Blog – Page 33

She won’t be fooled again…

05/31/2015 by Holly

In our first house the backyard was almost entirely shade. So I planted tomatoes in containers in the front yard. {The Husband Was Not Pleased. Something about neighbors and property values…blah blah blah. Non-gardeners.}

In our second house the only yard was side yard which measured precisely 15 feet wide and received precisely 3 hours of decent sun per day. So I planted peas, tomatoes, strawberries, and an array of shade-loving perennials.

In our third {and hopefully forever-house} yard, I concocted an elaborate raised bed plan , removed landscaping , brought in The Big Guns, meticulously planned, shopped, brought in reputable dirt, planted, ensured the watering would work, battled off the bitties, and the birds…you get the picture…only to leave off one slightly important step.

*sigh.*

Darn you, Nitrogen.

Foiled by micronutrients again.

In summation comma what I have learned this month is highlighted below:

***STOP, DROP, AND SOIL TEST***

Today’s the day for an email digest from this site. If you’d like to receive it, enter your name and email address over there on the right where it says “Dig In.” I intend to only send one email a month, on the last day of the month, so as to leave plenty of room in your inbox for all the spam from Starbucks and MyPublisher. {Well, hopefully that’s just my inbox…I really should check those settings…}

Happy last day of May, gardener friends!

Peas, please

05/27/2015 by Holly

There’s a word for this in the Deep South: rigged.

What’s the over/under that this holds all season?

My dad took one look at it and said “not tall enough.”

Maaaaaaaaaan.

Who knew frugal and short were synonyms. I used the trimmings from a butterfly bush that never got cut back at the end of last season.

Good news is they’re already latching on. Poor little guys—they were so desperate for anchor they were starting to grasp at each other when they really needed outside strength.

{There’s a marriage metaphor in there somewhere.}

The seed packet said not to thin, so I didn’t. I’m hoping for a big ole crop–there’s nothing like fresh peas.

Lookin’ sickie

05/26/2015 by Holly

This was not what I meant by yellow squash.

So I called in for reinforcements, and The Wise One suggested testing the soil. Oh yeah, I thought, I bought one of those soil kits quite a while ago and it’s been sitting on my desk ever since.

The good news is my hand-me-down pressboard desk is not in need of additional Potash.

The bad news is my beds read DEPLEATED in the Nitrogen department.

{Kind of a big deal.}

So for about 5 minutes I felt sort of like I did when Bitty E wouldn’t nurse and the doctor checked “failure to thrive” right before he handed me the charge sheet to take up to the check-out counter.

***NOTE: if you are a doctor and reading this please consider the possibility that a five-day postpartum mother is likely going to view this behavior as POOR BEDSIDE MANNER mostly due to her HORMONAL FLUCTUATIONS and not because you said it with a mean face. But maybe that’s a charge sheet you yourself could hand deliver to the check-out receptionist. Just an idea.

Ahem.

This was my first official soil test, and I must say, Na Big. I will add this to the list of things I do regularly and probably watch in amazement as my garden output increases due to, you know, GIVING THE PLANTS WHAT THEY NEED.

{Previously I’ve been more of a haphazard “oh it’s almost spring, I think I’ll throw a little fertilizer on there” kind of girl.}

I used a soil test kit that I liked the reviews on, and it was very simple. The pH test could be done right away, and the soil for the NPK results only had to sit for a couple hours watered down before I could draw some of the water to check.

The results were very telling. More like tattle-telling.

But now everyone has been fertilized and we’ll see how they go.

Halfway there

05/25/2015 by Holly

For the last 50-ish days I’ve been participating in A Something Fun on Instagram called The 100 Day Project. {You can find thousands upon thousands of participants and their contributions by searching #the100dayproject on IG.} I have been blown away by the talent, creativity, and humor of all these people I will never meet. The beginning of the project coincided with the intended launch of the blog, and when that didn’t happen on time I considered dropping out, and man I am so glad I did not.

I began by following one hundred other participants based entirely on their first post and whether or not it interested me that first day. Only two I followed were friends–well, one is technically a relative, but she’s really more of a friend. I’ve pruned and hacked away, paring down to the most fascinating ones, constantly following 100 people. And I’ve wound up with the most interesting and global group of creatives…I thought you might like to see their work as well.

So here are some of my favorites, in no particular order. {You can search their name, or just search their hashtag to see the full body of their project work.}

I hope they will see this post as another nudge to “show up, show up, show up,” as project creator Elle Luna says.

– nargolarefi #100daysoflefthandedpainting : Both paintings on this post are hers {used with permission}. I keep wondering if on day 100 she’s going to caption her last one SIKE I’M LEFT HANDED. I feel it would only be fair to the rest of us who struggle to draw a flower on a 4 year old’s snack bag when requested. Just sayin’. Amazingly beautiful, vividly colorful, full of personality, and I’m so tempted to ask the hubs to let me purchase a set of 6 for a super rockin’ art wall.

– elenastreehouse #100daysofalinebynine : I only wish I could write down the funny things the bitties say in the beautiful ways Elena does! What an archive she will create for them, and they will recognize it and feel so special and cherished. Probably in about twenty years.

– kejalmacdonald #100daysofmotherhood : Oh the real life. And I love her humor in spite of the fact that she is IN THE THICK OF IT right now.

– schoolhousedoodles #100daysofgardendoodles : Somebody give this girl a coffee table book deal.

– BradMilison #whatishappinesstoyou : LOVE THIS. And wish some of these people were my real life friends.

– nevertobeaddressed #100daysofanonymousletters : Some days heartbreaking, some days uplifting, all days fascinating.

– aqmalalhazhari #onehundredprettythings : Just pretty.

– camileo #100daysofpeoplesshoes : Why am I obsessed with this???

– sadanimalfacts #sadanimalfacts: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Brooke, you so funny. My dog doesn’t eat unless “conditions are perfect.” Does that qualify her for a portrait?

– shethedesigner #100daysofcreation: love her aesthetic. {And she did my blog header. So, you know, partial.}

For those of you who may be arithmetically challenged {ahem, okay, maybe just me} the 100 Day Project is roughly halfway done, so it’s not too late to jump in or just follow some of the awesome. And if you want to follow me too {though I don’t promise near as much awesome…} I’m @diggingsuburbia.

It’s fun to be a part of something so global from my little corner of suburbia.

Happy halfway there!

Hark, I’ve discovered a discovery.

05/21/2015 by Holly

I believe I’ve discovered a new species of garden pest.

It’s not a rodent, parasite, or fungus…but it’s potentially way more destructive.

I know it’s unexpected considering that I live in suburbia and not some remote corner of the earth, but hear me out.

It’s small, with efficient pincers, and makes a high-pitched sound when agitated. It’s occasionally nocturnal, highly territorial, and has been known to relieve itself where it sleeps.

It is a picky eater, some days subsisting entirely on Cheez-Its or significant quantities of very expensive organic milk.

It has been known to remove petals from flowers, squeeze under-ripened berries between its pincers right there on the branch, or remove entire seedlings {roots and all} with just a small tug.

It can be sneaky, snatching more than it’s One Flower A Day allotment when homeowners turn their backs, and it has been known to be defiant when pressed as to exactly how hard one shook this peony bloom.

And in spite of it all, this species has been known to redeem itself entirely during the span of time known as “snuggling before bedtime,” in which it emits a fragrance so beautiful {and so exactly like freshly washed hair} that it can make homeowners experience a fairly common ailment known as parental amnesia.