rswyan
Super Star Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2004
- Messages
- 11,412
- Location
- Northeast Ohio
- Tractor
- Kubota B2910, Cub Cadet Pro Z 154S, Simplicity 18 CFC, Cub Cadet 782
52F and "Fair" @ 22:00, sun came out as predicted - maybe even a little earlier - and the high today hit 68.4F. Was a pleasant afternoon.
Got the southern early-bearing blueberry bush all weeded and the soil acidifier applied and was about to start prepping the holes for the two new blueberry bushes when I discovered we were out of soil acidifier to do those. The Woman made the run over to The Depot to pick up another bag.
While she was gone I took a couple of rakes and the Stihl blower over to the east side bed with the Stella D'Oro's/hostas/coral bells planted in it and blew off the remaining leaves and cleaned up the edge of the bed which the deer had trampled. Pleased with how well the leaves I blew onto it last fall did at suppressing weed growth - it's not totally weed-free, but there's a lot less there than there would have been without anything on it. It will get weeded soon and have some additional plants added and then get mulched.
While I was over there I located a split-open seed pod from I think a redbud tree which still had 11 seeds stuck to it. So we'll be planting those and see what turns up.
When I went back over to the garden area, Mister and Missus Bluebird stopped by for a visit. They alternated between sitting on feeder cross bars, fence posts, and scavenging the ground below the suet feeders for the crumbs that fall off when the cakes get pecked at by other birds. Here is Mister Bluebird on a t-post, with a Red Bellied woodpecker on the feeder behind him:
Shortly after that he hopped down to the ground we'd been working and got a worm which he took back up to the top of the t-post and ate. Lucky him.
When The Woman got back we got the two new blueberry plants in the ground and I fashioned some cages out of poultry netting that will hope keep the deer and other critters from pulling them up or nipping them off until they have had a chance to root and get going:
5 foot spacing between all the blueberry plants ... which should allow us to sneak in some summer squash between them.
We also got the second tarp pulled out of the woods and laid out and weighted down (left side of the above photo)
After using the Stihl FS 66 with cultivator head to do some tilling in the garden bed (which someone wanted done and can be a real treat in hard ground), I decided that I wouldn't be doing that again. Instead I'll just pull the t-posts (which are coming out anyways) and run up the sides of the plants with the Kubota and King Kutter tiller. Will be much easier.
Was going to mulch around the blueberries but decided to hold off until Wednesday. The mulch tends to come out of the bags wet and they suggest not placing it until you have (at least) 24 hours of dry weather to allow the biodegradable dye to dry.
This picture of the northeast planting bed shows an azalea in the center of the picture. The thicker green stalks surrounding it are Lilies of The Valley, which I got some starts for from a neighbor lady (now deceased) They have begun to spread and naturalize the area, from just a dozen or so planted right around the azalea:
The clumps of thinner stalks are either chives or wild onions - which we seem to have growing everywhere. They are kind of mixed blessing - I consider them unsightly ... but the deer (supposedly) hate the smell and avoid areas that have them.
After finishing up with the blueberry planting and maintenance, I hit the front lawn again in an effort to keep all the dandelions from going to seed until I can manage to spray them. Got it about half done.
Rightside mostly mowed, leftside not:
Final picture - the tulips and daffodils on the south end of the planting bed behind the house are fully in bloom, while the ones on the north end have begun to fade:
Didn't figure on that there would be that much of a difference in soil temps from one end of the bed to the other.
Hope everyone had a great day ...
Got the southern early-bearing blueberry bush all weeded and the soil acidifier applied and was about to start prepping the holes for the two new blueberry bushes when I discovered we were out of soil acidifier to do those. The Woman made the run over to The Depot to pick up another bag.
While she was gone I took a couple of rakes and the Stihl blower over to the east side bed with the Stella D'Oro's/hostas/coral bells planted in it and blew off the remaining leaves and cleaned up the edge of the bed which the deer had trampled. Pleased with how well the leaves I blew onto it last fall did at suppressing weed growth - it's not totally weed-free, but there's a lot less there than there would have been without anything on it. It will get weeded soon and have some additional plants added and then get mulched.
While I was over there I located a split-open seed pod from I think a redbud tree which still had 11 seeds stuck to it. So we'll be planting those and see what turns up.
When I went back over to the garden area, Mister and Missus Bluebird stopped by for a visit. They alternated between sitting on feeder cross bars, fence posts, and scavenging the ground below the suet feeders for the crumbs that fall off when the cakes get pecked at by other birds. Here is Mister Bluebird on a t-post, with a Red Bellied woodpecker on the feeder behind him:
Shortly after that he hopped down to the ground we'd been working and got a worm which he took back up to the top of the t-post and ate. Lucky him.
When The Woman got back we got the two new blueberry plants in the ground and I fashioned some cages out of poultry netting that will hope keep the deer and other critters from pulling them up or nipping them off until they have had a chance to root and get going:
5 foot spacing between all the blueberry plants ... which should allow us to sneak in some summer squash between them.
We also got the second tarp pulled out of the woods and laid out and weighted down (left side of the above photo)
After using the Stihl FS 66 with cultivator head to do some tilling in the garden bed (which someone wanted done and can be a real treat in hard ground), I decided that I wouldn't be doing that again. Instead I'll just pull the t-posts (which are coming out anyways) and run up the sides of the plants with the Kubota and King Kutter tiller. Will be much easier.
Was going to mulch around the blueberries but decided to hold off until Wednesday. The mulch tends to come out of the bags wet and they suggest not placing it until you have (at least) 24 hours of dry weather to allow the biodegradable dye to dry.
This picture of the northeast planting bed shows an azalea in the center of the picture. The thicker green stalks surrounding it are Lilies of The Valley, which I got some starts for from a neighbor lady (now deceased) They have begun to spread and naturalize the area, from just a dozen or so planted right around the azalea:
The clumps of thinner stalks are either chives or wild onions - which we seem to have growing everywhere. They are kind of mixed blessing - I consider them unsightly ... but the deer (supposedly) hate the smell and avoid areas that have them.
After finishing up with the blueberry planting and maintenance, I hit the front lawn again in an effort to keep all the dandelions from going to seed until I can manage to spray them. Got it about half done.
Rightside mostly mowed, leftside not:
Final picture - the tulips and daffodils on the south end of the planting bed behind the house are fully in bloom, while the ones on the north end have begun to fade:
Didn't figure on that there would be that much of a difference in soil temps from one end of the bed to the other.
Hope everyone had a great day ...
Last edited:
First time this year.
Nice ride on those big fat tires
