Science Nerd

Survived another winter!

2009-04-29T18:35:00.000-04:00

What a relief - the longest, coldest, snowiest winter ever!! I'm back, and even though I abandon this blog every winter, I'm always glad to have the record of the previous year in the spring. Just planning what to plant, but first must re-read last year's 'learnings'.

Summer summary

2008-09-07T11:42:00.000-04:00

It was a very wet and cool summer, with only about 3 days of temps around 25 degrees C. As a result, the lawn is thriving, the trees are growing like crazy, the herbs are great, flowers are blooming, all is well. That is, except for tomatoville. I got very few tomatoes this year. Here's an inventory:
Black pear - 3 tomatoes
White currant - probably about 3 bunches of 8 tiny delicious tomatoes
Moira - the most successful, with about 8 good sized tomatoes
Thai Pink Egg - I love this one so much. What would I do without pink egg's tough, fertile disposition? I don't know, but it's about to give me about a dozen egg sized beauts.
Isis Candy Cherry - maybe 12 cherry tomatoes?
Purple Cherokee - 3, if they make it
Green Zebra - 3, again, if they make it.

*The above numbers are optimistic...I'm assuming that they will all ripen before the chipmunk discovers them, or before the snow flies. Seriously, can I get some freaking sun already??

The plants themselves are plagued with what looks like a wide variety of nasty diseases - I'm sure I have bacterial canker again on the Isis...whatever, I don't care what the leaves look like. I want some tomatoes.

The arugula was a success this year, and I will do it again. It helped to have 2 planters, done in succession. The only problem is that someone (earwig?) was eating the arugula, and they ate the entire pot's first growth. I guess the little buggers didn't like that the subsequent growths were bitter, so they left it. Whatever. Next year I'll set up earwig traps around the pots to save them.

Happily, the sweat peas and honeysuckles are still flowering, and this is giving the bees and hummingbird a reason to visit.

Tomatoes? Check!

2008-06-28T09:19:00.002-04:00

Thankfully, the Sauce and her mom have bailed me out of my tomato sadness, and I now have tomatoes aplenty on my deck. This year I sterilized my pots, to prevent the mayhem I enjoyed last year. So, my inventory includes a Purple Cherokee that Sauce's mom bought for me (yay!!), which I am so excited about! I also have a green zebra, Thai pink egg, and a Moira (yummy red tomatoes). I have also salvaged some from my tragic greenhouse, and I was hesitant to even post about them, because they are so small for this time of year. Anyways, they are looking like they might just make it! If they do, I will have an Isis candy cherry and a white currant for the Sauce. They are so small I don't even know if they will make fruit in time. Next year – must start earlier.

The rest of the yard is doing well – I received such a nice compliment from our backyard neighbour. He said that he thought our yard was the nicest on the street, because of my flowers. What a nice thing to say! I also think we can thank the rain for that. So far, there is lots in bloom…

Sweet William (I don't remember planting this!)
Yarrow
Peony
Clematis
Mystery blue flower thing
Sage
Roses

My goal this year is to see what sort of bloom cycles are happening in the yard. I'm pretty sure that we'll be approaching a lull soon, and I want to plant a few things to fill in the gaps. I'm anticipating some mid-late summer flowering from sweet peas, daisies, and oregano, plus I think the clematis and roses are long term bloomers. Also my Sea Holly seems almost weed-like in its invasion of my flower bed.

tomatoes...reeking of regret...

2008-06-07T16:10:00.002-04:00

Oh damn those tomatoes, damn them! They are now stunted and have been for the past week since the awful incident perpetrated by evil teens from hell. So, since my seedlings (the few that are left) are still only 10cm high max, I might have to give up on them. Sucks.

To make myself feel better, I bought a shrub to replace the Wiegala that has been shrinking every year since we got it. I moved it to the back yard (really, it's just a small woody stump with a couple of leaves) and replaced it with a snowberry bush! It's not creeping snowberry (ah memories of Abitibi), but an upright version that grows to about 2 meters. I'm excited to have something that will feed birds...let's hope it survives!

Finally, that creeping thyme is crazy - I'm afraid it's going to strangle me in my sleep.

Sabotage!

2008-06-03T17:43:00.001-04:00

My tomato rage has no bounds...some punks at school sprayed concentrated fertilizer all over my teeny tomato seedlings. Poor things - some are dead, but some are so tough that they started making new leaves, even with their old ones gone. Poor tender little buggers...anyways, it was quite a cull. So, if you see a teen with a squirt bottle of fertilizer, grab your plants and run, run for their lives!! Oh, and maybe throw a clump of dirt at the brat while you're at it.

A less intentional sabotage is the cat that poops in my yard. He pooped right under the peony, which is also my burial ground for my various fish and newts that have passed on. I'm charging that cat with committing an indignity in my mini-pet cemetery...the nerve! I responded with a bunch of citrus bits, and hopefully the lemon thyme I planted there will stink up the place enough that he won't want his bum in there.
What a jerk...eat my birds, poops on the memory of my dead fish.

