End of April

Well, it looks like the spinach is ready to begin harvesting. Also, the last of the tulips have finally bloomed, and the dicentra 'burning hearts' has sent out the first few crimson flowers.

A couple of days ago I began a new compost pile. There were plenty of leaves and lots of grass to build from. Also, I added two bags of coffee grounds from the Ballard Starbucks. Today, I turned the pile for the first time and ended up getting roasted by the heat emanating from the middle of the pile.

I replanted another bag of Alderman peas, but many still did not sprout, and a lot of sprouts from the first bag were ravaged by cut worms. As the picture shows above, I have tried to protect the successful plants with mini sticky note tubes to fend off attacking worms. Hopefully, the plants will get better established. Fingers crossed.

Finally, I discovered some celery starts a week ago at the Bellevue Nursery. I planted them toward the front of my plot so they will get full sun, and not be blocked by later vegetables (e.g., corn, beans).

The Color of Spring

Well, the weather is still behaving erratically. One day, it will be warm and sunny, whereas on another day it will be wet and cold. Thus, I'll have to hold off on any warm-weather plants. I have planted two separate groups of Alderman peas. I pre-soaked (sprouted) and innoculated these seeds to give them a head start, and covered them all with remay, as the birds will eat unprotected seeds.

As the pic above shows, my hellebore are in full bloom, and several of the tulip bulbs from last year have re-bloomed. I'm definitely planning on getting some more bi-color tulips next fall as the crimson ones look absolutely stunning. Also, there are some spinach starts in the background that are beginning to take off. My two dicentra 'Burning Hearts' plants have survived and show signs of green growth.

First Planting of the Year

I was busy last weekend planting this year's first vegetables. I planted pre-soaked Alderman peas, spinach starts, and cipollino onions. Although the temperatures are still rather cool, the hellebore is in full bloom, and the first tulips are showing fantastic coolers. Also, I harvested all my broccoli in order to make room for the peas. I know that the erratic temperature fluctuations may kill/rot these plants, but I'm taking the risk. Peas really need to be in the ground in March, and Alderman's more so (they take around 95 days to mature. Typically, harvest them first week of July).

Last night, I got an inch of hail/snow at home in North Seattle. I'm hoping that Interbay, being closer to the water, fared better. Otherwise, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping the warm daytime temperatures sustain everything.

Early Spring

Well, it looks like my broccoli survived Winter. Also, the hellebore is beginning to bloom. Finally, can you spot the honey bee checking out my scilla (2nd to last pic)?

Snowmageddon!

(a pic from my office)

ok, I guess I jumped the gun in the last posting because during this last week we got a blizzard in Seattle. So, several inches of snow accumulated within two days. I did manage to put the burlap back down over emerging bulbs (for what it's worth), but I am pretty confident that the broccoli is now beyond care.

And, as quickly as the snows came, they quickly disappeared. Temperatures raised, rains came down, and the snow melted pretty quickly. But, that's not the end of it. Seattle also got a lovely wind storm a few days ago. It managed to knock over the lightweight plastic shelving system on my deck (the one with all my potted cyclamen) and create more problems. I've now repotted my cyclamen for the fourth time since I've begun collecting them. Needless to say, the stupid plastic rack goes. I'll have to brainstorm an alternative solution, but the pots will just have to sit in the corner of the deck on the floor.

A New Year

Well, January is here, and weather reminds me of October and November. This has to be one of the mildest winters on record. December was certainly one of the most dry. There was very little rain. Also, I remember only a few nights that got down to below freezing. The fact that my broccoli is still alive attests to this.

Yesterday I got outside and got some work done in my plot. I folded up the burlap and raked up and removed the leaves I laid down a couple of months ago. They were quite dry and hadn't decomposed much. Also, I tried to clear out as much of the weeds (there are plenty) that took root since last fall.

Some of the perennial bulbs are beginning to poke up above ground, and I noticed some new growth with the hellebore and cyclamen coum. I expect to see these plants start to take off by early February (maybe sooner with such warm weather). I just hope there is no major cold snap yet to come.

Christmas at Bellevue Nursery

I visited the Bellevue Nursery yesterday and snapped a few pics. For a small nursery, they do a great job in decorating it for the holiday season.