Status

The first potatoes have peaked their heads out of the ground. Get ready for amazing potatoe action







Here are the peas, starting to climb the trellis, they are almost onto the second rung.







The main garden, doesn't look like much right now, but everything is up and growing. Also started the tomatoes from last year in the space in front of the peas.

Compost

Today was the day to make compost, not any old compost, but the highest quality compost that could be made using the available ingredients, but since we have made compost before I had some of the leftovers from last time to include in the mix. The formula goes like this:
Organic Matter layered with HOT Matter and watered all the way up.

Here is a look at the organic layer. Green stuff, kitchen scraps, yard waste, grass clippings, leaves from last fall and whatever else you have laying around, but NOT - Sticks, chunks of wood, chunks of sod, sawdust or anything else that is not small or easily broken down.


Here is a little experiment to measure just how hot it gets inside the compost heap. HOT layer is made like this:
5 gallons chicken maunure, 3 shovels soil, 5 gallons grass clippings, 3 gallons coffee grounds, 4 shovels last batch of compost.


Here is the finished compost pile. This will sit for at least two weeks, maybe three, and this time the temperature will be monitored. Currently at about 64 degrees in the heap. 58 Degrees outside. 9:30 pm. Should also be interesting to see how the heap decreases in size as it "cooks"
An indoor outdoor thermometer with the outdoor side halfway in the heap. The conduit is to protect the lead from getting broken when the heap is built and taken down.

Garlic & Squash &..

The garlic is going into the home stretch, a few more weeks, maybe a month before it is time to harvest. Put on another side dress of compost last night which should push it just a little bit more.




All of the squashes are up and starting on their first real leaves, but at this rate they promise to be huge. Some of the peas which were planted and turned in as a cover crop are popping out to, so those are being pulled for mulch. These were planted on 22 May, 17 days ago


And then there is the lettuce, spinach bed. Cutting big bowls off these plants twice a day and it just keeps coming. Hiding in the back are sunflowers spaced about 5 inches apart the length of the shop. Wait till those babies get big.

Dahlias In

Spent the evenings yesterday and today planting Dahlias. Seven beds in the back and a long row in the front. Still have plenty of tubers and started cuttings which will probably be given away or sold at the next farmers market. Tempting to put in another row in the front yard, but have to stop somewhere. That's Kamaji helping out.

More Lilac Flowers

This is what happens when you build your compost piles underneath the lilac bush in your backyard using fresh chicken manure ( 30 gallons ) and coffee grounds & kitchen scraps, plus the usual organic matter ( leaves and grass clippings ) .

Blueberry Info

North Sky Blueberry

Key Benefits
A large midseason crop of exceptionally sweet, sky-blue blueberries follow the profusion of showy pink-tinged white flowers. Fall foliage is a colorful combination of yellow, bronze, orange and red. An excellent hedge or specimen. Deciduous.

Time of Flowering
Bell-shaped flowers in late spring.

Average Landscape Size
Multi-stemmed shrub 20 to 40 in. tall, 10 to 30 in. wide.

Water Needs
Water regularly, when top 3" of soil is dry.

Sun Exposure
Full sun

Cold Hardiness
-40 to -30 F

Spartan Blueberry
Key Benefits
Exceptionally attractive and tasty fruit is often larger than a quarter in size with a tangy sweet flavor; ripens mid-July. Large, glossy-green foliage becomes orange and yellow in fall. Small white, bell-shaped flowers proceed the berries. Deciduous.

Time of Flowering
Small white flowers in late spring.

Average Landscape Size
Moderate growing uprught shrub 5 to 6 ft. tall, 4 to 5 ft. wide.

Water Needs
Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry.

Sun Exposure
Full sun

Cold Hardiness
-20 to -10 F

Toro - Northern Highbush Variety

Zones: 4–7
Fruit: Large, mild, sweet flavor, ripens mid season
Mature Bush Size: 4–6'
Growth Habit: Stocky, upright growth
Fall Color: Crimson red
Availability: Plants available for sale. Fresh Toro berries available in season.

Jersey - Northern Highbush Variety
Zones: 4–7
Fruit: Medium, sweet flavor, ripens late season
Mature Bush Size: 6–8'
Growth Habit: Upright, open growth
Fall Color: Orange flame
Availability: Plants sold out

Planting Underway

The strawberry bed was overrun with grass, so we dug it all up and put them in nice rows, added a little COF and they are starting to get going.

Garlic was the first thing up this year and is going strong. Has already had 2 doses of COF and we'll be planting some bush beans as companion plants to add nitrogen in a couple of days



The first sprouts have come up from the planting we did last weekend in the cold frames. Looks like the boc choy is first. Having reservations about the spinach as the seed was from plants we grew last year or maybe even the year before.


The austrian peas we planted in the main bed 2 weeks ago have emerged and it is all starting to look green over there.

The snap peas we put in the southern raised beds have come up as well.


Last weekend put in trellis for them to climb on when they get bigger.

Other Activities

Turned over the first compost pile which was about 60% ready last weekend, and started a second pile with the leftovers. This pile should be ready in a week to be added to the garden when we turn over the peas.

Ordered Blueberries from raintreenursery.com which should be coming in about 2 weeks. These will be going into the front yard somewhere yet to be determined.

The process of migrating the baby worms out of the 5 gallon containers into a proper worm bin is underway. By adding some bedding material to the top of the bucket they migrate into that which can then be easily transferred to the main worm bin.