We had a nice (filling) breakfast at the Maltby Cafe and then proceeded to waddle around Flower World for a few hours. I was looking for odds and ends since I don't have room for more veggies and my aunt gets me all my plants. But what I was really looking for was a 7x15 nylon netting for my trellis. Twelve feet just won't cut it to span all three of my beds plus the pathways. I've found one for $17 with shipping at Johnny's but I hate to pay extra shipping if I don't have to. Alas, Flower World only had 5x15, so I decided to hold out, despite the price at $8. Note to self, I should have bought it. hehe. I did get some tomato cages to help support the heavy fruit-laden vines (positive thinking). I also found a good price on gloves and bought some of that self-cutting twisty ties that GardenGirl has on one of her videos to help train plants to trellis. Overall Flower World was fun, but not for a veggie gardener. I was interested in their chickens that run around the park and pond. There were regular ones, ones with fluffy feather head dresses on and ones that looked soft as bunnies. Very cool. I mentioned that we should get some to my wife and she put her foot down. Eggs, fertilizer and weed control did nothing to sway her. Ah well.
When we got back home I took my eldest and headed north to Wally World to see if for once they had something Judy got at Wally World in Alabama. No luck, all they had there was 5x8 nylon netting. Grrr. Damn you regional procurement. hehe. What I did get there (other than socks and underwear for the kids) was a half pitch fork. My aunt won't leave hers here and it was only $18. Even if it's cheap and doesn't hold up I can buy a new one later. Hehe after I bought it I read Judy's blog and she wants one for Mother's Day. Great minds think alike! And so do ours...
After I got out of Walmart, I headed to Emery's nursery, which is a mile from Walmart. I've got a $25 gift card from the preschool auction last month and was hoping to use it on a trellis and maybe some other garden thingy. Too bad they were closing when I got there, but a nice sales person did show me their netting. 5x15 again, but for $9. Grrr. Since it was my first time there she showed Logan and I their Coi pond, beautiful fish! If only I had a pond, and no raccoons... hehe. She also told me they've got 6 acres there including a chicken coop. Hmm, I'm going to have to go back and look around, and maybe look more closely into the rules on chickens in the city.
When I got home I checked out my garden. The radishes are almost totally unburied, the spinach has ladle sized leaves, the lettuce is almost ready to pick and I'm getting more spouts from my bush beans. However, my final seed potato still hasn't sprouted. I'm thinking of taking it out and putting it under sunlight and heat to try to get it to sprout then put it back. Not sure.
Here's a current but blurry pick of my blueberries. Today I removed 95% of the flowers and sprinkled some acid-loving fertilizer around the ring you see in the picture. That ring's what's left of the coffee grounds I put around them a month or two ago. I sure hope it's working to make the soil acidic enough for them. I left just enough buds on the strongest canes to let just a few blueberries grow, just so I know they can, and to placate my son. hehe
After that I tested my compost bin just about 7 days after I created it. Low and behold, the temp was 135 degrees, below the zone. So out came my new pitch fork and I turned the compost. The middle was grey and clumpy so I replaced it with green and moist, with some weeds and paper towels thrown in for good measure. It's now a thinner tall mound hoping the magic will happen again. Here's to hoping I'm doing it right.
Tomorrow I'll call Sky to see if they by chance have my netting, then if not I guess I'll either bite the bullet and spend the shipping on what I want or maybe head back to Emery's and buy the 5 foot one and just raise it a foot off the beds and run a piece of twine under it. Not sure.
Oh, and let me add another twist to the whole, can I plant tulips around my trees. ROFL I forgot to mention that under the mulch and yummy compost is a layer of landscape fabric to keep the weeds and grass from growing up through it. I'm kind of doubting the tulips will make it through, or would they? Maybe I'll add some to my new rock garden when it's time to plant them.
Well, to all the mother's out there, Happy Mother's Day! You deserve to rest (and much, much more!) and maybe get out in your garden for fun while your family makes breakfast.
Tulips will make it thru the lanscaping fabric. They'll go right thru the big hole you cut to plant them.
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