[Ben E Lou]

BIG SNOWSTORM

We received over a foot of snow at my house over the weekend. The broccoli and strawberries have been completely covered in snow for over 72 hours, and I don't want to try to dig them out yet, for fear that I'd step on them while trying to locate them. I'm wondering if I should have put some sort of cover on them for identification. Oh well, I guess we'll find out how cold-tolerant they really are.




MAJOR EXPANSION--PREPARING NEW BEDS
We've eBefore the snow came in, I put the mower on the lowest setting and shaved off a large area to being prepping it for more planting next year. If all goes according to the new plan, the garden area will extend all the way from a little in front of the storage shed to being even with my back deck. If I've measured everything correctly, the length will be ~93 feet now.



The expansion will mainly do two things:
1. Allow for a good-sized (18x16) area that's dedicated to blueberries. It's looking like I'll do six large rabbiteyes and four dwarves, or perhaps just eight rabbiteyes and one dwarf. (I already bought the dwarf. Couldn't resist. The nursery I visited where I was planning on just going in there for advice had exactly one thriving dwarf blueberry plant left from last spring.) As mentioned earlier, blueberries grow best in soil that's even more acidic than what occurs naturally in my yard, so I'd prefer to have an area just for them. I sent soil samples from the soon-to-be blueberry bed to Raleigh on 12/4, and have ordered some organic soil acidifier in advance of getting the results, so I can apply it ASAP to have close to two months before I purchase and plant the blueberries in February. This area will be mulched with pine straw eventually.

2. Give space for a truly targeted pollinator/beneficial insect flower garden, and for me to have room to experiment with growing flowers from seed. Plus I figure beautifying the area will enhance SWMBO's willingness to sign off on all of this. I finished mulching this area with leaves in the dark on Saturday evening, and the snow came in Saturday night/Sunday morning, so I haven't gotten a picture nor do I have a good feel for how much bigger the area looks with



So with all that said, HERE is a link to the updated plan. (Too big to post a pic here, I would think.)


There are a few green areas not filled in. That's intentional. Some of the empty space will likely remain empty; some of it will be used for either extra planting of stuff that's struggling, or if I run across some seed or plant that looks interesting and I decide to stick it in the ground.



COMPOST UPDATE

The piles were cooling a bit anyway, probably due to not having been turned, but I'm pleased to report that the hottest one was still at 138 as of yesterday, despite being buried in snow. No complaints here, and the good news is that I'll have plenty of moisture around when I turn them again--probably starting today since I'm off work due to school being out and the temperature is slated to rise into the mid 40s with direct sun on the back yard. The heat of the piles has made them the first areas in my yard where you can see the soil. Pic coming in the next post. (Easier to post pics with Tapatalk, I've realized...)