Bird update!

2008-05-16T19:29:00.000-04:00

I saw my first Rose-breasted Grosbeak today in our spruce tree! I'm so pumped, so I thought I'd post to discuss the bird sightings in my yard. This year we've had a few newbies in our hood, despite the damned cats that roam around, upsetting the birds and Sal. So, we have always had...

Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrows
Robins
Chickadees
Grackles
Starlings
Red-wing blackbirds
Yellow throated sparrows
White capped sparrows

Our newest arrivals include:

Red breasted nuthatch
White breasted nuthatch
Evening grosbeak
Red breasted grosbeak

Exciting!
I'm also planning on planting some raspberries that Jocy sent my way - I've got a few ideas, and hopefully this weekend I can get them into the ground.

Tomato seed rescue!

2008-05-09T20:23:00.000-04:00

I have resorted to drastic measures, since the temp in the greenhouse this morning was 14 degrees C...sure, if the sun is out, it gets a bit warmer, but overall, it is cold. I have taken the seeds home. I hope it's not too late for them - they might have rotted by now. Also, the stuff in the greenhouse is taking a beating, as the teens that use it are pretty rough with stuff. If there are plants in a tray that they want to use, they take the plants out of the tray and toss them aside. I know, I should be happy that they are that enthusiastic about their plants, but do they have to toss my seeds around? Cripes.

Still no germination!

2008-05-08T09:37:00.002-04:00

Note to self for next year - they turned off the heat in the school last week, just when I planted the tomatoes. As a result, the greenhouse (and entire classroom for that matter) is very cold. It was warmer in April when the heat was on, and I probably would have got actual germination had I planted then. Unfortunately, I still have no germination, and it's been a week. I'm worried that the cold temps might also cause the seeds to go mouldy. This might not be my year for tomatoes...

Sweet peas planted.

2008-05-06T16:33:00.002-04:00

That's really all I have to say - I soaked some leftover sweet pea seeds for 2 nights (supposed to be one, but I'm sure it's fine), and planted them today. The rest of the yard is looking good - stuff is growing in for the most part. I've still got no germination in tomato-ville, but hopefully soon... and I picked up some arugula seeds on the weekend, so I'm looking forward to starting those babies - perhaps in a planter?

Yard clean up; the good, the lazy, and the stinky.

2008-05-04T13:36:00.006-04:00

I tidied up the beds that were abandoned last fall. My laziness works well for some plants, but not so much for others.
Laziness good:
Honeysuckle, rose, and clematis pruning - I was able to locate new growth
Laziness bad:
Peonies - they have emerged enough that they were getting in the way of me trimming last year's growth. I really should have pruned them sooner this year, and just laid the cuttings over top of the soil to protect the new growth. I say that as though I know exactly what I'm talking about, but I deduced this by scoping out the Peony Queen's plants (she lives on my street). I will stalk those people this year, hoping to learn what it is they are doing that causes their house to be surrounded by beautiful peonies every year.
Daisies and coneflowers - similar to peony troubles, but of course these guys aren't nearly as sensitive, so I'm not too concerned.

The compost stinks. Bad. Like dead maggots that threw up all over themselves. It seemed fine until I stupidly stirred it...dear darwin, it almost knocked me out. Anyways, I added a bunch of dead grass and leaves to fluff it up, mixing well (or as well as I could stand without barfing), then topping it with another layer of dead grass/leaves.

I don't want to count my chickens and all that, but so far these are the success stories of the winter:

#1 success story - That tough old wild rose that I got last year. I'd post a picture but they are so boring...the point is, I went outside prepared to revive it in the same way that I have to do with the other rose that I've had for years (it shrinks each year). Instead, it's greening up, and doesn't seem to need any pruning at all; plus it's really big. The other rose is high maintenance, and shrunken.
Daisies - looking good
Parsley! I don't even remember planting it, or letting it seed, so who knows.
Tarragon (no surprises there), chives, etc.
Some mystery plant that looks like Sweet William or something
All trees: cedars are my height, and the serviceberries are about to bloom, and they're taller than me!

Now, here are the...needs improvement stories:

thyme, both lemon and regular. I cannot keep those things alive over the winter.
rosemary
the other, older, more fragile rose. It looks like a weed. I want to kick it, but it's still trying to sprout, so I'll leave it. Maybe it will perk up and grow like crazy, but right now the pansies that popped up beside it are dwarfing it, and maybe even intimidating it.

I guess I'll go check on my maggot collection. I love those stinky little bastards.

Planted!

2008-05-01T16:56:00.000-04:00

I started the tomatoes yesterday in the greenhouse - I did four of each of the following varieties:

I "sterilized" the starter pots with boiling water, and used organic starter mix. I'm not going to plant tons (I think 24 is almost tons) but I'm assuming 50% success rate, with extras available for pals. It's still way more manageable than last year's 68 plants. What makes me sad is that I spent alot of time on them and I think that a few people that took them felt like they were doing me a favour or something...hmph. I'll save them only for homes where they are appreciated (and those were the majority of course).
I will probably start some basil too, so I can repay Joce and her mom for their generosity with the tomato seeds.

