Repotting the Fig Tree

Since the weather has been so nice I've been trying to take advantage of the extra hour of daylight when I get home from work at night.

So last night I decided to transplant Mr. Figgly into a larger pot.

I chose the largest pot that I have that when full 2 people can easily lift. This fig tree will be stored on the sun porch or the garage during the winter so it needs to be able to be moved.

The bottom of the pot was filled with organic potting mix. I mixed in about an inch of compost and a handful of lime. Fig trees when planted in the ground benefit from the addition of lime in the soil. I've also read that you can use limestone chips as mulch and when you water the tree the lime goes into the soil. 

I added the tree, surrounded it with more potting mix and then watered it well.

I'm hoping Mr. Figgly will enjoy the new pot and produce lots of delicious figs this year.

Since I had the potting mix out I decided to also transplant my chive plant into a larger pot. 

Is this March or May?

As I drove home today I couldn't help but notice so many of the trees budding and blooming. When I got home the first thing I did was take a stroll around the garden to see what plants are waking up in this unusually warm March weather.

The hydrangea that I transplanted from my old house last spring is starting to get its leaves.

The early flowering irises around the oak tree are all blooming now.  I planted them in this area because it's just below the kitchen window. It's a nice view while I brew my coffee in the morning.

It looks like the hyacinth will be blooming soon as well!

The weather looks beautiful for the next 10 days, so hopefully I'll be able to get lots of gardening and yard work done this weekend. The normal temperature for this time of year is highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's.

I received a chart in the mail with my plot assignment for the community garden. I may try to stop by the garden tomorrow to see if my plot has been measured and marked off yet. Once that's done I can start putting up the fence and get a soil test.

Second and Third Raised Beds

All of Sunday was spent removing grass and setting up the 2nd, 3rd and 4th raised beds. I ran out of soil mix so only 2 of them got finished by the end of the day. 

The smallest bed was planted with the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings.

After work today I added the hoops and planted peas in the larger bed.

The walkways are a bit of a mud pit right now. This weekend I hope to add a weed barrier and some wood chips. 

Peas Planted:

Pea Little Marvel

Snow Peas Sugar Ann

Pea Dark Seeded Early Hybrid

I also started some more Roma tomatoes that will be planted in my community garden plot.

Carrot Frustration and No More Room Under the Lights

All but 3 of the seeds I planted last weekend have germinated, it's getting crowded under the lights again!
My big frustration is the carrots that I planted 2 weeks ago in the pot to the right. The seedlings that have come up are really weak looking. I may have to start over with this one. I read about a method of starting carrot seeds in gel, I think I may give it a try this weekend. If that doesn't work the carrots will be direct sewn in the garden.

I potted up the peppers and parsley this week and they're growing strong.

Here's a picture of the tomatoes, tomatillos, ground cherries and herbs:

 I was happy to see that all of the ground cherry seeds sprouted, but the seedlings are really tiny.

...and here are the pansies. The are small and growing very slowly. I think next year I'll start them earlier. 

So far this year I've not had any problems with dampening off. I've been extra careful not to over water and it seems to be working.

First Harvest of the Year

The weather was so nice that I decided to cook salmon on the grill. While I was outside I noticed that the chives were coming up. I thought they would go nicely with the salmon and some potato pancakes. So I snipped off a few and yum!

I can't wait until the greens are ready, not long now!

Raised Bed Progress

Just a quick post today. I wanted to post a progress image of the 2 larger raised beds that I made last weekend.

The raised beds are only half way finished, I still need to add the top row of boards. It will be added on after the beds are in place.  If I put them on now we'd need more than 2 people to move them! These beds are 4'X8'X11"
I also made a 4'X4'X11" bed that's completed and inside the garage.
I made these beds taller because of the questionable soil next to the garage. Also I plan to grow veggies that have larger root systems in these beds so I need the depth.

The temperature is supposed to reach 61F today, and 68F tomorrow! It's supposed to be a little colder, but sunny this weekend so (fingers crossed) I can move the beds and fill them with soil this weekend. If all goes smoothly maybe I can plant some peas.

I also I moved Mr. Figgly the fig tree onto the deck to get some sun this morning. I hope to plant him in the pot to the left on Saturday.

Gardeness visits the Philadelphia Flower Show

Yesterday we went to the Philadelphia Flower Show. Each year the show has a different theme and all of the flowers and displays are within that theme. This year was Hawaii.

When I walked into the hall the first thing inside was a beautiful light wave with rows of white flowers in between the waves.

There were orchids, ferns and tropical flowers in all colors of the rainbow...

even an indoor waterfall.

Strange looking plants, their stems wrapped in some sort of twine (I loved these)

Colorful table settings:

On the other side of the hall were some more local looking displays including a vegetable garden...

and some smaller flower displays. I love the use of the birdhouse here...

and here...

and here:

It was really hard to take a good picture at the show because it was SO crowed!

I also saw lots of terrariums. I've been wanting to make a terrarium, I'll have to add it to my to do list for next winter.

The last several rows of the show were booths with items for sale. It's probably a good thing that most of it was giftware and jewelry. If there had been more seed or gardening vendors I might have spent a lot of money. I did buy a wood trellis that will work well for cucumbers or another small vining plant.