The vegetable garden is coming along just fine. I managed to move it about 10-15 feet to the right so Mr. Fix-it can access his garage. I removed all of the sod from the new area, transplanted it to the old area, moved all of the dirt into the beds, built the beds beginning with the banana surround, then began laying the bricks.It has been hard for me to plan this garden because of its odd shape. It is shaped like a shield. In order to build the beds I had to lay them out in place. I am usually one who plans gardens on graph paper so I was not at all happy doing the garden this way. I suppose it is better because sometimes things on paper look so much better than in person. So far I have gone through about 700 bricks and estimate I need about 200 more. 400 of these bricks were acquired through a fellow freecycler (some of you also have ways of acquiring free bricks-the best kind), but I have had to buy the rest. My goal was to finish this garden right away but my source for the bricks, Orgain Building and Supply, is closed on weekends! I had purchased the initial load of bricks during the week and somehow overlooked this fact. A nice gentleman named Lee helped me load all 280 bricks and I guess I will be back visiting him and Orgain sometime during this week so I can finish the garden.
The opportunity to not have to lay bricks on the weekend gave me a great chance to do some real gardening and dig in the dirt. Now is the ideal time to divide and transplant perennials, shrubs and trees since we have received so much rain and the weather and soil are still fairly warm. Dividing perennials is one of my least favorite garden chores but I managed to get most of it done this weekend. I guess the fact Orgain is closed on the weekend was a blessing in disguise or a cloud with a silver lining, otherwise those perennials would still be waiting for division and making me feel guilty each time I looked at them! One chore down, many more to go before winter fully sets in.in the garden....
I have never divided plants before. Why would one divide them? for spreading purposes I am guessing? Which ones need dividing? Hosta for example???
ReplyDeleteI guess there are two reasons to divide plants-to make more and to rejuvenate overgrown plants. I am obviously in the business of making more as very few of my plants escape division. When I find a huge hosta it is only because I forgot to divide it!:) I did divide hostas this weekend. Next it will be the shastas and daylilies then I should be done for the year. Your plants are probably really big-lucky you!
ReplyDeleteMy hosta's were big until the Voles and rabbits found them! The bunny's got the top and the Voles got the root balls! Next year I will put them in the ground in pots like my mother in law suggested. I was thinking of just surrounding the roots with a metal shield but with all the tree roots in the area, that may be tough not to mention the expense of that procedure. So maybe pots with built up mulch instead is the way to go. I used the animal repellant spray and it works but with rain, you must reapply and that stuff is pricey!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think??? Any suggestions?
I have the same problem with the voles. I don't know what would be the best answer for all. Some people do plant hostas in wire cages but I think it is too much work and not really practical. You must be doing something right though because in the pictures you have pretty big hostas. I guess just keep fighting them off and check the hostas frequently. Move mulch away from them and stamp down the ground when you find damage.
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