Gearing up...well, not really...

2008-03-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

I should be gearing up for planting season, but it is still too cold to even think about it, and we have lots of snow. I'm paring down the numbers of tomatoes that I'm doing this year, but we're changing up some of the varieties...I won't be starting them until sometime in April, to keep them from taking over my greenhouse. Also, a shout-out to Bev B., hope you're reading...you need to set up a yard blog so I can see your secrets! Bev B is responsible for providing me with plants that were successful last year (the daylily I believe, and that fabulous pink bee balm).

Course of action for sick tomatoes

2007-07-08T17:29:00.001-04:00

I just spoke with the tomato whisperer at my local greenhouse, and the first thing he asked me when I described my symptoms was "What sort of drainage do the pots have". Huh. As it turns out, the sickest plant (featured photographically in the previous post) also has the wettest soil (probably a combination of not-so-dry location and not-so-great drainage in the pot). Upon his advice, I drilled extra drainage holes in the pots, and moved the sickie into a much sunnier, slightly windier spot. He told me not to do anything else until the soil dries out, which will hopefully be soon. I purchased some 7% chelated iron which I will add to the watering can when it is time...
I can't help but want to blame my compost though - I had none of these troubles last year, and that was the major difference. Some of my other plants look like they have some sort of bacterial canker. I can't even look at them anymore...too much destruction.

Iron deficiency? Un-possible!

2007-07-08T12:56:00.000-04:00

With the help of You Grow Girl, and internet photos, I've discovered that my bush beefsteak plant, and possibly my Thai pink egg, have iron deficiency. What the hell is going on? Even weirder, it's these two that are on opposite ends of the tomato lineup. BBS is closest to the house, and doesn't dry out as much as the others, and TP Egg is at the far end of the lineup, where it faces the most drying conditions.

The scientific folks at Spectrum Analytic Inc. have some pretty useful information on their website...here's a sampling of their iron info:

Soil pH: High soil pH reduces Fe availability while acid soils increase Fe availability. The high pH effect is increased in waterlogged, compacted, or other poorly aerated soils. One factor in this effect is the presence of high carbonates in the soil, which also plays a role in waterlogged soils and in the root rhizosphere reaction to certain other nutrients and fertilizer sources.
High Soil P: Excessive amounts of soluble P, or high rates of P fertilizer, have been demonstrated to inhibit Fe uptake in many crops.
Form Of N Applied: Increased NO3 -N uptake can reduce Fe uptake by causing an anion-cation imbalance in the plant.
K:Fe Balance: K appears to play a very specific, but poorly understood role in the utilization of Fe. Some research indicates that low K availability can result in increased Fe uptake.

So...let me get this straight... high levels of P, Nitrate, and K seem to inhibit Fe. Would that mean that I've been overfertilizing? I'm relieved to know that at least one of my problems is probably fixable with just an additive, but I still have no explanation for the messed up curly leaves. Now, to find a source of iron...maybe I need to feed them some liver.

I'm also blown away by the hugeness of my Ivory Egg - here's the evidence. It's quite a freakshow, non? I'm pleased with it's apparent success, but afraid that it's actually diseased, and just hiding its symptoms, only to break my heart with no tomatoes. One other bizarre thing; the basil plant (which is just behind me in the photo, against the patio door) has major burn marks on it; I assume it's from sun, but I had no idea that it was that harsh out on the deck.

Black Pear is also doing very well I think. It is just behind ivory egg in the photo, and it's making the cutest little tomatoes I've ever seen. I just want to dress them up in little outfits and take them out to show them off to everyone...is that weird?

So cute!

Sick Tomatoes

2007-07-07T20:18:00.000-04:00

I don't mean sick in a good way, like "those tomatoes are so great they're sick". Nope, I mean sick as in "these sick tomatoes suck". Stupid sick tomatoes. I don't know what it is...I'm afraid that it is something pretty bad like bacterial canker. Why? I guess sterilizing the pots was a pretty important step that my lazy ass missed. Ah well, we shall see. Compared to last year, I have way more fruits, but I don't think it's necessarily a good thing because the same tomatoes have been sitting on that ivory egg plant for a month now. Probably going to be a bit tough. Also, I am worried because my leaves are looking yellow-ey. According to You Grow Girl, they might have either a magnesium or iron deficiency.
I don't get it - last year I just fertilized them, and watered them, and it was all good. I'll post pictures soon (for my records).

I also planted a day lily in that doomed spot in the front bed, where butterfly bush died. Good luck, lily! A lovely bee balm donated by our school librarian has been planted in the back flower bed...I can't wait for more bees!
Update: Here's a sickly photo of a sickly Thai pink egg leaf. Sweet cheeses, where to begin...
Note the 'chlorosis' on the leaf between the veins. Refer to following post about iron deficiency.

