Cherry Harvest 2013

The Lambert Cherry Tree is hanging, but really small harvest. The birds let me have some.

Whitetail Dragonfly

It's hard to tell, but there is a dragonfly perched on the top of the pagoda looking thing. Upper right corner of the picture. Based on my internet research, it looks to be a Common Whitetail Dragonfly.

All I had was my cell phone, so the picture is a big as it can be. The wings look like little black flags, but you can see in the pix that I linked to, it's an optical illusion. Called Whietail, because the body is somewhat white on top. But, my dragonfly doesn't look that way - more brown.

Will this really make for great tomatoes?

My new experiment - using a Grow Box for my tomatoes this year. I read about this planter in a garden magazine, for last several years have seen inserts about it; looked it up on line and everyone who uses it says it produces fantastic results! 

You get 16 qts of potting soil, and put it in the top part of the planter. Put in the plants, and then cover the soil with a coir mat that comes with the Grow Box. The stems of the plants poke thru the edge of the mat. This mat has some fertilizer built in that immediately begins to disintegrate into the soil.

The top part of the planter is placed on a bottom trough that you fill with water. The planter has holes in the bottom so that the plant roots will descend into the trough of water and stay nourished. You keep the trough filled.

What I found is that as I was assembling the planter and placing on the trough, it didn't fit as tightly or securely as the instructions said it would. The plastic on the trough was not in complete alignment. So I got out my duct tape and taped it together. I won't be able to move the planter until the season is over. But, I don't really think the planter was made to be moved around, even with a perfect match between the two parts.

Last Minute Bulbs to Flowers

Bi-Mart was having a great sale on bulbs at the end of December, right before Christmas, and I bought a bunch. Then procrastinated - let the bulbs sit til about 12/31. Then bulb planting frenzy.  I used containers and in the ground.

Here is a make shift container - garbage bag over a plastic milk crate, filled with compost and potting soil; then and planted with daffodils and tulips. This compost was home made, c2010-11. Just now using it.

I covered the bulbs with straw during the dead of winter.

Even though I wait til the last minute, the bulbs seems to do ok and come through!

Daffodil Difference

Was surprised to find this daffodil has too much ruffle for it's blossom and is curling in on itself. Haven't seen a daffodil difference like this before.

First Tulip - March 29

The first tulip of the year started to open March 29. Weather very springy, sunny and upper 60s.

First Daffodil 2013

Here it is! The first daffodil of 2013. These are the first to fully bloom in my yard - March 8, 2013. I have seen other daffys blooming earlier in yards that get full day sun.