garden log

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jan 1 25

raised bed closest to house

two collard plants: moved to pots.
two spinach plants: moved to the center bed. there's less light on this bed, but less shade from existing plants. not sure if this is a great spot for them.
one arugula plant: moved to pot.
blackberry: the adjacent pot had thoroughly invaded this bed and provided a lot of blackberries the past couple of years, but also interfered with other plants growing in the bed. i'm pulling it all out and tossing it in the compost. it might be a good idea to start over with a more container friendly blackberry. i still have several in pots, but they constantly seek new places to root.
five kale plants: still staanding in this bed. need to move to other pots, but first need to move the plants in the pots i want to use. this is a project for sunday, i think, along with further dismantling of the bed.

pots near raised bed closest to house

one parsley plant: moved to the center bed.
eight (i think) strawberry plants: moved to center bed in the sunnier portion. i'll have to keep an eye on them here because this bed tends to dry out easily. two of the plants already have strawberries starting to grow. one is quite large, but still all white. there are more strawberries to move, and i'm not sure where i'll put them. some may go into the shallow pot that half of these were moved out of. i have a strawberry pot available, but they didn't seem to like growing there in the past so i moved them out. i'm sure it's a drainage or watering issue - gardener error.
green onions: moved from several pots into the onion section of the center bed. there are more to move and those will probably go in between the strawberries since their roots are shallower and they're good deterring neighbors.

center bed

one spanish lavender volunteer: moved to a pot. not sure if it will be happy staying potted. it's still very small, but healthy and happy right now unlike my in-ground spanish lavender. need to look into how to better care for this plant. vicki says she has similar issue with browning and die-off. is it a water issue? sun? pest? disease?
seeds update: i sowed various seeds directly into this bed in late november, which seems to have been a bad idea. i went by months on the packages, but probably should have germinated them indoors and given them a warmer start. a few cilantros are coming up, one or two lettuces (very slowly and reluctantly), several arugula, and two or three chard. the spinach seems a lost cause. some of the arugula seedlings are pretty robust and others seem sickly. i'm still compost challenged, but mixed in some soil conditioner and plant food in the amounts indicated on the packaging, but apparently did a poor job evenly distributing them, because all of the seedlings in each little clump are either healthy or not. i'm such a weak gardener in the soil prep arena. i'm really annoyed with myself that i haven't figured this out yet. need to do better.

what's next?

finish dismantling the bed near the house and relocating plants as needed.
keep an eye on plants that have been moved. monitor for signs of distress and find a way to keep them happy.
big fig tree: find out why it's sad and make it happier. is it time to feed?
little fig tree: move to a larger pot. is it time to feed?
carefully pace some stepping stones out front to create pathways into the garden i can use without disturbing soil dwellers.
weed front yard so there's room to sow wildflower seeds in time for spring (ASAP!! but when???).
buy wildflower seeds and get them in/on the ground out front.
identify native plants to buy for the front yard, buy them, and get them in the ground ASAP - already missed the ideal window for this. what's missing for pollinators by season or purpose(nectar, host, etc.)? what can work in the available spots?
avoid taking on anything new out back. okay to plant what i already sort of know how to grow. focus on good soil, good feeding, good watering, try to maximize. only then plan for what's next.
consider making better use of the very sunny dining room window. plant some herbs or other small food plants in that spot? might need to get some contraption to hold plants more efficiently in that space, otherwise i might end up displacing existing houseplants that need the light conditions there.
consider a small hydroponic indoor garden to increase food production?
document what i learn so i'm not constantly starting from near-scratch or working from a year-old memory.