Category Archives: Ye Olde Garden

Ye Olde Garden

Soil block adventures

Thanks to Prime Day, I picked up a soil blocker. I’m on my way to seed starting and cultivating plants in soil blocks.

This meant also making my own seed starting mix, something that I’ve been wanting to do ever since pandemic gardening switched into full gear. I came up with my own DIY mix with media I was able to collect locally.

  • 1 part perlite
  • 1 part organic raised garden soil (Miracle Gro)
  • 1 part organic compost
  • 1-2 handfuls of organic plant food (Espoma Garden Tone)

I used a 1 gallon ice cream plastic container to bucket out my portions into a seed tray and began mixing away.

Realizing that mixing this media in a shallow tray would result in a mess and lots of wastage, I made sure to create a 2nd batch in a stainless steel full size steam pan. We were previously experimenting with high sided steam pans to double as litter trays, but decided it was impractical to keep lidless trays with dogs roaming about looking for “kitty treats”.

Those high sides made it easy to contain the soil mix that turns to slush once you add water. Then it’s just a matter of finding the right jig/dance with the soil blocker to pack the slushy mix and eject the molded blocks.

I forgot to measure the amount of water added to the mix. I was mainly trying to go by feel…so some of my extruded blocks ended up a little crumblier than the next batch. So it’s trial and error for now until I come up with a system that I’m satisfied with and produces the desired results: mainly healthy seedlings.

By the 3rd day, radish, lettuce and kohlrabi seedlings popped up. Success!

Ye Olde Garden

Cats in Trees

My DH thinks that trees near fences and cats make for disastrous outcomes.

We did move this builder-installed Chinese Pistache to the backyard when we bought our Shantung. At the time, we didn’t have any other shade cover in the backyard, and having a tree there sounded like a good idea. Over time, the lawn surrounding it got ripped out, ornamental beds got installed next to it, and now a pondless waterfall is in the process of being built above it.

This pistache has weathered all sorts of neglect, yet grown tall if a little askew. It’s given our most athletic of cats a place to test his climbing skills. It’s also something to look at with every color change in the fall.

Someday, we’ll likely take out the pistache, but for now, it makes for a great cat climber.

Anyway, it’s a lot more fun than watching them rolling around on the dirt.

Well…maybe not.

Ye Olde Garden

Milkweed ID needed

I need help figuring out what milkweed is growing in my beds. I started milkweed in 2018 which found its way into the backyard. I also bought and transplanted other specimens as well.

The only ID I’m certain of is the variegated butterfly weed which overwintered in the garage. The Home Depot version lists as Butterfly Kisses, but it didn’t stop me from picking up another variegated milkweed from North Haven Gardens, Monarch’s Promise. Maybe they’re one and the same.

Previous year potted milkweed
2020 New planting of Monarch’s Promise

Anyway, the following milkweed springing up from my beds are defying attempts to identify them properly.

  • Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed (a)
  • Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed (b)
Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed
  • Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed (a)
  • Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed (b)
Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed

True to the Rogue bed’s name, milkweed #2 appears to have reseeded rogue, with over a half dozen volunteer starts. The young leaves start out green which mature to the gray-green color seen in the pics.

Then there is the one potted milkweed that I can’t recall what it is. But I’m glad it emerged, suggesting that garage overwintering suits these plants. Now if I can only remember what it is. Hint: I bought 3 packets of Botanical Interests milkweed seed — Common (A. syriaca), Showy (A. speciosa) and Irresistible Blend (A. incarnata). If I remember right, one of the 3 proved difficult to germinate and didn’t take to water sowing at all.

Mystery Milkweed #3 in a pot
Ye Olde Garden

Seeds and Plants purchases

Earlier in April, I mentioned starting some seeds from a purchase I made from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I also visited Painted Flower Farm and North Haven Gardens to pick out some plants for the shade bed. Since then I’ve made additional purchases in attempt to satisfy my plant addiction.

Hostas are the last major addition I’m looking forward to dropping in the shade bed. I chased down a Facebook group that lists a variety of hosta sources. Island Breeze, Hans and Dancing Darling are enroute to me, courtesy of Tims Hosta Farm.

My lemon balm seed starting efforts have been frustrating. It’s the only seed that haven’t germinated. Either this is harder than I thought or the lemon balm seed I have today are probably too old. So I found Hayefield’s shop on Etsy and purchased some All Gold lemon balm, along with Golden Jubilee Agastache and Variegated Prunella.

I am highly nervous that the pineapple sages that I planted in 2018 aren’t going to return, so I’m trying to source either plants or seed. Luckily one of my fave online plant catalogs, Colonial Creek Farm, has them sale. I picked up two Golden Delicious pineapple sages, along with white anouk lavender, curly mint and pineapple mint.

Last are the impulse buys from big box stores and the local Calloway’s: herbs, pepper plants and tomatoes.

Ye Olde Garden

Adventures in Stacking Stone

I indicated in my IG feed that I completed redoing the stone border on the HA bed (dubbed for the heart attack that my man incurred attempting to mulch it 2 years ago). I then switched over to redoing the long bed borders and that’s taking quite awhile longer. Digging up clay and re-leveling the entire bed means that we’re adding at least another foot of height on the existing bed. The beds are nearing completion but it is back-wearing work. The sprinkler system redo next to the fence line is slowing down progress.

  • HA bed with finished border
  • Before
  • Before
  • During
  • During
  • During
  • Almost there!
  • Almost there!
  • Almost there! Long and Rogue Beds

To help out with the stone and dirt hauling, we purchased and assembled a GorillaCart poly dump cart. It’s quite a monster! We still need more bags of stone, gravel, soil and compost and mulch to get the backyard in a semi-organized state.

GorillaCart poly dump cart — huge!

The man wants another pallet of stone, but our sod removal contractor hasn’t been exactly responsive so I’m not sure that we have new beds to work on this year.