Fig buds swelling. 3.28.22.

Fig buds are just beginning to swell. Most of the early Spring fig pruning is done now. I hope there are somecgoid figs this year, for fresh eating and sharing. Maybe even canning, now that I'm the canning demon LOL.

Puttering. 3.18.22

Today I just puttered. I moved several clumps of bulbs from the woods edge to the hellstrip. The woods edge is becoming too dense for those,and they are nice flowers. I moved several clumps of Camassia, some Hyacinthoides, snowdrops. an Itoh peony, and some lambs ears. They don't look like much now so I'll just post a bigger image from the blog title.

I'd rather move all of those when they are dormant. However, now is the time when I can, so I did.

More Spring Flowers. 3.18.22

Some of these might be updates. Most of the plums are in full bloom now. I didn't plant many daffodils last year so these are from several years ago.

Overwintered Garlic Update. Growing Like Crazy. 3.15.22

"Musik" Hardneck garlic has been my go-to variety for a number of years. It has adapted nicely to my growing conditions, producing strongly flavored, really jumbo size cloves, only a few per bulb, and no puny tiny cloves that are next to impossible to peel. As a hardneck garlic, it keeps about 8 months, and one full raised bed grows about an 8 month supply.

When the weather warms up, the plants will grow vertical, almost like corn stalks. Last fall I experimented and bought two bulbs of a softneck variety, to see if it will keep a bit longer. I chose an Italian variety, "Lorz" which was described as a good grower with strong flavor. Not all of the cloves grew, but most did. I've noticed that home saved starts sometimes give better growth. Lorz was also much slower to emerge. I thought they might all be dead, but during the winter, they grew and have about caught up with the other variety.

Garlic grows well in large containers or raised beds, with a compost-rich soil. Fall planted crops can be a challenge to keep weeded, because weeds can grow faster than the garlic plants, early on. When the garlic plants are larger, it becomes a lot easier.

Spring Flowers. 3.15.22

There are some Spring flowers in bloom.