mangaves and planted them in small pots around the pool.  I brought 4 or so home to Houston and potted them up there.

I tried to spray my vinegar/salt/dishwash liquid concoction on my weedy paths, but my sprayer was really acting up.  I think it might be the soap.  I poured a little in a spray bottle that I had on hand, and it worked beautifully for about 5 minutes.  Then it quit too.  So I was forced to pull up the larger weeds by hand and leave the tiny (future problems) ones for another time.  Most of the plants I pulled up were in fact not weeds, they were little wildflower seedlings.  But alas, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Bert and I were very disappointed to find that voles ate one of the pot plants I put in the ground several weeks ago.  So we pulled up the other 2 and planted them in feed buckets.

I sowed most of an ounce of red French marigolds throughout the Vegetable Garden.  That's a lot of marigold seed.  They should be blooming beautifully in October for the wedding.  Did lots of weeding.  Tried unsuccessfully to spray weeds.  The cotton seeds I sowed a couple of weeks ago have sprouted.  Hopefully that will be fun for the grandkids.  The voles have found the lima beans and are picking them off one by one.  I asked Brad to get me some more feed buckets, I guess I will turn my whole Vegetable Garden into feed bucket beds.  It took Bert seeing his beloved pot plant getting eaten to take my vole problem seriously!  But what can we do?  I have not found  a solution yet.  Maybe interplanting with Larkspur would help.  All parts of the plant are poisonous, and they have a tap root.  Voles love tap roots.  Although I have some Larkspur in the Vegetable Garden, I don't like planting poisonous plants amongst my edibles.  I'm smart enough not to eat the Larkspur, but I can't vouch for other people.

I planted a little flowering tree called Simpson's Stopper that I bought from John Fairey Gardens last year.  I planted it very near my Pineland Wattle because I don't think it's going to come back.  The freeze got it.  Pineland Wattle is a Florida native, I should not have put it in the ground in zone 8B.  

The sprinkler repairman was here, and he fixed my 2 zones that weren't coming on.  I went through the entire drought last summer without them working.  I think I might have lost some huge Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  I will know for certain in a couple of weeks.

Weeded in the Orchard a bit.  Watered my seedlings.

Sowed hyacinth beans in the Rose Garden box.  Watered the roses in pots. I tied up the Japanese Honeysuckle on the arbor.  It was trying to go everywhere.  I know Japanese Honeysuckle is an invasive no-no.  But I want my grandkids to taste that little drop of honey liquid that each flower holds.  It's a great memory from my childhood.  Spot watered.  Tried unsuccessfully to spray weeds.

Watered the split leaf philodendrun.

I planted 4 more fennel.  I planted 3 in one pot and I planted one in an old watering can I had.

Watered here and there.  It doesn't look like the automatic timer for the sprinklers is working in the Water Garden.  It will have to be replaced.