Note the curling of the edges of the leaves. Those damned leaves are practically crunchy.

Note that I didn't have the heart to document the horror at the base of the plant. The leaves are so curly they look like cigars. Not to mention the open sores on the stems. I can only handle so much tomato carnage in one day.

Spring 2007 Update!

2007-05-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend I repotted 5 tomato plants. From left to right they are...
Ivory Egg, Bush Beefsteak, Green Zebra, Thai Pink Egg and Black Pear. Hopefully it's not too early to have them out; I don't think there is much risk of frost, but who knows. When I potted them, I added one part of compost for two parts of potting soil, and I haven't added fertilizer. I also didn't add bonemeal and I think I will regret that...I guess I can throw some in now. Also, looks like Pink Egg needs to be staked soon. Finally, as a note for next year, every time I repotted I buried the stem.
I sort of wandered around the yard taking photos here and there. A few things to note...the Japanese lilac that suffered so much last year is actually doing quite well this year. Peony seems good, and the cedars all made it through the winter. A couple of weeks ago I sowed some sweet peas directly into the soil, and so far, no action. Luckily, I started other sweet peas in the greenhouse, so I'll probably take them home next weekend. I also picked up some groovy fancy geraniums, hoping to keep bugs away, but damn, I think the fancy ones may not do the trick. They don't seem to be stinky at all, and I'm worried that the fragrant leaves are what keep bugs away. I'll have to do more research on that.

Compost!!

2007-05-06T19:37:00.000-04:00

Wow, I am so excited...the compost that has been cooking for about 2 years has borne fruit. I haven't really harvested from it at all, and it seemed to have been able to absorb 1-2 years worth of vegetable kitchen waste and not overflow. I had been stirring it, but this spring, when I gave it the first stir, I was shocked to see dirt coming up, just below the recently added kitchen scraps! So, I harvested today, and it far exceeded my expectations...even Mr. Science Nerd is impressed...

I ended up adding some to the base of each of our cedars, and I mixed it into some of the beds (peonies, and herbs...misc. perennial bed is on it's own.). A few other things...
-planted sweet peas in the usual spot - I mixed some compost into the gross clayish soil.
-tarragon - crazy, same with oregano. Lemon thyme, looks like it's gonzo. The lavendar and sage are returning but slowly
-peonies are about 4 inches up...I've cleared all debris from around them...they'd better hope that there's not a frost, or I'm going to be pissed.
-daisies and other perennials (there's one mystery one that I can't remember, but that will have to be the subject of another post) in the awful back bed from hell are actually escaping into the lawn. So, there's nothing growing in the perennial bed except scary invasive lily of the valley, and everyone else is running for their lives.
-noticed (and squashed, sorry to say) wee tents of teeny naughty tent caterpillars on the serviceberry trees. I don't care how many aspens and birches they eat but stay off my serviceberries!

Visited Sauces' mom's place - some great perennial's there! I learned two things that affect me directly:
1. Lily of the valley are very invasive. I didn't realize how much until she showed us the crazy root systems!
2. Sweet peas need to be planted in cold soil. Again, I had no idea!

Honeysuckle Pruning

2007-04-22T12:13:00.000-04:00

Just finished yesterday's cleanup, and I pruned the honeysuckle today because I noticed that I could actually see the new buds popping up...I figured that now is as good a time as any. Hope the plant is ok with that.
I was reading my end of the season post from last year, and I noticed that I committed to planting no sweet peas. That's funny, I picked up two packs of seeds today...sucker for punishment, anyone? I can't help it - it must be sort of like childbirth, how you forget the pain and only remember the good. All I can think about is how amazing the blossoms smelled...who cares about the messy overgrown mayhem?

Yard update

2007-04-21T13:16:00.000-04:00

It is early in the season, but the weather has been unseasonably warm so, sucker that I am, I started some yard cleanup.

Herbs: Chives are up already, and oregano and tarragon are starting as well. I trimmed back last year's growth on the oregano, sage, and tarragon. I left some "mulch" on the tarragon by not cutting the stems too far back, and propping a bit of dead tarragon greenery amoungst the remaining stems...I'm hoping that the new sprouts won't be too damaged by the sub-zero temps to come. I left the lavender because the internet told me to.

Front bed: I trimmed the crap out of the butterfly bush - I probably removed about 8 in of stem. I aggressively pruned the creeping thyme, and creeping juniper. I left the periwinkle, which is slowly spreading and looking pretty good. I pruned the shrubs along the side - the tall juniper looks fine so I'm not touching it, but the dogwood has branches that are spreading out too far, so I cut some back...I got worried because after I cut, the 'wounds' bled a bit...hope I wasn't too aggressive. The cinquefoils got pruned, and my weigela looks like crap.

Side perennials: cut back all of last year's daisy, rudebeckia, and coneflower stems. There is already ground level growth!

Peony: removed last years "mulch" (cut stems)...thought better of it and reapplied. I had cut the peony back in the fall, leaving about 6in of stem, in the hopes of leaving some air space to provide a bit of a winter microclimate.

