Why I Oughta...

'Tis the season for firewood delivery in our house.  This year, I ordered three Face Cords for delivery from The Grove Firewood out in Sugar Grove.  1 Oak, 1 Cherry and 1 "SuperMix" - which is a combo of oak, cherry, hickory and birch (normally).  They didn't have any birch this season (so far), so my mix was heavier on Hickory. Here, below, is a video of the three face cords being dumped on our driveway.  This is kiln-dried firewood. How does this stack up to previous years? Here's last year's post from early October where I talked about a late September delivery of three facecords .  Fall of 2020, I ordered three , too.   I stacked these three facecords in the various racks - including a big messy pile on the stoop outside my office.  I'll post some photos of the current state of the racks in the coming days/weeks.  For now, here's a look at what the racks look like before I started loading the new wood:

Ten days ago, I posted a couple of photos a new (to me) project of trying to grow hydrangeas from cuttings .  I tried two different culitvars (Limelight and Strawberry Vanilla) at the time and frankly...I wasn't sure if what I was doing was going to work and/or if it was going to be too late in the growing season to even attempt these. I still don't have the answer to the second question (is it too late?), but I do have a mixed-results answer to how they would do.  That answer?  The Limelight seems to have transitioned from cutting to (potentially) rooted.  The Vanilla Strawberry cutting?  Not so much. Here, below, is the limelight cutting.  The most critical thing to note?  The new, lighter color leaves at the center.  These new leaves are a sign that this cutting has managed to 'take hold': The larger leaves are cut.  And that's on purpose.  I trimmed them in half as a way to try to help the little cutting survive.  Some plantsmen call them 'solar panels'

Earlier this week I posted a couple of updates on our compost project.  First, I shared photos of the black gold compost that came out of our tumbler .  I spread that material on the front beds as an amendment and a way to try to improve the conditions up there.  Then, I posted some photos of what the pair of bins looked like pre-turning and walked through how I emptied them to get down to the 'most done' material (at the bottom of the mixed bin - under the passive aeration pipes) in an attempt to fill the tumbler and get the balance of the material ready for re-pilin'ing.  At that point, I had two full-to-the-top bins.  The one on the right, properly mixed.  The one on the left...not so much.  It was filled with Fall leaves and whatever I picked up this season including all the thatch from my backyard lawn renovation project. My plan was to open up the front panel of the bins to allow me to empty the bins to allow for proper mixing, then put the front panel back in place

I've long been fascinated by the idea of a backyard tree nursery.  On a small scale, of course.  But, something that I could tend-to in terms of planting and growing trees from seed over the course of a number of seasons.  I've made no secret of trying to coax myself into accomplishing some 'seasonal projects' like compost, dividing plants and even planting native trees.  And, I've had a VERY limited look at success when it comes to nursing trees to life from seed:  a tray of Kentucky Coffee Tree seedlings from 2021 .  I also have seemingly grown some Catalpa trees from seed in a wine barrel planter.   Over the past few weeks, I've begun to think about (and watch YouTube videos) about collecting tree seeds with the goal of storing, stratifying and eventually germinating and planting in containers to grow.  During one of my walks around town, I started to look at which trees were throwing off acorns and nuts and started to pick some up off the ground.  My thoug

I mentioned a few days ago that I had begun to empty the compost tumbler and spreading the black gold out in the beds out front as a soil amendment .  Having that tumbler empty means that I can begin to tackle the other two bins.  Below is a photo showing the current state (early September) of the two bins.  Of note, you'll see in the bin on the left AND in the wheelbarrow, I have recently added a big batch of grass clippings and thatch that I removed from our backyard.  Both bins are full up to the top. I began to turn these piles by starting to empty the bins.  The bin on the right is a proper mix of greens and browns.  And has passive aeration in it.  The bin on the left was empty up until last Fall when I filled it up with mulched-up leaves.  It was (then) mostly browns.  And now, it is topped with grass - mostly greens.   So, these bins need three things:  first...pulling out of the most-done compost material that I can fill up the tumbler to get a batch of 'finished'

