Updates!

So some things have happened, which shouldn’t come as any shock. That’s life, embrace it! Here are some updates on various projects around the Harvestheim garden:

Willow Fedge:
Yeah… this part isn’t going so great. Pretty much all of the willow that I sprouted and potted up has died due to an unknown cause. The Rods grew great for about two weeks in the pots, then the leaves started showing signs of over-watering and under-watering simultaneously. Noticing that, I split the willow into two groups and dialed back the watering on one of them. This made no difference at all, they all died at approximately the same time in the same fashion. Now, it’s of course possible that even the reduced watering was too much, but this is willow so I’m not convinced that was the issue. I ordered more and planted them outside just a few days ago, hoping that at least works because Salix Flame isn’t common around here.

Asparagus from Seed:
This is a thing I wanted to try, so I seed started some Mary Washington asparagus. To supplement the variety I also ordered some Purple Passion asparagus crowns. To give them a really nice home to live in for hopefully the duration of their somewhat long lifespans (15+ yrs) I ordered a Vego 17” tall garden bed, which is a high quality galvanized metal raised bed brand in the same vein as Birdies. The crowns arrived earlier than expected, several weeks early in fact, which put their arrival not only before the bed was built but also before I could even order dirt to fill it. This wasn’t great, requiring that I build the bed ASAP and that I take dirt from one of my existing garden beds to fill the new one since it’s not a great practice to try to move asparagus crowns around after they start to take root properly.

Strawberries:
Half the strawberry plants arrived weeks early along with the asparagus mentioned above. I had ordered a different brand of metal bed for these, a 4’ by 8’ bed that is 2’ tall. This bed, of course, also hadn’t been built yet when they arrived, and trying to pull nearly two cubic yards of dirt from existing beds isn’t worth the hassle so the strawberry plants were split into two groups. The first I planted in a raised bed that I was going to use for tomatoes in the hopes that I can move them once they wake up properly and have their bed built and filled. The other group is planted in pots in the shed and are doing much better overall than the ones outside.

Growing Blue:
The blueberry bushes arrived and look great! Those beds also weren’t filled, though this was less about the timing and more about the weather. I need to order 8 cubic yards of a mix of compost and dirt, it’s been raining almost daily for the last week and a half so I haven’t placed the order yet. Soon. In the meantime the two bushes are potted up in the shed under the grow lights.

Meyer Lemon Tree:
In an attempt to really test myself I’m also going to attempt to grow a potted Meyer lemon tree, which arrived two days ago. That’s currently sitting on our breezeway where the cats can’t get it enjoying some sun in between storms. I’ll be up-potting this tree to its new home either today or tomorrow. If you weren’t already aware, lemon trees and their relatives like limes and oranges are extremely toxic to cats. As such, this tree will live outside from the time I plant out the tomato plants (beginning of May) to about a week prior to first frost, and will overwinter in the shed or breezeway. Probably the shed, though that requires artificial lighting the shed is much better insulated and this tree can’t be allowed to go below forty degrees Fahrenheit without protection of some sort.

Seed Starting:
Eggplants and peppers are germinating, as is the Mary Washington asparagus. I’ll be starting tomatoes this weekend, as well as squash, kale, and flowers. I’ll likely be sourcing the herbs from a nursery this year.

2023 Single Seed Challenge:
I’ve decided to participate in 2023’s Single Seed Challenge, with Solanum Atropurpureum as my seed of choice. It’s a particularly stunning variety of the Nightshade family. Unfortunately I may have to start over, as my seed hasn’t germinated yet and it’s been three weeks. I’ll give it a bit more time.