Is the last big cold snap over?

Well, the ultra-frigid temperatures we were supposed to get this weekend weren't quite as bad as they had predicted. One forecast I saw was for 20 degrees on Saturday night, but it didn't end up being that bad. Later this week it's supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, mid to upper 70's. (Nothing can stop me from gardening now!!!) Despite the cold, the tomatoes seem to have fared quite well in their little water teepees, no noticeable damage. I'm going to get wood from the site tomorrow and hopefully I can start putting my beds together this week. It is really amazing how much wood is wasted on construction sites. I always see it and think that someone could use it for something, for firewood if nothing else. So, I'm doing what I can. Anyway, I'd write more, but it's getting pretty late and I have work in the morning. (I also got some great historical/botany books from the library) It should be anther week of drama, unfortunately, but that's another story entirely.

Chilly Tonight

It's supposed to drop down into the 30's tonight. Ugh. I stuck a bottle of hot water in each of the wall-o-water teepees outside and then covered them up with a blanket for a little extra protection it was cool today, and rained this morning but the temperature has been steadily falling as it has cleared and now it's quite cold. Tomorrow night it's supposed to be even colder. I know it's crazy, but I have faith that my tomatoes will make it through. I just wonder if it's going to stunt their growth, that will be the interesting thing to see as the spring progresses.

The rose I rescued from the alley in Mt. Vernon is showing signs of life, I pruned it way back and now it's got some new buds coming on. And the David Austin rose I have in the front yard that I thought was completely dead after that storm is even showing signs of life. It's kind of inspiring to see how resilient these things are. The peas and kale are up to, but they haven't done much since it's been so chilly. I'm sure they'll start growing like crazy once it's a little warmer.

I dropped my big hunk of granite off at the stone mason guy today; he's got a little shop in the middle of Fells Point that you wouldn't even know was there. For $65, he's going to drill a 1/2" hole in it for me to make my fountain. He carves lettering in stone; he did the engraved Walt Whitman poem that goes all around the entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro station entrance. I love meeting real craftspeople who do real work; its so refreshing to know it's not a dead art to make stuff with your hands anymore.

Marc is going to do a website for my friend Julie in exchange for her husband Kyle delivering compost and topsoil to me! Sweet deal, talk about working dirt cheap! What an awesome husband I have.

Tree

I just got an estimate from the tree guy about trimming the branch off the black walnut tree in my neighbor's yard. Ugh, the tree guy said I have to ask my neighbor... not because I can't cut it, it's on my side, but because they need to climb the tree to get to the branch, which would involve going into her yard. I want a bit more sun back there, and furthermore, the tree makes a huge mess of the patio. There are always leaves on it, and the black walnuts stain everything. (And now that their pesky little dog is gone, I won't need the supply of black walnut ammo to hurl at him anymore.) I'm just so bad at talking to people, as ridiculous as that sounds. I"m just going to stop by when she's home and ask her; I'll just have to act like an adult and just do it. I'm just going to pretend the whole dog issue never happened and hope she doesn't mention it. I'll bring Olive with me... She's cute, she could diffuse any hostility. I'm sure I'm making a bigger deal of this than I need to, but my social anxiety knows no bounds.

It's going to get colder again this week; I think tomorrow night it is supposed to be 30 degrees. I'm certainly putting those wall-o-water things to the test. I was reading online that you can stick a bottle of hot water in there with them on really cold nights and it helps to keep them warm. I might try that.

I found someone to drill a hole in my hunk-o-granite to make my cobble fountain. Originally I was thinking it would need about a 1/2" hole, but when I was about to drop it off to the stone guy I said to myself, "Gee, Mariah, maybe you should actually get the pump and measure it before you go and pay this guy to drill a hole that you will have to fill in with silicone caulk later because you didn't measure it in the first place." So that's what I'm doing. I'm going to go to the fish store and buy the pump and get tubing that I know fits it, then figure out how big the hole needs to be. Yes, Grasshopper, you are learning.

Impatience will have it's rewards someday

OK, just because I'm a wee bit impatient does not mean I'm crazy. Here is my grand experiment... I decided to try to the Wall-O-Water things and see what happens. (Ibought them last year and never used them) Yesterday, I planted a Tigerella and a Striped Boar in the big planter box. March 18th. I really shouldn't be planting anything until May 1 or so, but I've never been known to sit around waiting for warm weather. After I set up the tubes and got them all filled with water, I was surprised by how quickly they heated up. I checked them yesterday evening and they were still quite warm. Most people are just starting their tomato plants from seeds. I figured I'd give it a try and just see what happens. I only have about 30 more tomato plants around the house, so if they don't make it, it's not that big a deal. My only concern is that the plants might outgrow the walls before its warm enough out, but that has yet to be seen. I don't think they would work as well directly in the ground, but I think the soil in the boxes warms up faster. We'll just have to see.

