STATE OF THE GARDEN: 1/19/13

Well, I've been doing a lot of work in the garden-- at least compared to the usual-- and I'm finally making some headway.

I'm slowly getting the bougainvillea cut down. I did a batch of it last weekend, and another batch this weekend. I'm hopeful maybe I can get most of the rest next weekend. I started on the really thick branches today, and filled the 65 gallon bin again.

This was it when I started last weekend...

...and this is where I stood after today.

I had sprouts left over from my seed experiments, and I hated to throw them away (I hadn't thought beforehand about what I was going to do with any resulting sprouts). So I stuck 2 of the bean sprouts on the sides of this windowbox...

...and I planted 4 bean seeds and 4 pea seeds in the front and back. Three of the pea seeds have just begun to peek above the surface.

 I also cleaned out one of the deck planters and put 14 sprouts in there, along with 2 pepper plants and a tomato plant.

In the back left, I put 3 Big Red Ripper Pea sprouts (I'll thin to two)...

...and 3 Garden Bean sprouts in the back center...

...and 4 Royal Burgundy Bean sprouts in the right-back corner (which I'll also thin to two).

And I stuck 4 Brandywine Tomato sprouts around my tomato cage, and was actually surprised to see them sprout up as they did (since they hadn't yet actually "sprouted", and I wasn't sure whether the old seeds were still any good).

My jalapeno plant has two little peppers started, and a couple more blooms...

My sweet bell pepper plant seems to have a couple of blooms coming in as well...

I also have a Better Bush tomato plant in this planter, and it had two tomatoes started on it when I got it, and now I see a bloom or two on it.

I also have two pots of herbs, and the top one also has an heirloom yellow cherry tomato plant, and I noticed today that it has a couple of blooms coming in.

I also have a strawberry pot, a papaya tree (I need to get a couple more to plant along the fence), and a passion vine that is loaded with buds.

My first passion flower just bloomed...

It smells so good! Very sweet, almost like grapes, and I can smell it from a couple of feet away. I can't wait until it has more blooms!

And my strawberry has a couple of blooms.

I also finally repotted my poor pineapple. I started this thing probably 4 years ago or more, but it has become stunted. I figure it is probably due mostly to it being in too small of a pot, and a lack of water. So I repotted it today, and gave it a good dousing. Look at the two pots compared!

We'll see how it does now that it has room to grow, a good drink, and a nice spot in the sun.

My one banana tree that was cut down a few months ago continues to grow, but the other three of them remain small. We'll see what happens with them.

My grapevine continues to hang in there. We'll see what happens with it.

My backyard came with what used to be a shade garden before I cut down the ficus, and I've considered getting rid of these snake plants...

But I'll tell ya... these things have been in bloom lately, and boy do they smell good! Sort of like jasmine.

Now I'm second guessing whether to pull them.

I also noticed the other day that I have some blooms on the mango. And those blooms have now changed over to tiny little fruits.

And I also trimmed the mango the other day (I know it isn't the right time of year for it), so I could walk under it. It was hanging too low over the deck, and it was getting impossible to mow under.

My goal this year is to take better care of my garden, and to fertilize my plants. I want to see what happens with the mango and loquat after some fertilization.

After I finish taking down this one bougainvillea, I need to work on the other one that has been taken over by the mango.

I'm trying to decide whether I am going to completely take them down, or if I will try to keep and manage them. I hate the thought of trying to manage those thorny things!

So I'm making some progress, and I'll work on it some more next weekend. But I'm done for today!

Seed Experimentation

Well, I'm exhausted. I did some yard work today, and have more to do tomorrow. Now I'm tired and sore.

I noticed the other day that it appeared that my fence was leaning in where my bougainvillea is located on the back fence. So I decided it is time to work on taking it down. It can get really beautiful a couple of times a year, but it is a nightmare to maintain, and is now jeopardizing my fence.

These new loppers I bought a few months ago are pretty great.

They had no problem cutting through a thumbsized branch of bougainvillea...

And my new Kobalt handsaw had no trouble cutting through bigger branches...

I cut down probably about half of the bougainvillea, and filled up my large 65 gallon horticulture can. I'll try to work on the rest next weekend.

I've also been testing the viability of my old seed. I started by putting seeds and beans that all had a 2009 "best by" date on damp towels.

Then I rolled up the paper towels and placed them in a ziploc bag labeled with all of the seed names.

Then I checked the seeds a few days later, and I found the beans and peas were doing really well.

Then today, after about a week, I checked them again, and found nearly all of the beans had germinated.

So I decided to try some experiments, instead of just throwing away the germinated seed.

First I cleaned out one of the deck beds.

Then I planted a jalapeno and sweet red bell pepper, and a Better Bush tomato plant (which already has a couple of small tomatoes on it). And then as an experiment I took some of the Big Red Ripper Pea, Garden Bean and Royal Burgundy Bean sprouts and put them about an inch down in the soil along the back. I also put a bunch of the Brandywine tomato sprouts around the outside of the tomato cage.

We'll see how it goes, and whether any of the sprouts grow.

I also put some trellis around my new grapevine.

Earlier today, while I was at Lowe's, I came across some boxes made to sit on a deck railing. So I bought a couple. I drilled some drainage holes in the bottom (I love when I get to use power tools!)

