.LOG Garden notes for 2023 Wednesday, 20 July 2022 7:33 PM 7/20/2022 Today I brushed dirt off the multipliers and put them on a newspaper in the garage to finish curing. Tuesday, 11 October 2022 12:35 PM 10/11/2022 [snip] Instead of digging up, dividing, and replanting the giant garlic, I decided to leave it where it is. I don't think I will pickle giant garlic next year, so I'll need little more than enough to save the clone. Then I went in for a yellow flag and the giant-garlic bulb I harvested a while back, and planted it south of the overlooked winter onion in the garlic/giant garlic row. There were a coupple of well-grown garlics at the south end of their section, but most have failed to come up. So I hoed up the bit at the south end of the row, where I harvested the young winter onions, and pushed whole bulbs of garlic into the soil, without separating them into cloves. I selected the smallest bulbs. There's a yard and a half of unplanted row at the north end. That row, the asparagus, and rather a lot of winter onions are all that are going to winter over. 10:13 AM 2/10/2023 .LOG 10:14 AM 2/10/2023 11:54 AM 3/1/2023 Wednesday 1 March 2023 11:56 AM 3/1/2023 A few weeds ago, I noticed that I could harvest some winter onions if I'd been all winter without fresh vegetables. Now that it's March, I should take a closer look. The daffodils have been well up for some time, and the hyacinths have their noses out. Sunday, 12 March 2023 12:19 AM 3/13/2023 Dave has bought parsnip seeds. It's time to plant the multipliers. 11:40 AM 3/17/2023 Friday, 17 March 2023 11:41 AM 3/17/2023 I dug up a clump of eight or nine winter-onion scallions a few days ago. Tuesday sounds about right. There's a parsley leaf that I could pick. Too wet to plant multipliers, but I've made a start at raking the leaves off the garden. Tuesday, 21 March 2023 12:02 AM 3/22/2023 I dug up two hills of unwanted winter onions today. They were fiddley to clean and didn't yield much onion; I'll leave the rest until I actually want to plant something where they are. Chopped the trimmings of the greens and a deformed teeny onion with the last two scallions from the previous clump and put them into a pot of turkey-wing and red-bean soup. Ground is thawed, but it's too cold for an old lady to dig. Saturday, 25 March 2023 11:32 PM 3/25/2023 Harvested four more scallions yesterday. Was still one fiddley one left when I last looked at the relish plate. Again, I pulled some out of the wet dirt without disturbing the rest of the clump. Sunday, 26 March 2023 12:25 PM 3/26/2023 This morning I raked most of the leaves out of the asparagus bed and all but the middle inter-row of the garden. I think that this one will be less fiddley than the other two. Compost heap is spilling into the hole between the new heap and the old one. There is still a lot of good dirt in the old heap. I pulled a few weeds out of the herb bed, pruned the thyme, and cut the lavender to the ground. I should do more weed pulling while the ground is still wet. I hope to get the multipliers into the ground while it's still March. Tuesday, 28 March 2023 12:05 PM 3/28/2023 Just put nine scallions in the fridge. One broke when I tried to pull it up without loosening the non-longer-mud earth enough, and one was a limp one I found in the onion-cleaning place. There's a sparse row of green sprouts precisely where I want to plow a furrow for planting enough multipliers to pickle. I may plant the pickling onions between the winter onions and the garlic. Dave plans to plant parsnips. Friday, 31 March 2023 11:08 PM 3/31/2023 I dug a clump of fourteen scallions today Monday, 3 April 2023 10:51 PM 4/3/2023 I planted the multipliers between the garlic and the winter onions. I put a flag where I switched from old bulbs to last summer's bulbs. I covered the furrow with dirt dug from the old compost heap. I didn't cultivate first, as the weeds are not yet up. Also the soil was somewhat wet. Thursday, 6 April 2023 1:11 PM 4/6/2023 The willow tree is leafing out. I suspect that buds are swelling on trees too tall to inspect. Daffodils and hyacinth are in full bloom . No sign of tiger lilies. Multipliers are not up. Tuesday, 11 April 2023 3:56 PM 4/11/2023 I cut the rue to the ground today, a tad late: it was already starting to leaf out. The tarragon made it through the winter. The rhubarb is well up. I could harvest parsley. I have harvested garlic chives. The multlipliers are still not up between the garlic and the winter onions. I appear to have missed a lot of bulbs when I harvested last summer's multipliers. It was because there are so many in the old row that I planted between the garlic and winter onions instead of where I planted last year. I should harvest some of the volunteers; I think Dave