I'm also researching drip irrigation systems; I found one that is a gravity fed system that works from a cistern or rainbarrel type of set up. If I set up the rain barrel at the corner of the house, I could just water everything from that. If it doesn't rain, I just fill it with the hose, and the water pressure and gravity do the rest. It will probably cost me about $50-$60 once it's all said and done, (plus the $40 for the rain barrel workshop) but I think it will be worth it.

Yes, I have been a bit obsessive about the vegetable gardening this week. I could have gone to Patapsco today, but I resisted. I'm trying to conserve my money for soil and planter boxes. I am determined to do this with as many free and recycled materials as I can get. I discovered today that they are getting rid of a big planter box from the Church we're working at... It's probably 3 x 12 or so, but it's made of pressure treated 6x6's and is super sturdy. It could be taken apart and reassembled along the wall in the driveway. It's about 3' deep too, which is really deep, I could probably even break it up into two shallower beds. I'm a little concerned with it being pressure treated wood, but I am hoping that any chemical nasties would have leached out of it by now.

Bees Knees

So, so beautiful today. I was thrilled to not be at work today. It was the first truly spring like day we've had yet this year. I noticed to day that the kale is up in the one planter. And, my bees arrived! I stopped by my office this morning for awhile and picked them up. They aren't mason bees, but they are another kind of solitary bee, meaning they don't have a colony with a queen, they breed individually in a communal nest amd eup of small tubes. They are nestled in their coccoons in a box in the fridge for now, they need a few more weeks before there is enough stuff blooming for them to eat. I'll probably stagger their release over two weeks or so. They are pretty cool, I have a little house with plastic tubes that are sandwiched between little boards under a galvanized metal roof to keep the nests dry. I'll probably put it up under the eaves of the porch, where it will get sun but still be sheltered.

The vermiculite arrived today! That was really fast. UPS dropped it off this afternoon. Marc picked me up some peat moss today, so I think tomorrow I am going to throw caution to the wind and plant two tomatoes with my Wall O Water things and see what happens. I never did use them last summer, so I'm curious to try them now.

I am absolutely itching to get my beds built. The question now is do I level them up somehow to compensate for the tilt of the driveway... I'm kind of afraid the dirt will erode downhill if I don't, but that is fancier carpentry than I've ever tackled. It can't be that hard though. I think I can handle it. Now that the car is gone, I can get a better idea of how much space I really have. It looks kind of small, but I can grow a lot of stuff in there. I have a progress meeting I have to go to down at the jobsite on Friday (ironic, since I've been unemployed all week) and I'm going to see if Jeff will let me take any lumber with me so I can build beds this weekend. The plan is to put hardware cloth stapled to the bottom of the frame, followed by weed blocking cloth (a heavy fiberglass mesh type Kyle gave me) followed by a layer of gravel, under the soil layer. It will help control erosion, while still being well drained. I think Kyle, my neighbor from down the street, and I might go get a load of compost this weekend too. There's no stopping me now!

I am still trying to devise ways of using my planter without them getting all mosquito ridden and skanky. I like the self watering concept, it does make it so much easier. It's just an inherent design flaw, I think. Maybe if there's not as much water in it to begin with, it won't pool and get gross. I could try the guppies this year again, but I'm not entirely sure if that made a big difference last year. The oil on the surface did nothing to stop the mosquitoes; several people had suggested that to me but it just made a mess. I just haven't found anything online about mosquito dunks being OK for food crops, so I am assuming it's not. What's the point of growing them yourself organically if you have to poison the mosquitoes? Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Spring at last

Spring at last! It is about 60 degrees and sunny today and feels absolutely wonderful. I brought my Thessaloniki buddy out for some sunshine on the deck. It's getting huge! I am tempted to put some out now with those wall-o-water things, but my concern is not the air temperature, but the soil. The ground is still pretty cold, and I don't want to shock them. I may try it with one of the smaller ones I'm not so attached to at this point. I also managed (at least it seems) to root some hydrangea cuttings from my bush out front. I was doing a careful pruning after the snow melted. There has been so much damage after that storm, it's amazing. You have to be really careful when pruning hydrangeas because the flowers are on the ends, and if you prune too much, it won't bloom at all. Last year I pruned out a lot of old dead wood and old canes from it, and it did have a lot of new growth. However, the new growth was pretty thin, so it was very floppy last summer and bent over with the weight of the flowers. Hopefully this summer it will be stronger. I've been mulching it with compost, coffee grounds (from Starbucks) and pine needles, so it should give the soil that added bit of acidity. I'm curious to see if the blooms are bluer this summer.