Back flower bed: pretty much left it - the sea holly that did nothing last year is already coming up!! We'll have to see...

Plans for this year...
-maybe plant some sweet peas against the deck...maybe both sides this time.
-definitely plant one or two more honeysuckle vines against the deck.
-see what happens with the tragic back flower bed

The season has begun!

2007-03-21T18:07:00.000-04:00

Ahhh...the first day of spring, and I was able to start a bunch of tomato seeds, thanks to Sauce and her quick delivery of seeds to my greenhouse.
I'm so excited - I think I'll take a picture of everything I have in there.
Alright, here's an inventory:
Approx. 15 each of:
Thai Pink Egg, Ivory Egg, Green Zebra, Black Pear, plus 20 Bush Beefsteak.
Upper Canada Seeds has a fantastic selection!
I put them in little 6-pack style plastic cells, and used an organic starter mix.

More garden updates

2006-08-14T12:20:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of The Sauce I will also compile a list of successes and ..."needs improvement" in the garden this year.
Success:
-Herbs still going; lots of bees in the oregano!
-looks like Butterfly Bush is taking well
-Sweet peas are actually a bit too successful - they are out of control, and looking sort of messy!
-climbing honeysuckle is making more blooms (second round?)
-scattering seeds of Bachelor's Buttons worked well - they are blooming nicely, and seem to be pretty tough!
-clematis bloomed profusely this year

Room for improvement:
-virginia creeper; I think I'm ripping it out - the effing leaf hoppers are starting to eat neighbouring plants. Also, I think it is starting to outcompete the honeysuckle, which seems to be more pest resistant.
-lawn...cinch bugs are bad.
-cilantro - it can't hold it's own against the axis of evil: tarragon, oregano, and sage
-that whole back flower bed - looks like mother nature got drunk then threw up in it.

Next steps:
-pull up virginia creeper
-no more sweet peas (so messy!!); maybe I'll plant morning glories in their place next year
-plant more honeysuckle to replace creeper
-apply clover seeds in yard (already did it! yay!!)
-prune bottom branches of tomato plants before they bear fruit - it's almost funny how the plants are so strong that they are ripping out their cages. Mr. Science Nerd had to make me some fancy stand alone tomato branch supports. I think he should go into business - I'll post photos later.

Leaf Hoppers!

2006-07-19T19:03:00.000-04:00

Grrr...my Virginia Creeper is infested with leaf hoppers! It is so bad, I don't know what to do. I called a place in Southern Ontario to get some ladybugs, but they expressed doubt that ladybugs would be an effective measure. I really don't want to spray, because most sprays are pretty toxic to bees...and the creepers are sandwiched between sweet peas and honeysuckle.

What to do??

Some other developments - I planted a perennial called Sea Holly in the horrible back bed, the driest spot in the world. It is supposed to be so drought tolerant that you are NOT to water or fertilize it. Sounds like my kind of plant.

We are having a chinch bug outbreak in the lawn, and Mr. Nerd has SPRAYED (aaaarrrrggg) the spots with pesticide. Not with my blessing...anyways, we had a...how you say..."discussion" about it, and I won!! I'm going to start seeding the bald spots with Dutch White Clover seeds (if I can find them), and our lawn will be pesticide free, and beeeeee friendly.

Hmmm...what other news to edumacate me for next year...the tomatoes so generously given to my by The Sauce are quite large, and flowering lots. There are quite a few wee green tomatoes growing in them, and they are just sitting in 5 gallon (I think) pots, with cages around them. I water them every day or two, and about once a week or so I give them a shot of 15:30:15 fertilizer to encourage tomato-making.

Finally, my parsley and basil are doing very well in containers on the deck, but they are definitely taking hits from naughty buggies, so I set out an earwig trap...ingredients:
-one empty cat food can
-a slurp of beer
-a slurp of veggie or olive oil
I've caught many nasties in there - hopefully my basil will be safe.

School's Out!

2006-06-30T16:19:00.000-04:00

Woooo!! I can finally devote my days to reading, knitting, and gardening (at least for a few weeks, anyways)!

To celebrate, I picked up a perennial for the "perennial bed of death", where nothing grows except mother of thyme and creeping juniper. I went for Butterfly Bush in the front bed...here are the specs:
-Attracts butterflies (duh)
-It does well to be "pruned back hard each spring" (and I quote!)
-drought and heat tolerant once established (woot!)
-Height: 1.2-1.5 m
-Spread: 90-120 cm
-Care: Average to dry, well-drained soil
OH NO!!! I just read the zone approving - zones 5-9!!! What have I done??? Oh well... the winter won't be too bad where it is located because it will get meters upon meters of snow piled onto it.

The flower info tag has a link to Heritage Perennials...ooh, even cooler, my actual plant is found here. I notice that it is rabbit resistant - this is good, since the snowshoe hare(s) that visit our yard seem to be making themselves at home.