Well, woulda look at that.  We have seedlings emerging in the blank spaces of our backyard lawn.  Specifically, we have seedlings taking off that were spread around our backyard a week or so ago after undergoing a pre-germination process of soaking them for five days .  I threw down 30# of seed (mix of KBG and Tall Fescue) and hand-spread some of it in some bare spots in the far back.  Below is a photo of one of those blank spots.  Have a look to see the grass seedlings coming up and filling in the space: A few things to note about this photo:  I spread a combination of Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass seeds back here, so I'm not totally sure what I'm seeing here, but based on germination time estimates, I'd say that this is more likely than not to be Tall Fescue.  You'll also note that there is a bunch of white blades in the photo.  That is a nice sight to see as that is Nimblewill that has been treated with Tenacity and is (hopefully) damaged enough so it will NOT b

Every Christmas season, I have usually planted a few Amaryllis bulbs with the kids in different-sized containers as a little winter-time project.  That has meant - historically - that we've bought a series of Amaryllis bulbs each November and planted them in hopes that they'd bloom near Christmas.  This past season, we had five planted in three pots .  Normally, I toss these bulbs and don't get them to re-bloom.  But this year, I'm trying something new:  trying to get them to re-bloom after spending the Summer out on our patio taking in sun and water.   What do they look like today?  They're full of green, strap-y foliage.  Here, below, are a few photos of the bulbs in their containers: After watching a few YouTube videos and rooting around on the Web, I think I've figured out that I need to remove these from their soil, shake free all the debris and put them in a dark, cool spot for 60ish days to try to send them into dormancy.  I have about 75 or so days befor

This application of rose fertilizer to our three Disneyland Roses (Floribunda Roses) on the south side of our house marks the fourth seasonal application of the granular fertilizer this year.  May, June, July and now....August.  (Despite this post publishing in September, I put down this rose food in late August).    The full archive of rose fertilizer posts are here .  Below, you can see how I spread this fertlizer around the base of the rose: And, here's a look at the bag of Vigoro food that I've been using all season.  I didn't use ALL of this bag this year, but came pretty close.   The timing of the blooms of these seem to follow the application of the food.  Right now (late August), these have just finished a bloom-cycle and should be putting on the final set of buds for a September flower show soon.  

Last week, I posted some photos of the process of late-season Catalpa tree seed sowing in a few seed cells that we had on hand and talked about how I hoped they'd germinate and we would (maybe) get a few seedlings to harden off before the frost hits in the next six to eight weeks.  I started the Catalpa tree seed project back last last year when I harvested a few Catalpa seed pods and tried to get them going two ways:  first by putting them in the fridge for the Winter to get that cold stratification.  And, by also popping open some brown seed pods and direct sowing some of them in a couple of spots.  I covered that Catalpa tree seed sowing here in a post on Christmas Day .    Back late last year, I planted these seeds in two spots:  along the fence.  And in a large wine barrel planter.  Both, frankly...on a total whim.   The ones along the fence have never amounted to anything. Between laying on a thick layer of mulch and seasonal weeding, these things didn't have a chance.

I recently posted about how I began to divide and upgrade the small seedlings of the native Kentucky Coffee Tree that I've been growing for 14-or-so months and talked about how I've enjoyed the process with native tree seedlings.  I posted about trying other tree seeds in the past - including Catalpa and Honey Locust - as new projects.  That is/was part of one of my 2022 to-do goals :  keep working on the seedling project.   I didn't jump on the Honey Locust seeds earlier this Summer, but earlier in August, I decided to give the Catalpa seeds a shot.  Why?  I came across a Catalpa seed pod that one of the kids had just busted open on our patio and seeing the seeds reminded me that I should give it a go with planting them.  Here, below, is the pod and a bunch of the white, winged seeds scattered on our brick paver patio: I decided to try to get these to germinate a couple of ways.  First...by planting them (like 1/4" or so deep) in a series of uncovered containers. 

