It turned out better than expected

My little garden patch has a corner for me to sit and read, call a friend, or just enjoy being in the garden.  After spending some time out there enjoying a cup of coffee, I felt the space lacked something. I wasn't sure what, exactly, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. 

The biggest issue was the deer netting. I didn't like the way it sagged. It was obvious the stakes weren't going to stay in place, courtesy of the rocky ground. It's difficult to drive the stakes deeply. They leaned this way and that, and I didn't like the look. The solution came to me last week - I needed two short racks for the corner. 

Several years ago, the Lord of the Manor made four racks for me. I'm still using them to trellis growing plants. But instead of two more eight-foot sections, I went with four-foot sections since I was more interested in supporting the netting in the corner than having more trellis. Knowing myself, I knew they had to match what was already there. That's a shady corner and not too good for veggies, which is why my sitting area is there. The grow bags will contain blooming flowers, not tomatoes or peppers. 

I confess to being proud of myself for constructing the two new racks all on my own. They added just the right amount of support for the netting and they give my corner an air of privacy. 

After the job was completed, I sat in the chair and cried a bit. Ron taught me so many things, but this project would have been better if he'd been here to give me an 'atta-girl'. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, gardening, deer netting, country lifestyle, rural living, privacy, life after loss, trellis, grow bags, 

Moving from garden to firewood

My gardening season is over. There is one lone basil plant in the garden and I'm toying with the idea of putting it in the greenhouse to see how long it will go. The begonias will stay in their planters until a hard frost gets them. I'm content to let them go because the mother plants will tucked away all nice and cozy in the den this winter with a grow light. 

The Greenstalk has been moved to its new location by the patio. The daylilies have been repotted and the big pots are ready for next year. The year #1 buckets have new soil and are in the greenhouse waiting for spring. 

My best tip for anyone planning a container garden - woven ground cover from Grower's Solutions. It held up to foot traffic, stopped the grass and weeds, and is easy to keep tidy. I used the leaf blower to keep it free of debris. 

I feel really good about the 2023 season. I not only enjoyed having the garden and watching it grow and produce, but I gained more knowledge. My garden will never feed us for an entire year, but it puts a few fresh things on the table with some left over to preserve.  

Now it is time to move from gardening season to firewood season. I have a good supply of firewood for this year, and what we split now will be for the 2024-25 winter, and possibly beyond. I have a large maple that I've contracted with a service to take down, and an equally large cherry that I could drop but my cousin says he will do the honors. 

Before we get really into it, there is a small pile of cherry and oak to split and stacked that can be burned toward the end of this year if needed. Using the bucket on the John Deere, I'll bring some poplar up to the house and clear a spot to begin stacking for next year. We worked a lot harder before we got the tractor. 

Life in the country moves with the seasons. There's comfort in being in tune with nature. I may not have the biggest house or drive a brand-new car (by choice, mind you), but I am content to be where I am with what I have. And not only am I content, I am generally happy with my life and my country lifestyle. 

Yes, there is work to do. Daylight, I'm waiting on you!

The Lady of The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, firewood, gardening, rural living, being content, John Deere, country lifestyle, a writer's life, nature, cherry trees, grow bags, tomatoes, peppers, tree service

Planting day 2022

2022 before

The day has finally dawned in which I'm planting all the little veggies outside. Yes, I'm reclaiming my sunroom office from the jungle it has become. All will be put to rights. I hope.

We already planted eight cabbage and eight tomatoes outside and yes, we did toss a tarp over them the last couple of nights. The Weather Channel said we'd have frost, but we did not. We'll have to keep an eye on the forecast and use the tarps again if necessary, but that's okay. The plants are going outside! 

Yesterday, I filled all the grow bags except one. I ran out of my planting soil with one bag to go. I need to get another bag of Black Kow and mix up another cart full of the mix to have at the ready. (Which we did.)

I'm looking at the starts I have and I may purchase more grow bags. As with last season, I did not expect to have such good germination and survival rates. After I get the basic plan planted and arranged in my garden corral, I'll make that decision. 