Sauce you should check out the website - it has care notes on every plant we have!!

Ewww...crappy weather

2006-06-11T18:41:00.000-04:00

What a crappy weekend! I can't believe how cold it's been - but it'll be beautiful to go back to school. Oh well, not much you can do about it. So, I planted two tomato plants provided by Sauce in five gallon pots and they're sitting limply on our deck, trying to enjoy the freezing winds. :(

At the same time I replanted my hibiscus that has been crammed into a teeny pot in our kitchen - I haven't exactly been trying to kill it - however, I have not exactly been nice to it. A very weird thing happened today - I was working outside, and unbeknownst to me, the military was doing some sort of search and rescue training right in our area. Apparently, they had some dudes jumping out of a Hercules plane just a street over. I guess I was too preoccupied with my the ongoing battle in my herb garden to notice. Maybe they were practicing how to search for someone that has been eaten by my tarragon?

Some plants are happy, some aren't...

2006-06-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

I haven't really done much with the yard - mostly maintenance and a bit more planning (possibly a huge "hardy" rose bed...details to follow). I was messing around with my camera outside and I got some interesting pics of my peonies - it's surprisingly hard to get a good shot because the flowers get washed out in the light that adequately captures the foliage.
I also have a problem in my herb bed...the problem is the battle of the herbage. Scary...I don't know who's going to win - the tarragon is huge, the oregano sprawling, and the sage is tough as nails.

I am also having a battle of the 'climbers' - the Virginia creeper is winning, but the honeysuckle is making lots of flowers this year - I think I just need to prune the Virginia creeper mercilessly. Ahhh...I can almost smell the privacy I'll enjoy, sitting on my deck sipping coffee.

I am so pleased with the number of flowers old peony is popping out for me - I cut 4 huge ones for in the house, and there are still piles on the plant...ok, one last picture...

Procrastinating will stop now.

2006-05-29T16:39:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it - Ernie's my hero!

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times.

You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained

You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun.

How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

I'm sure this isn't a scientific quiz, but it's cute!

To keep this relevant, the gardening is good - still trying to decide what to put in the spot where the lenten rose died. Also, the peony is so tall that the supporting cage is not tall enough...I'd better get another one pronto!

Secret Garden Shame

2006-05-27T14:35:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes you offer to bake something for a bake sale, then you realize that you're out of time, so you just buy something? You know how dirty that makes you feel? That's how I feel right now. The damned sweet pea seeds failed to thrive. As in, every single one of them. The ones I planted outside, and the one I planted in my school greenhouse. I soaked the little bastards, and followed the stupid directions. Nothing sprouted! In fact, Mr. Nerd put up anticipatory cedar lattice, excitedly planning for the soon to be hatched sweet peas. Nothing.

I went to the greenhouse and bought 10 sweet pea plants, already started, for the low low price of 5 bucks. Take THAT, stupid seeds.

As for updates...I think the bachelor's buttons are starting to sprout (yay!), and sometime next month I am supposed to plant the sweet william that will not bloom till next year. It's getting hard to keep track of my mini-projects. I am really itching for a rose bush but it's only because I want things that smell really nice. I don't think that I can keep roses alive, so I should probably be a bit less ambitious. Besides, ole Science Nerd usually ends up pawning off all her jobs on poor Mr. Nerd. He's already gotten suckered into taking care of the bird feeders...I should cut the poor man some slack.

An answer!

2006-05-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

The experts at the Royal Botanical Garden in Hamilton answered my lilac question already! Here's the answer:

"Looking at the photo you sent, I think that it may have been frosted by a late frost in your area. Zones for lilacs are 3 to 7 and you live on the edge of zone 3 so this may be your problem. I would suggest that you remove the wilted leaves and watch the plant for the rest of the season. Lots of luck!"

I'm racing outside right now to prune it. What a great resource!!

Sad day in lilac-ville

2006-05-23T20:22:00.000-04:00

Damned lilac. I think it's a French or Japanese lilac - anyways, it makes nice double flowers, we've had it for about 3 years or so, and it is just dying! For no good reason - it's been a fairly wet spring, and the shrubs around it are doing fine. It's painful to look at...

Ugh. I'm going to email the Royal Botanical Gardens for advice (thanks for the hint Sauce!).
Instead of expressing my frustration effectively, I lashed out by stealing a flower from somebody's yard (heh heh...I couldn't help myself, there were so many!). Here's my secret stolen flower, which I hope will take over my flower bed, exonerating me of any duty.

I am so happy with the pansies I picked up at the greenhouse this weekend. They are so cute and friendly looking, and so very tough! I just stuck them in planters that I scavenged, and it's nice to have a portable source of colour...I love when bees visit them. I also just got back from the CT, where I picked up some pansies and dirt for my biology class. I feel like it's a waste of a flower's life to plant it in the awful bed behind my classroom, but the kids like the excuse to play outside and hose down the teachers' cars, so how can I refuse?
Finally, I had a bit of an African Violet disaster. I started pruning the long neglected violet, and I accidentally pruned the whole thing off. All I have left is a stump! In desperation, I "planted" the fragments in pots...oh well, if they can't survive, they'd best not live in my house. Yikes.