The last time I posted photos of the tray of Kentucky Coffee Tree Seedlings was in May of this year when they were just emerging from Winter dormancy and putting on some leaflets .   I overwintered this tray of native tree seedlings by digging them in the ground and wrapping chicken wire around the base to protect them from the dang rabbits.  That seemed to work.   I've kept all of the seedlings in their original small (quart) nursery containers so far and have put the tray underneath a large Oak tree to provide filtered light.  And...get them watered when I water the perennials in the area.  Here, below, is what the tray of seedlings look like in mid-August 2022: By my count, I see eleven small KCT seedlings.  And one Elm tree.  And some other weed. This is their second full growing season and they've all had their stems/trunks put on real wood.  They're all very small, still.  And...they seem to have outgrown their containers and have roots emerging from the bottom.  He

Tracking for the [ garden diary ] as well as the 2022 to-do list a couple of applications in the garden.  First up is iron. Fast-acting iron. Chelated Iron . I applied this to the rhododendrons by the back stoop and the Little Henry Sweetspire out front.  Below is a photo of one of the rhododendrons where I peeled back the mulch and sprinkled the pelletized iron.  I applied this iron to both. This is the product that I've used the past two seasons . (below)  Next up are the Disneyland Roses.  This is the second application of rose food to my three Floribunda roses.  This is the second application of the season.  The first was in mid-May .  In the photo below, you have to look closely, but if you do, you'll see the granular fertilizer. 

Starting last Spring, I decided to be a little more proactive in terms of protecting some of our trees from pests.  That started with the Greenspire Lindens that are currently espalaiered into a horizontal cordon.  For the past few years, I noticed that the trees were being swarmed with yellow jackets and/or wasps .  Turns out, they were there feasting on aphids that are drawn to Linden trees.  So, starting last year, I treated both Lindens with five gallons of this tree protect & feed solution .   It seemed to work and there were no wasps around all season.  This season - NOTE: I'm posting this in early June, but I actually did this project in early May, 2022 - I pulled back the mulch around the Lindens and made a little ring for the solution to soak in around the base of the trunk.  I made up five gallons of solution per tree and slowly dumped it on. See below: This year, I also decided to treat the Saucer Magnolia tree out front the same way.  Last year, I noticed it seemed

A week or so ago, right when they were putting on a bunch of their new growth, I applied the first treatment of fertilizer on our three Disneyland Roses that are planted on the south side of our house.  This is the second year that I've done a feeding program for them and something I mentioned I wanted to keep doing on my 2022 to-do list (#10) .   Last year, I used a granular product from Jobe's , but this year when I went to the orange Big Box Nursery, all I could find was this Vigoro granular.  I figured it was fine since the N-P-K were just about the same. I feed in early May, so this particular bag says that the next time I should feed them is two-to-three months from now, which would mean sometime in July.  And, then again sometime in September.   One of the other things that I need to remind myself is around companions for these Disneyland Roses.  I covered some ideas last year, when I mentioned Alliums and Nepeta as potential options .  I put down some Allium bulbs, but

By last September, they were leaf'd out and looking good .  Before the frost arrived, I decided to dig them into the landscape and let them try to overwinter outside .  I covered them with mulch and surrounded them with chicken wire to keep the rabbits out.   Well...much to my surprise, these have come back.  In that September post, I talked about how there were ten Kentucky Coffee tree seedlings and one small Maple tree seedling .  I dug these up and moved them to our raised bed by the patio.  Here, below, is what they look like after a long winter's nap: By my count, there are nine (maybe ten) KCT seedlings and that one Maple that have made it.  Pretty good.   #7 on 2022 to-do list was (in part) to continue to work the seedlings . Next up on my list is to try to germinate these Honey Locust seeds .  

On my 2022 to-do list there's a couple of items that have what I'm calling 'crossover appeal'; meaning that there's some intersection between the activities of one item that pay off a second item.  In particular, I'm looking at #7 and #10.  #7 on the list talks about "working trees three ways" - that include planting, measuring and seedlings.  #10 in the list talks about my desire to press ahead with some 'seasonal projects' that includes collecting tree seed pods and attempting to propagate them into seedlings.  Last year, I came across some Kentucky Coffee Tree seed pods at one of the kid's practices.  After bringing them home, soaking them and getting them started , I ended up with some seedlings.  At the end of the season, I decided to dig the seedling tray into the ground in an attempt to overwinter them .  As of today, they haven't leaf'd out just yet and so I've just left them be in the ground.  I'll dislodge the tra