Then I put 4 Dwarf Taylor Bush Bean seeds along the back, and 4 Dwarf Oregon Giant Snow Pea seeds across the front. We'll see how they do, and how "dwarf" they are!

I also took 2 Dwarf Taylor bean sprouts and put one on each side of the box. We'll see how they do.

Then I took the remaining sprouts and spread them around the yard. Some I pushed into the soil, and others I just tossed on top. I put some around my mahogany trees and some around my grapevine. 

And I put some sunflower sprouts around my tree stump.

So we'll see what happens with all of my sprouts and seeds. I also sprinkled some Giant Columbine seeds over some soil in my decorative pot. I'll be curious to see what happens with them as well.

I have more work to do tomorrow, and I'm exhausted just thinking about it! I still need to do some weeding, re-pot my pineapple and some strawberries, put some lettuce seed in the other deck railing box, maybe clean out the other deck planter (to try sowing some Cornflower and Wallflower), and maybe finally put my Bird of Paradise in the ground (I've had it sitting in a pot on my deck for years). Oh, and I have a new papaya tree that I need to put somewhere, but I'm not sure yet just where.

So busy day tomorrow, too!

Slowly but Surely

Well, the yard is coming along, little by little. I hired my cousin to come over and do some work around the house and yard for me. Remember behind my shed? That picture in the banner at the top of this blog? Well, this is it today...

And to the right of the shed has been so overgrown you couldn't see that there was an entrance there to go behind the shed. This is a shot from a couple of years ago, and the areas still looked like this, or worse...

While the bougainvillea is beautiful, it is nothing but thorns and a nightmare to work around, and makes entering that area behind the shed impossible. So we are working to get rid of it. This is what this area looked like after my cousin finished with it today...

And now my guava tree can finally see daylight...

My Bismark Palm can now be walked under, which will make it much easier for mowing...

And the garbage guys have their work cut out for them tomorrow.

I'm hoping that they pick up the horticulture. I didn't expect my workers to leave a huge pile of stuff like that!

The sink from behind the shed was quickly picked up, but there is still a gardening table waiting for someone to snag it up.

The deck has been cleaned up and looks like a deck again. One of these days, I need to grill out again.

So a lot has been done around here in the last week or two. And I'm exhausted, even though I'm paying someone else to do the majority of the work! What I can't figure out is what this was doing laying on my bathroom floor after they left.

How did a wasp wind up dead on the floor? All I can figure is it came in on my cousin without him even realizing it.

 I'll be interested to see what happens with the yard over time...

UPDATE: I still live in a jungle

I've been trying to work on the yard a little, after much neglect for far too long, and have barely made a dent. Today I decided to try and pull a few weeds, and found it much easier than usual, given all of the rain we've been getting. NOTE TO SELF: After heavy rains is the best time to weed! The saturated ground doesn't hold onto the weeds as hard as it usually does.

I quickly filled my large horticulture bin (55? 65 gallons? Something like that...) with weeds, and it didn't even make a noticeable difference.

I also found that over the last couple of months, my swing cushion has literally disintegrated...

So I need to haul that out for garbage pickup this week, and then look into getting a new one.

Last I saw it not so long ago, it had some tears, but didn't look like this. So either the sun and rain has really taken its toll over the last few weeks, or the raccoons have-- or both!

Unfortunately I moved an old pot sitting on the deck in front of my shed, and found the wood rotted beneath.

I am finding that my deck is not holding up well. I have to wonder whether the wood they used was pressure-treated, or maybe it is simply because it wasn't sealed. In any event, I'm trying to think of plan B in anticipation of the deck needing to go in the upcoming years. At that point, I will probably switch to a brick or paver patio instead.

Then next to this I noticed what looked like strange little rocks or seed pods. Upon closer investigation I realized they were snake eggs!

And good-sized eggs at that! I don't think my little black snake Black Ivy could have laid these. I would say that the snake that laid these would have to be at least 3 1/2 to 4 foot long, wouldn't you?

I found the hole dug into a little bed in front of my shed, next to a tree. I counted at least 18 eggs. Unfortunately I am guessing that the raccoons got to them before they were ready to hatch, due to the way they were scattered around and the hole that seemed dug DOWN instead of up and out.

And then next to the nest, I spotted this little guy. He was dead.

Poor little guy.

I just have to wonder just how big Momma snake is to have eggs this big?

Big Day in the Backyard

Well, today was the day- the downfall of the ficus. I've intended to take it down for awhile, as the roots are dangerous to my plumbing, septic and foundation. We began by cutting off some of the lower branches last year. And then we had an unusually cold winter. After that, the tree dropped all of its leaves, and has since been getting some leaves back in little tufts. But the tree was definitely not doing well.

So it was time for it to finally come down. Tommy, Mom and Jon came over to help take it down, and my boss even came to help load it into his trailer and take it over to his property to burn.

Unfortunately this video came out sideways...

But when it was all done, all we were left with was this stump...

We may cut it down further later on, or I may use it as is to mount bromeliads or something.

Many thanks to everyone, as it never would have gotten done without them. And thanks to my Dad for offering to bring his chainsaw down here this week to do it for me!

Everyone is tuckered out tonight. Even Zook has been sleeping all day, after having played with Katy for hours. And now a storm is moving in...

...and it's knocking mangoes off the tree.

So it's a nice stormy night after a hard day's work. There's nothing better than that!