Peonis envy

2006-05-09T18:55:00.000-04:00

I love peonies. I love this time of year. It's so bizarre...with all the flowers popping up, and the soft green leaves just fresh, it makes me feel all...fancy. Like I just want to sip tea and listen to Vivaldi or Handel or something. And sniff peonies and cherry blossoms.

At school I took the gr. 12's outside and they did some plant sampling, but when they were done I made them come on a nature appreciation walk, and we sniffed pin cherry blossoms. I'm not sure if they were into it...but ask me if I care.

Garden progress

2006-05-07T14:38:00.000-04:00

I attempted to take stock of my garden situation today. As always, I am haunted by the usual bald spots, though I can't help but be excited to have a place to plant new precious.

The herb garden is doing ok as can be seen in Figure 1 (heh heh, nerd).

The tarragon is as indestructible as chives - makes me want to learn how to make hollandaise sauce. The lavender looks extra pathetic, but I think it is slowly sprouting. I believe it is french lavender, though I'm not positive. Anyways, it is perennial, so I'm waiting for it to take over the pathetic bald spot in the middle of the bed. In the meantime, that central / back bald spot is home to my cilantro seeds - we'll have to see how that works out.

If I could turn your attention to exhibit B...

The lily of the valleys are coming up, in addition to the mystery weed. Why can't intentional plants have such vigour?

I'm not going to rule anything out at this point, and Mr. E. Weed is starting to make flowers, so he may be a keeper.

My big news is that I strew about some bachelor's button seeds, in the hopes that they will be as easy to grow as the package promises. We shall see...

No time!

2006-05-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how little time I have lately - I haven't even checked out the garden in days!

Some funny things happened - my crazy class was all focussed today, and even the craziest ones were calmly chopping compostable veggies. For the whole period. I can't complain - they weren't trashing the place or anything. However the kids that were involved in the outside planter got dirt all over the teachers cars, and when I gave them hell, they hosed all of the cars down. Hmm. I suspect that nobody will ever park in my spot again.

I'm starting some parsley seeds in the greenhouse at school, and I spilled the rest in my briefcase. Great. I really need to get on top of my basil situation - that's going to be my next adventure. I'm a bit afraid of starting food items in the high school greenhouse...it's a bit of a crapshoot.

Monday blah.

2006-05-01T21:17:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad that 24 is on tonight - this is what gets me through the day.

I planted the sweet peas this weekend - the weather was so warm and fab. I think it's supposed to frost up this weekend though - I hope the peonies don't die!!!

Oh, remember what I said about the Lenten Rose? It's not coming up at all. Unless it's a late starter, I think it's gonzo. Ah well, such is the life of the perennials in my yard. It's either thrive or die...

Also, I read the packet of coriander seeds and I was surprised to learn that for best results, you should plant seeds every couple of weeks or so!! I guess the plants are only good for a couple of weeks before they set seed. That's good to know...to think of all the stupid coriander plants I bought at greenhouses, thinking that one plant could sustain my cilantro needs. Silly me.

Finally, Sauce (of I Love Dandelions) gave me the sad news about the bald eagles in British Columbia...though I think childfree living can work for many, these poor birds have been giving their all to their eggs. Unfortunately, the eggs don't seem to be viable. It just breaks my heart to see these dedicated parents braving the elements for non existant eagle chicks. It's really too bad - the eagles actually are suffering from population decline, so it's sad to see this happen. On the other hand, there are plenty of humans, so a similar situation with humans just doesn't hurt my heart as much.

*ooohhh...she's nasty....*
syih

Gardening?

2006-04-29T21:34:00.000-04:00

Before I even begin, Sauce, I'm copying your idea - I think a blog is a great way to keep track of gardening stuff from year to year. I'm IN! I can't wait for you to set up your gardening blog.

I picked up some sweet pea seeds from the hardware store today - the packet says to sow them in either April or May in cool soil. I'm soaking them tonight, and I'll plant them tomorrow. I hope it's not too early - it's hard to know what the crazy weather will do.

A&J home hardware had a sale - all no name annual seeds are 33 cents!! I stocked up on a few things, even just for school.
Today's seeds:

Organic Cilantro (not on sale)
Italian giant parsley (also not on sale)

Sale stuff:

Butterfly mixture (for school?)
Zinnia (school)
Cut flowers (who even knows...33 cents!)
Four O'Clock [marvel of Peru] (I know nothing about this! What is it? The flowers look pretty, but it's a freakish annual that grows into a hedge, then dies. But it was 33 cents!!!)
Bachelor's button (I love these flowers! I've never grown them, but they remind me of being a kid - and they are "easy to grow". Maybe they'll be good for one of the bald spots.)
Sweet William - I think my mother used to grow these. They look pretty, but the are biennials...they will start this year, but flower next year. Note to self, don't forget to put dead leaves over these plants in the late fall...mustn't forget...

Stuff that's coming up this year:

Front bed - Creeping juniper still going strong, creeping thyme (aggressive!), and for the first time since I planted them 2 years ago, crocuses actually flowered! Tulips are coming up, and the periwinkle seemed to survive the winter nicely. I had planted some perennial pansies there last year, so we'll have to see if they come back.

Side bed - looks like a bale of hay threw up in there. It is my "rustic" bed, with Rudebeckia (black eyed susans?), shasta daisy, and purple coneflower dominating. I left the seed heads for the winter, but so far, no avian takers. That's ok though - we can use some at school I'll bet.

Peony bed - peony is back (oh yay!!!!), and this crazy curry plant with fuzzy leaves is coming back for the 2nd year in a row. I had planted alpine poppy last year - I think the seeds spread pretty well. There's quite a bit of bald patches in there - may be a nice place to plant other stuff...we'll see. Bachelor's buttons? Or maybe the Sweet William?

Little rose bush- who knows...it's pretty ragged looking

Back under window bed - Yarrow city. Looks good - but I don't think the lily of the valley came back - isn't it perennial? Anyone? Also, I think I've got "creeping bellflower" but crap, you'd think that I would have maybe SAVED the info, or at least wrote it down??? Nope. It's a mystery. I am also mystified about some others - I'll have to post pics as they grow.

Growing up along deck - Virginia Creeper from Sauce's mom is doing well I think, and my honeysuckle is slowly making buds. Clematis? Not so good, but it never is.

FINALLY - Herb garden features chives, lemon thyme, creeping oregano, tarragon, sage...woo!

We'll have to see how it goes. The snowshoe hares that visit our yard seem to really enjoy the chives.

Gardener nerd, out.

Sweeeeet Friday

2006-04-28T17:41:00.000-04:00

I love Friday so much - possibly better even than Saturday. Friday is (to use a cliche) so full of promise. I especially love Friday night dinner - usually involves great eats and a smidge of wine.
So excited - Sauce and Miss G are coming over for barbecue! I think we may even actually knit a thing or two...imagine, knitting.

I had an interesting experience today... a class that usually gives me a fair bit of grief was just amazing. How can it be? It was Friday afternoon, last period of the day, and they
a) worked their butts off
b) engaged me in reasonable conversation with limited swearing
c) pretended to be interested in the material
d) wished me a great weekend, and waited for me to dismiss them.

Oh, and I even tried my hand at flash animation - it is so ridculous, but sort of funny. I'm going to figure out how to post it for a larf.
Ok, check out this link - I can't believe I used this ridiculous thing as a teaching tool...

Helper T cells and the formation of antibodies

At least it was entertaining - the kids thought so. They also were wondering "what's up with the banana in the lab coat?" Hmph.

What-ev.

Get bored of it?

2006-04-27T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...I guess I did get bored of it. Oh well, I'm back baby...

I don't know about you, but I am petrified just thinking about where Canada's headed. In the short time that Stephen Harper has been in charge, he has put some serious muzzle on our media. Is anyone afraid of this? So, it all started with limiting the media from hanging around directly outside the house of commons...nooooo..that would be bad. What if the media catches him looking like a PSYCHO? UN-possible, I know.

Then he decided that he wanted to be exactly like his dream-boy, George W., so he now forbids the media from covering the arrival of our dead soldiers from Afghanistan. I suppose it's not good for Canadians to really feel the sacrifices that soldiers have made. Yes, best to shield us. Thank you Papa Harper.

THEN he also decided that the flag above the peace tower would absolutely NOT be flown half mast (as it was in the past). What a great idea. I defer to Rick Mercer on this one - he has posted a beautiful summary of why this is the most ridiculous and bizarre thing our leader can do.

That's really all that I have to complain about right now...otherwise feeling pretty good, listening to CBC radio with loving cat lounging in the sunbeam...

Random thoughts to start off...

2006-03-04T13:14:00.000-05:00

So..the blog is happening! I hope I don't tire of it.

Just getting ready for my tropical getaway - I'm pretty excited to get back to Cuba. It's so weird, normally here in North America, the smell of tobacco smoke irritates my throat, but somehow, Cuban smoke just doesn't bother me. I'm sure that it's just the delicious humidity making it so you can smell the nuances of the smoke, but it doesn't irritate mucous membranes because they are moist and juicy. I guess it's the same in the summer time here - second hand smoke is way less irritating when it's humid.

On that note, I'm convinced that my new method of avoiding catching colds is going to be foolproof...I'm going to drink piles of water, and use fancy Vichy or Avene thermal spa water and inhale it as much as possible. I hope I don't get aspiration pneumonia.

The only thing that I'm not looking forward to with going to Cuba is leaving Sal. Though really, all he has to do is poo on the carpet and I'll get over that pretty quick - there's nothing like the aroma of cat poo first thing in the morning.