likes them better than he likes winter onions. The garden is due for a cultivator-push, but I'm tired much of the available time. A lot of down limbs and twigs need picking up. Saturday, 15 April 2023 10:50 PM 4/15/2023 Dug two large winter-onion scallions and chopped one up and put it into the stew. Monday, 17 April 2023 10:59 PM 4/17/2023 Picked big mess of asparagus yesterday and made creamed asparagus for supper today. Too cold to look at garden today. Tuesday, 18 April 2023 10:48 AM 4/18/2023 The two-year-old multipliers are up! But only one of the younger bulbs. I think. It was too cold to take a close look. The sprouted onion I buried yesterday or the day before had been rolled aside. I dug the hole deeper and put it back. The sprouts look undamaged, and less bent than when I took it out of the onion box. The asparagus are on hold (I didn't check them yesterday, when it was snowing). I still have a lot of tops from the day before yesterday's picking. I sliced only stems to fry in the butter for the creamed eggs. I'm reserving the winter onions for cooking, and have dug up a volunteer clump of multipliers for eating raw. Monday, 24 April 2023 3:57 PM 4/24/2023 Dandelions and violets are in full display. The daffodils have faded and I'm about to deadhead those in the fern bed. The cold has put the asparagus on hold. There is one spear that could be eaten, but if the cold continiues, it will keep well in the asparagus bed. 4:14 PM 4/24/2023 The ferns are up, and the crabapple is in full bloom. 6:57 PM 4/30/2023 Sunday, 30 April 2023 6:58 PM 4/30/2023 Looked out the window while fetching a drink of water and saw a flower bud on the rhubarb, so I went out into the rain and cut out three flowering stems. Must keep an eye on it; it always tries again. Friday, 2 June 2023 9:08 AM 6/2/2023 I cut the rue and the oregano to the ground the day before yesterday. Asparagus still producing. Monday, 13 June 2023 8:36 AM 6/13/2023 I stopped picking asparagus a few days ago, partly beause Dave was sick of it. Garden is weedy, and I need to rake up lots of mulch for the asparagus. Oregano has invaded the asparagus. I wish I had brought some of the oregano that invaded the lawn in New York with me -- never thought that new oregano wouldn't do the same. Sunday, 30 July 2023 1:31 AM 7/30/2023 I pulled weeds out of the cracks in the patio today. It was surprisingly easy, but one young tree wouldn't come. The garden is in dreadful shape, and it's way past time to harvest the multipliers. Monday, 31 July 2023 9:35 AM 7/31/2023 I havested garlic-chive buds yesterday. Still haven't weeded the garden; this year's crop of multipliers is lost, but most of the missing will come up next spring. Still time to harvest the garlic. I've no idea what I'll do with that much garlic. Winter-onion bulbils still producing. It will be time to look for base bulbs soon. Bereft of mulch, I've been throwing garbage on the asparagus bed. 11:04 AM 7/31/2023 I pulled all the garlics, hosed them off, and put them on the picnic table. Got a giant garlic by mistake. I plan to re-plant it after I get weeds out of the garlic row. Also found one clump of volunteer multipliers. It had sent up a seed stalk to mark its location. I put the seed head in the strawberry bed, in hope that one might sptrout. I'm planning to put the seed head from the giant garlic there too. The winter onions in the garlic row show no signs of making base bulbs. 11:43 AM 7/31/2023 Made a few passes with the five-tine hoe along the west edge of the garden. Nobody would ever notice. I dug up two or three trees and piled some weeds on the south end of the asparagus bed. Another volunteer multipler had a seed stalk; I pulled up a clump of two bulbs, with an indication that my impatience had broken off a third. Also dug some deep-rooted weeds off the ripe compost heap. Monday, 28 August 2023 6:51 PM 8/28/2023 Multiplier crop lost, except for what comes up next spring and a few bulbs of the volunteers. I dug up the three winter onions in the asparagus bed, and got six small bulbs and three scallions. Mostly-peeled them and put them into the fridge. In the afternoon, I spent a quarter hour pulling most of the coarse grass with chenillish seed heads, and laid it down as mulch at the south end of the asparagus bed. This cleared a gratifying patch of garden, but the rest is not going to be so easy. But there will be more cool days to work on the garden in September than there were in August. I planted the remaining impatience plants at random spots in the fern bed, save for one that I planted at the east end of the impatience bed. The wasp's nest is caput, which allowed me to use the rolling stool to plant the impatience. http://wlweather.net/LETTERS/2023BANN/2023BAN8.HTM#23Aug2023 