New Garden Plan for Spring 2012

Soooo, while we were away our garden caught on fire! Strawberries and lavender plants are gone. I will leave berry roots in the ground to see if they recover. I transplanted the lavender root balls into the backyard. We will see if they make it.

Back to square one with no mulch for paths. Crab grass grows with a vengance so I am not going to fight against it. Instead I decided we can define borders -with wine bottles!! So the collection has begun. I estimate we need about 300 to get started. I do believe we will get some great donations from our community!! Photos to follow after the first installation.

It is expected to rain all week so I will be catching up on this book for inspiration! Happy Gardening and Dig Deep:)

Seeds are starting to sprout

Two kinds of tomatoes, sugar snap peas and jalepenos. Let's see how many make it with all the wildlife around here!

recent installation of canes and vines and fear of frost through March 15th

I am excited about recently planting my raspberry canes and grape vines in our backyard last week! However, this recent weather has me a bit concerned about frost. If you wonder as well, here is a tip from the UCCE Santa Clara County Master Gardener Program:

Well-watered plants are a good defense against frost
It almost sounds counter-intuitive, but plants that have moist soil are more prepared for extreme temperatures. Soil that is damp can hold more heat than soil that is dry, and dry soil is likely the case with the lower-than-average rain this season. Here's an article from Cornell Cooperative Extenstion (PDF) that explains the science behind the theory. "In a study performed years ago, the air temperature above a wet soil was 5 degrees F higher than that above a dry soil and the difference was maintained until 6 a.m. the next morning. Thus, plants should be well watered the evening before a frost."

Checking out the fruit garden

Deesel decided he wanted in on the action in the back yard! Blueberries, raspberries and grape vines. Raspberry canes went against the fence. The grapevines (red, green and purple) are in the front.

What to do in February?!!? Plan!!

Well, it has been a slow going winter. Grew nothin' but weeds and a few herbs. But my urge to dig is growing. The discouraging part of it all - I still have nothing but crab grass over taking the front yard garden. So, back to the drawing board. First, I need to decide what I want to have this year. I did pick up some grape and raspberry canes! $5 each at Summer Winds Nursery. They won't go into the ground until it warms up a bit. This gives me some time to do a bit of research and it will be another experiment for our family since we have soooooo many squirrels and birds around here - those fruits may not make it to the table :))

Thanks to the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara, we have a link for you too. What are you doing in February? http://www.mastergardeners.org/picks/let-gro.html