So many berry creepers. Almost regret letting them do their thing last year, but in truth they’re not hard to thin out, especially when you get tired of getting tripped by them!
- It feels like this year’s April shower clouds did not get a calendar. Spotty rain for days, and no end in sight if the forecast is to be believed. Working around it as I’m a bit tired of the wet/cold combo.
- Watered everything indoors–still no new growth on anything we planted most recently. My guess is the lack of heat, hopefully getting some fast and dirty cold frames down later this week will push that along.
- Took kitchen scraps out.
- Since the ground was wet, I figured it was a good day to fork a few things.
- Dug out as best I could the oriental bittersweet that hid in the main patch of common milkweed last year. I still don’t think I got it all out, but at least the main stem/trunk and the most obvious roots. Thankfully, the color makes it a bit easier to suss out when working the soil.
- Tackled a few of the larger elder dandelion patches. Debating keeping the roots to try the roasted root coffee, so might hang them later to dry out and will try it if I can find time. I did leave one large patch that is already starting to produce a flower. I’ve been feeling bad for all the pollinators I’ve seen the last week and change that simply don’t have much to munch on yet.
- Pulled up I lost track of how many of the (likely) boysenberry creepers from both the safety glass bed as well as those marching over the border rock wall and onto our property. There is still so much more thinning out to do, and I still haven’t finished regrading that area either so we can get the second rain barrel in place.
- Some spot branch gathering, and was quite surprised to find a rather large but not overly thick branch back in the SW woodsy area that had just fallen out of whatever tree. That will be very useful for making teepees this year.
- Broke off some of the still unID’d tall weeds remnants from last year.
- Whatever that one low bushy plant was that sprang up out of nowhere and seemed to be where the fleas loved to hide last year, I forked up and simply flipped over for now. It really was pretty at the end, but every time we brushed against it, we always seemed to find fleas on ourselves. So pretty or not, I know it probably should be left to die.
- Saw another spot in the garage bed that might be iris or lilies fighting through the berry creepers, pulled back the creepers to give it some breathing room. I still don’t see any sign of the lilies near the red raspberry cluster nor the ones I transplanted from our old apartment when we first moved here.
- Noticed where I did that the other day for the Iris, the leaves are now growing fiercely. Hopefully the one I did it for today does the same. Both likely need division.
- Whatever it is that never bloomed yet on the west side of the porch that I divided the other day seems to be doing ok on all divisions so far. Still so many bunches that need the same done, and likely just as dense.
- Fell down a rabbit hole of edible crop related videos this afternoon.
- Watched a video today that’s supposed to be specific to my area, and it said last frost is May 30th! I think it was for the Berkshire area, so maybe their elevation makes a difference? I hope so.
- Still trying to find more local edible garden related groups. Everything seems to either be centered around Boston or the Berkshires.
- Still so very thankful for my new leather work gloves.