One thing I won't short space on this year is tomatoes. I have a cherry, a slicing, and a Roma variety this year. I hope to make a modest amount of tomato sauce from the Romas, and to freeze dry some of the Veranda cherry tomatoes. The other veggie I need to reserve bags for is cucumbers. Those seeds are going in the dirt today. I got one pack of mixed bell pepper seeds, and they are doing great - but I don't really need peppers. They'll be the last thing planted, and I may double up in the bags. Whatever pepper harvest we get can be freeze-dried, too.

Eight hours later...

What a beautiful day to spend outside! I don't have everything planted. I did end up running out of my planting soil mix again, and we do need to go get even more Black Kow, perlite, and peat moss to mix up a bit more. 

We got more than planting done, though. There are always dozens of small chores to do when you live in the country. As I'll be fully retired in a month, we spent some time formulating a plan to gut the shed and reorganize everything in there! That's going to be a lot of work, and probably more than one trip to the landfill. Having all the junk gone and the items we actually use better organized will reap dividends for both of us, though. It'll be worth the aggravation of doing it. 

To top the day off, the spousal unit called for a pizza for dinner. All we had to do was drive to the local pizza joint and pick it up. No, we can't have it delivered because 1) we live one-half mile too far out of the town, and 2) Deuce loves to go for rides in the car and we spoil the dog without any guilt. 

I do love a man who knows when it's not a good idea to ask, "what's for dinner?'

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Let's try those 'taters again

Last year I got my hands on a few Kennebec potatoes and planted them in grow bags. I had a meager result, but I saved the spuds to use as seed potatoes this year. Well...... Those suckers sprouted like you would not believe! This year I have six potato bags planted and we'll see how they do. 

My grandparents always planted Kennebec potatoes. It's not a variety one hears about very often, but my grandparents were able to supply spuds to my parents and my maternal uncle. I'm not sure why they scaled back the potato patch, but the time came when they did. Maybe when the recipients of free potatoes weren't able to help dig because of job constraints had something to do with it. I just don't remember and it hardly matters now. 

So we'll see how it goes this year. Gardening is nothing if not one big experiment. You just never know what you'll have at the end of summer, and that is what makes it so much fun!

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

So how did the potatoes in the grow bags work out?

Last fall I conducted a little experiment on growing potatoes in fifteen-gallon grow bags. It was enough of a success for us to give it a try this past spring. I got a couple of Kenebeck seed potatoes and planted them in a big green bag - and they grew! 

Unfortunately, be it due to the weather or my inexperience with grow bags, the tops of the potato plants browned over the past two weeks. That meant the growing spuds were probably done growing because their source of nutrients had died. I wasn't quite ready to call it quits, but logic and common sense do sometimes prevail here on the manor. I emptied the bags to harvest the potatoes - and there were potatoes.

It wasn't the harvest I hoped for, but it's got potential. These can be used as seed potatoes now. There is no reason at all I can't allow a few of them to sprout and replant the bags for this fall. I even wonder if the plants will survive in the greenhouse over the winter. 

Half the fun of gardening is just planting and standing back to see what Mother Nature will do, and what she can do. 

We'll keep you posted.

Oh, and those really small potatoes? We'll boil them, butter 'em up, and enjoy!

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Regrown celery

Some time ago, I learned it's possible to regrow celery from a purchased stalk. When I first saw the pictures on Pinterest, I was intrigued - and a little skeptical. I went to the fridge, whacked off the celery root, and stuck it in a cup of water. Within a day or two, it was sending up new growth. In due time I planted it in a pot and watched it grow. My first impression was that even if it didn't grow celery I could eat, it was a lovely green plant. I've been playing with celery ever since. That all changed this summer. 

Earlier in the year, I invested in some grow-bags to serious about growing some of my own vegetables. I've been growing celery in flower pots but the grow-bags are a much better home for any veggie.

This past Tuesday, I harvested three celery plants. The ribs were diced, blanched, and frozen for in soups and stews. The leaves were dehydrated for the same purpose. 

What amazed me was on Wednesday morning I discovered the oldest plant had responded to being harvested by quickly growing another four inches. With any luck, I'll get another harvest before cold weather descends. 

Here on the manor, we enjoy trying different things. Some things work and some things don't work, but we always manage to smile and get on with our day.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor