Category: a day in this life

Over the last two weeks the weeds and grass have been coming back through the mulch around the Hazels. I knew I needed a thicker layer of mulch, but wanted to address the weeds with something first. Kitty found a recipe for weed killer consisting of a gallon of vinegar mixed with a cup of table salt and a tablespoon of liquid soap to help it cling to the weeds. So I sprayed the weeds today before adding more mulch and was amazed at how quickly it started to work. There was significant wilting just after thirty minutes. Here are some before and after photos demonstrating that.

It clearly worked faster on the broad leaf weeds and clover. It seemed to be working slower on the grass. I expect that I will have to continue to treat the mulched areas over the Summer, but I am pleased with how this concoction is working so far.

This is a garden update, more for me than a hey look what what I have post.

Red romaine at the top that we will need to eat pretty soon before it gets too hot. Swiss chard at either end and a little spinach on the near side. Main bed has summer squash, zucchini, eggplant and okra. The okra has hardly sprouted and is getting overwhelmed by the rest. Hopefully it will be strong late after the rest has played out.

Pea vines, very young tomato plants and arugula on both ends. No peas to eat yet. Still hoping they come in before the real heat comes. Definitely better growth than last Spring.

Finally getting small cabbage heads. We will eat these soon. Don’t expect them to get much bigger. Peppers at the far end have been very slow, but since they like the heat, we look forward to them later. Wilted volunteer tomato plants in the middle transplanted today from the swiss chard plantings where they came up unsolicited. Hoping that most will make it.

Brussels sprouts still going strong. Fava beans growing well and flowering. More mature tomato plants in the rest of the bed.

Roasted brussels sprouts….it’s what’s for dinner.

I ordered fifty root stock hazelnut bushes/trees from Mark Shepard about two months ago. I cannot remember where I found his link, but I think I stumbled upon the blog first. I came up with the idea to plant a hedge of hazelnuts around the outside of the labyrinth. I emailed Mark and he agreed that hedging is a great way to grow hazels and the project was on. My hazel sticks came this past Friday and I started getting them in the ground on Saturday. Most were planted Sunday through Tuesday. We have much quartz in our yard and it was not an easy task. I mulched them all yesterday.

It took 43 of them, planted four feet apart, to get around the labyrinth. The extra seven were planted in spare nursery pots as back-up in case some don’t make it. Any of the potted ones I don’t need I plan to give away to friends.

The big surprise was how quickly they they came to life. They came as sticks with varying degrees of root attached. I planted them in compost to give them a good head start and they responded wonderfully. Many started leafing out within 24 to 48 hours after they went into the ground.

They supposedly flower in early Spring, and though they are wind pollinated, Gunther Hauk says that bees use them to forage…win, win. Speaking of sticks. We also have Paw Paws. We started with one a couple of years ago and learned last year that a grove works best and so we bought four more. They are also doing well this Spring. All are well leafed out and are planted back in the trees where they do best.