I ordered my vermiculite, it should be here in a day or two. They are coming to pick up the car today, I am thrilled!!! I am still kicking around the idea of putting in a fountain in the front yard this spring, but I am trying to keep the expenses to a minimum and I'm not sure if this year is the year to do it. I already have a great pot for it, I just need a few more items. I want to build one that is just a splash fountain sitting on pebbles, with an underground reservoir rather than a pool of water. I also have the issue of getting power out to it. I guess I could do solar, but I like the idea of listening to the water at night.

Went to the gym this morning and kicked my own ass again. I did 33 minutes on the elliptical and then did my circuit. I think I'm going to give my arms a break tomorrow though, they feel like rubber. Then I sat in the sauna like a lizard on a rock. I love the sauna. Bring on the HEAT!
Anyway, off to research preschools...

MG is SOLD!!!

Whooo-eeee! Ah yes, Funemployment. At least for this week anyway. We are "off" this week because they are taking down scaffold at the Church and we can't be working in there while that's happening. There are other factors too, but nothing I can get into here, unfortunately. Anyway, I have decided to use this week to get some work done that I've been trying to get to for weeks and haven't been able to. I could just sit around, but I prefer to get stuff done so I don't feel like I am wasting my time. Goal #1: Gym every day this week. Goal #2: Clean basement (started today) & weed out crap. Goal #3 Marmalade.

The big news is that the MG is SOLD!!! They are coming up from NC tomorrow with a trailer to buy it and haul it away. I'm very excited. I feel kind of bad, it is a really cool car. There's just no way that we have the time or money right now to dedicate to getting it on the road, and I'd rather see it go to someone else who can deal with it, rather than watching it rust away in our driveway. (Taking up valuable tomato growing real estate) And that means we can also turn in the tags and get it off the car insurance, which will be awesome. (Marc's job for the week) It's amazing how much we have paid to let that thing just sit there. Anyway, I'm very happy that it is going to a new home. Now I can start plotting my raised beds and order compost and mulch.

(FYI, I found great deals on big bags of vermiculite online. If you order it as a gardening item, you can only get small bags that are pretty expensive. Vermiculite is used to ship hazmats like paints and chenicals, they just bury them in it to prevent bumps, and it's absorbent if there is a spill. Uline packing supplies sells it in 4 cubic foot bags for $20. )

Tonight I made corned beef and cabbage, an homage to my Irish foremothers. It's not St. Patrick's day until Wednesday, but it's a cold rainy night that's perfect for a yummy dinner like that.

I am also contemplating delving into the world of marmalades this week while I have some time... I've never made it, but I'd like to try blood orange or pineapple-lime. I might hit the Korean market and see what they have. I'd love to get my hands on some quince, but they are tough to find.

So, yes, I am keeping busy while I plot world domination on my week "off."

Guerilla Gardening

So, I was reading all about Guerilla Gardening in that Urban Homesteading book I was talking about a few weeks ago. You take seeds, a little bit of soil, and clay. Roll them into tiny balls, and toss them into vacant lots, roadsides, wherever. So I got a bunch of wildflower seeds, chicory, catchfly, prairie coreopsis, salvias, etc. etc. and made up a batch this weekend. I picked things that are tough native wildflowers that can handle dry conditions and that attract butterlies and bees. I have to wait a few more weeks to toss them out, but they are ready to go. I had leftover clay from Clayworks and I just kneaded it all up together. The idea is that the rain will come and soften the clay, and the bit of soil will help germinate the seeds. There's a lovely vacant lot at work where everyone parks that is begging for it. It gets lots of sun, and I think they will do well there... it never gets mowed along the wall. I love the idea. I hope it works.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Peas are in! OK, I am jumping the gun a bit, but not really that much. They are supposed to be planted around St. Patrick's Day. I realized this weekend that perhaps starting tomato plants in January wasn't the best idea... they're getting really big and starting to take over the house. Some of them are 8 or 10" high already. I potted one of the Thessaloniki's up to a big pot and just stuck it in the kitchen window. It's interesting to me to try planting different kinds at once; I have found tht the Striped Romans are kind of wimps... they are the first ones to wilt and look kind of spindly, while the Thessaloniki's and the Striped Boars are tough, with thick stems already. The Micro Tom's are adorable too. They are literally miniature plants, but look just like tomato plants in every way.

And, the MG is finally listed on Ebay... joy! Hopefully it will be out of my driveway soon and then raised bed construction can begin!