Oh, I am still waking up in the deep black night, even when I only just have time to get ready for work. And it's still grey and cold and wet.
Of course, life got so busy last fall that we never cleaned up the gardens, so we'll have to do that before Beltane planting, but that's OK, because we also need to put down a lot of supplements in the new gardens before we plant. We ran out of supplements before we finished last year and didn't have the funds to get more just then. It was dead obvious where we had the supplements down and where we had skimped. The nourished beds produced like crazy, big, juicy, and delicious! And the others? We got small plants, but little fruit -- and what we got was smaller, less beautiful, and less yummy.
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The photos are from the same shoot as my "spot of colour" 365 shot. This lovely farm is on my morning commute and I have admired it for 10 years or so. So very pretty! I don't think I entirely did it justice, but I am so glad I took the time (and so grateful that Rod helped! There is no way to pull over on that stretch of road, so Rod dropped me off and drove off and then picked me up.)
My new years letter is almost ready to go out. I have one more letter to print -- but that I tried three times before I gave up for the night. I really don't get on well with printers.
Jack and I have joined a homeschoolers Valentines Day card exchange. We have developed a system -- I make the basic card and then Jack decorates it. We're also sticking to quick and easy decorations so that no card takes too much effort because we have 20 or 30 to make. (Still waiting to find out.) It's kind of fun! :) And I am seriously considering signing up for another card making class with Katherine. It was fun and I got some new techniques because her style is very different from mine. And the techniques can be used for scrapbooking, too, so...
In the 365 project, I am finding that the Aperture Priority setting I have been playing with, I get a lot of really blurry photos. The shutter speed is slow enough that I catch myself swaying just as the shutter closes. I am wondering whether I need a tripod. Probably. But this will take some research unless one comes up on Freecycle...what is the difference between the $9 one and the $50 one and the $350 one? Best guess, go with the $50 one until you know what you want. ;)
Now, to finish the dishes and hit the shower...
I think you're okay on not having cleaned up the gardens in the fall. If you leave the dead plants out, they offer some protection to the roots of anything that is still alive, plus they supply some nutrients to the soil as they start to decay. Plus, then they stand a chance of coming back in the spring -- I've had plants come back that I had no idea could survive the winter. (Kale was the most interesting -- it formed sort of a hedge and got very fervent about flowering and making seeds, but it also produced a ton of yummy nutritious leaves, starting very early in the spring.)
ReplyDeleteI hear you on yearning to plant seeds. I am ready!
Could you post a brief list of what amendments you use in your garden? (I know you've posted at length about them before.)
Ohh, thanks, Valerie! That's excellent to know! Maybe I can make it a habit to clean up after I know what's going to come back. ;) I have a lot more passion for gardening in spring than fall, anyway.
ReplyDeleteSure, I can post a list...maybe I'll make that a separate post, though, as I re-do my research. ;)