What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. I'm thoroughly enjoying the warmer temps. It actually stayed above freezing all last night. The snow is continuing to melt and it's not quite as muddy as I expected. Thank you for the information on asparagus @karenerwin. I just may have to give that a try. I really like asparagus and it would be nice not to have to stress over one garden bed's rotation. Okay @Farmdog267, please don't buy a prefab coop. You will regret it. There are loads of plans available on this site and it costs less to build your own than to buy one of equal quality. Those "low cost" coop deals are great for reminding you "that you get what you pay for." If you are not that handy, then perhaps purchase a small shed and convert that into a coop. Since you are in a smaller community you might want to consider the aesthetics of your coop to keep the neighbors happy. Just MHO. I've got a lot of information on pruning my apple trees so now I need to check in about pruning the peach tree. I'm hoping it's the same. If I forgot to mention it before @igorsMistress, thank you for the garden shots. They are lovely. Have a great day everyone.

 

[igorsMistress]

I love asparagus!! We grew it when I was a young girl ( around 10 yrs old). I grew it when I moved to Florida and I have it in my garden now that I'm back in Missouri!!
The advice others have given you is good. I bought the "crowns" ( roots) and planted them. I leave them be the first year and then cut sparingly the 2nd year. After that I try to remember to only cut for 6 weeks. ( I didn't hear about that rule until last year or the year before that!).
The stalks that come up very thin, I ignore as I assume those are new starts from the seeds. In the fall/winter the asparagus grows out ( when I haven't been cutting it anymore) and then it gets "berries". The "berries" turn red and then fall on the ground. This is where the seeds are.
The roots re-sprout every year! The seeds add new plants each year too. I saw someone suggested replanting every 6 years. That is probably good advice too.
Over the fall and winter I try to pile on leaves or mulch to help keep the crowns ( roots) from freezing!

Thanks Karen! I read about dividing too so I'll keep that in mind. We'll see if I even get any to grow, the package says full sun but usually here that means "some shade."

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning gardeners. @Wee Farmer Sarah hurray for warmer temps! I saw on the news today that we're supposed to hit 77* by Sunday. That's a bit much yet in my opinion!

 

[Farmdog267]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll check into some of the plans on here and see what I can build. I have a great selection of pallets to choose from where I work so that is a plus.

 

[BReeder!]

Good morning gardeners. @Wee Farmer Sarah hurray for warmer temps! I saw on the news today that we're supposed to hit 77* by Sunday. That's a bit much yet in my opinion!

I'm in the 30s still until Monday. We tend to stay frozen through much of February and then thaw out finally by March. But I will not see 70s until late April at the earliest. We start the garden in the 60s typically and make due. I don't like starting seeds indoors, but I think I'm going to this year to get a jump start on things. Even that will not be until late March though. ☹ I really want to get my hands into the dirt already!
I ordered our new cherry bushes yesterday. I decided to switch from "Nanking" to a "Joel" and a "Jan" hybrids. I was also planning on three bushes, and am just going with the two for now. They should produce 8-10 lbs of fruit each once mature. I'm hoping to get lucky with a few cherries later this year, but not counting on it. They're just in 4" pots, so I'll transplant them right away and keep them indoors until late March or so. That means I'll be able to get my hands in a little bit of dirt later this week when the cherry plants arrive.

 

[BReeder!]

I need to check in about pruning the peach tree.

I have a small peach tree. We transplanted last year. It nearly tripled its foliage. We did get a few small peaches that were not edible yet right before we transplanted form the pot we purchased it in. Those died and fell off though. I'm hoping to get lucky this year with fruit. A lot of people say it can take 2-3 years after transplanting to get fruit though. I haven't pruned at all; however, I read up on it and it sounds like it should be pruned to grow outward in a bowl shape, allowing light into the center and easy access to fruit since the branches extend out versus straight up. We likely will not prune this year either just because I'm letting the tree grow a bit. I'll likely have to prune next year finally.

 

[Farmdog267]

I took a class at our agway a couple years ago with a rep from hollybrooke orchards. I remember them saying to make sure you stay consistent with spraying the tree on the right schedule to prevent insects and pests. Seems like you would spray 1 thing 1 week and then another thing the next weekend. (I know it was a fruit tree concentrate was 1 of the products) I don't recall the other product or wether they were organic or conventional in nature. Last year, relatives whom have about 6 peach trees on their farm had a wonderful peach crop. The year before (2018) they got less than 10 peaches total and some weren't edible. What a difference a year makes.

 

[WthrLady]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll check into some of the plans on here and see what I can build. I have a great selection of pallets to choose from where I work so that is a plus.

The wood they use in those farm store coops is barely balsa wood. The hardware is garbage and rusts if you look at it, In under a week, PLUS the hardware can't hold on to the cheap wood. They only last a season IF you are lucky. OH, they also blow over and aren't predator safe.

 

[WthrLady]

Revenge of the milk hit at 1030pm, 12 hours later. BLECH.

I hate food poisoning.

I'm still trying to find the right color paint for the master bath redo. I'll get there. I keep tweaking the blue. I want more grey than blue.

Hens are itching to get out. Maybe this weekend.
The boys are going bonkers in the barn. They played outside all day yesterday. They don't think we saw them, but we did.

I need to get to the village today to the post office and to the market for people food.

The orchard needs trimmed. I'll probably suit up and do that tomorrow.

 

[WthrLady]

Revenge of the milk hit at 1030pm, 12 hours later. BLECH.

I hate food poisoning.

I'm still trying to find the right color paint for the master bath redo. I'll get there. I keep tweaking the blue. I want more grey than blue.

Hens are itching to get out. Maybe this weekend.
The boys are going bonkers in the barn. They played outside all day yesterday. They don't think we saw them, but we did.

I need to get to the village today to the post office and to the market for people food.

The orchard needs trimmed. I'll probably suit up and do that tomorrow.

I need to make a boat load of spreaders this year. A BOAT LOAD.