O.K., so prior to today, I dug and planted an asparagus bed as well as hung two string trellises and planted some Dwarf Grey Peas that will climb to a mature height of 2-3 ft. Today I planted onions, Swiss chard, and carrots. In this photo, you can see my seed mats that I made from 12-inch squares of newspaper…

Today I planted my presprouted peas on both sides of two 5 foot wide trellises. It only took two days for them to swell and send out a root using the presprouting instructions in Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. This method is definitely one I will repeat next year.    May 4, 2009 Today's mileage: 0 Total mileage…

Today I dug three trenches 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep then threw soil back in to make a 6-inch mound. I fanned out the roots of two year-old Martha Washington asparagus on top of each mound then filled the trench with soil to two inches above the asparagus. I will continue to fill in the trench…

…a very good day. Temps were in the high 50s today with endless sunshine. I knew that I absolutely must spend the day outside, so I left home at 6:30 this morning to pick up a new colony of bees 50 miles away in Hackensack (Minnesota) to replace our former colony that didn't survive the…

I had planned this post for a later date… when I could shoot a photo of my own salad table but, since the spring planting season is rapidly approaching, I decided you could benefit from having the directions for constructing a salad table sooner rather than later. Jon Traunfeld, state master gardener coordinator at the University of Maryland, designed the salad table…

It's been 40 days since I planted my January and February wildflower seed-embedded desk calendar pages. The newspaper pots that I transplanted the seedlings into have not prematurely disintegrated. In fact…   The plants are thriving. The two layers of newspaper is adequate to maintain the pot's shape but still allow roots to penetrate. Do you see the…

Since yesterday was the 1st day of April, I needed to transfer my seedlings, that sprouted from my January and February plantable calendar pages embedded with wildflower seeds, into pots to make room for planting March's page in their place. I have been researching a variety of ways to create seed/seedling pots from newspaper, so…

This morning, Dick blindly selected Kim from Wabasha, Minnesota as the winning entry in my free giveaway drawing. Congrats, Kim! I will mail the plantable calendar off to you in tomorrow's mail. The calendar pages are printed with such adorable artwork and the anticipatory fun waiting to see what flower varieties will sprout forth from the seeds embedded in each month's page… well, that is just priceless. Thank you…

The opportunity to enter my free giveaway drawing for a plantable calendar ends tonight at 8 p.m. Central Time. Tomorrow morning, Dick will anonymously select a name from those who submitted a comment on the post.  Good luck to all participants! You will love the calendar!      These are 2 1/2 week-old wildflower seedlings that I planted on March…

Springtime brings a surge of energy and excitement to get outdoors and plant in old and new plots, begin construction projects that have been conceived over the winter months such as cold frames, arbors and trellises, and "fairy habitats", and the list goes on. Quickly, frustration sets in  when, despite longer daylight hours, there is never…