Gardening update

Had a lovely stir fry dinner with mostly garden vegetables. Onion, even if not fully a bulb can still be used, garlic, celery, (last of the) asparagus, sugar snap peas, and spinach. Planted two varieties of pea and they are different, one flowered earlier and produces smaller pods than the other. Two varieties of spinach, one is a lighter green, has pointy leaves and is already bolting. Trying different varieties helps you find the ones you prefer. Trying to weed the asparagus bed while the weeds can be seen among the asparagus foliage, then want to mulch to cut down on weeds. Now is a great time to mulch garden vegetables, they are big enough to see but you can still see the bare ground around them. Potatoes got mulched almost as soon as they broke ground since they tend to produce some potatoes near the surface and you do not want green patches on your potatoes. Tomatoes and summer squash get mulched since there is a lot of ground around them that could be weeds. I use fall leaves that have been saved over the winter to mulch, but there is never enough put aside so there are the reserves. The reserves are leaves that have blown into the canopied area near the garage, not raked until now when they are needed for mulch. They will be used to supplement plants already mulched and those that are waiting. All plants could use the mulch since it cuts down on weeds and evaporation so the soil stays moist. Right now the sweet potatoes are starting to send out vines and should be mulched, likewise winter squash. Potatoes have started to flower which means new potatoes can be "stolen" soon. Sharing strawberries with friends and critters, thought it was just chipmunks but some strawberries are loaded with ants! The garden beds are pretty full, but plants are still being added when there is no place else to put them, so zucchini is sharing with onions and a tomato, tomatoes are sharing with herbs and bell peppers, and walking onions joined the asparagus. Dahlias finally got planted, mostly in the front, but one in the garden and a couple of tiny clumps near the house since I cannot throw anything away. Even tried planting several loose dahlia potatoes, big tubers but lacking a growing stem – we'll see. Gladiola corms and tuberose bulbs still need to be planted, looking forward to a few cooler days to work outside. The change of seasons also means changes to the care of our feathered friends. Bird bath goes out and requires daily maintenance, bird feeders need to be cleaned, disinfected and put away. Old seed in the feeders can mold and harbor disease causing bacteria. Suet feeders need to come down and be scrubbed to remove greasy residue, not a fun job. Some friends who keep their feeders going had ducks the other day. Birds are singing, the wrens have returned to the gourd by my front door to nest and are constantly chirping. A nice time of year, enjoy.