day of wasp discovery Monday, 4 September 2023 2:54 PM 9/4/2023 I did some token weed-pulling in the garden before lunch. Monday, 11 September 2023 1:12 PM 9/11/2023 While pushing the five-tine cultivator, I plowed up my missing garden knife. http://wlweather.net/LETTERS/2023BANN/2023BAN9.HTM#11Sep2023 Later on, I found out how I had lost it. I cut a walnut and redbud and some other trees out of the surround of the herb bed. When about to cut the last tree, I reflected that it was younger than the others and I might be able to pull it -- and laid the open knife on the concrete so that I could use both hands. The tree wouldn't pull. Perhaps I should have left this job until after tomorrow's rain. Monday, 18 September 2023 10:12 AM 9/19/2023 I pushed the five-tine cultivator as far as the west side of the winter-onion row, then plowed up the south end of the garlic row and broke up and planted a head of giant garlic that I accidentally pulled up a while ago. There was a space left, so I also buried the seed head that had been on the stalk. While plowing, I acquired a few fat winter-onion bulbils, and made a pile of bulbils that are too small to mess with north of the flue tile. Some of them would have been big enough to mess with if I didn't have a quart of bulbils in the refrigerator. I also added weeds to the compost heap and the mulch on the asparagus bed, but there are worlds aplenty left in the area that I'm cultivating. Friday, 22 September 2023 1:11 PM 9/22/2023 The easy part is done. I pushed the five-tine cultivator from the west edge to the winter-onion row. I pulled some of the weeds that plowing loosened, and cut off a few of the weeds that it didn't. Then I made a start at clearing weeds out of the winter onions. In the tiny bit that I worked on, I found more than one weed that had to be cut off. Rendering this row weed free is going to take persistence. I plowed up a few tiny multipliers and added them to the sets in the cupboard. I'm thinking about breaking up one or two of the giant-garlic bulbs and planting enough to make pickled garlic next summer. (I hope that works out better than my plans to pickle multipliers this summer.) I have read that if one plants the hard seed-like bulbils, they will make round single-clove bulbs. If I find some, I shall try it. Thursday, 28 September 2023 11:21 AM 9/28/2023 Found two multipliers in the garden. One had begun to sprout, so I planted it in the garlic row. I added the other to my seed for next spring. Rained all day yesterday, so I pulled up the volunteer rue in the herb bed and threw it into the chimney corner behind the milkweed. Also got a couple of violets out. There is so much oregano and volunteer parsely in the bed that it's hard to get at the weeds. The thyme is smothering the marjoram, which is spreading north. There are lots of catnip seedlings in both beds. Still no progress on buying panels to repair beds. I've got to get with it before the weather gets cold. 6:30 PM 9/28/2023 I pulled some of the easy weeds out of about half the multiplier row, collected a pocket of fat bulbils, and made a substantial contribution to the pile of bulbils north of the flue tile. It's expanding to the west. The asparagus bed is pretty close to being mulched. Monday, 2 October 2023 4:59 PM 10/2/2023 Pushed the cultivator around, plowed up and replanted a multiplier, plowed up and cleaned a scallion, pulled up a two-clove bulb of giant garlic and planted it with two flags. Worked up a sweat. Wednesday, 4 October 2023 12:20 PM 10/4/2023 Pushed the cultivator from the west edge to the winter onions, then made four passes on the other side. Each pass picked up some weeds. Added to the pile of undersized bulbils on the other side of the flu tile, and found one head with bulbs so fat that I brought it into the house. I pulled a token amount of weeds out of the winter-onion row. Added some winter-onion stalks to the mulch on the asparagus bed. I hope to have some chopped leaves to cover them with soon. There appear to be plenty of volunteer garlics. I think I'll plant the few cloves I kept back anyway. This is probably the last day I'll work outside barefoot. Tuesday, 10 October 2023 11:17 AM 10/10/2023 I learned how I got that long scratch on my arm, broke the offending branch into bits, and threw it into the asparagus bed. It was a dead weed in the compost heap, which I'd been reaching under when discarding undersized bulbil heads. 1:02 PM 10/10/2023 Pushed the cultivator all the way to the west edge of the garden. It's far from free of weeds, but the debris I've been throwing to the east is now in the asparagus bed. I *think* I've now found all the bulbils. Many stalks are still clinging to the roots. Sometimes I break a tip off when testing. The unmulched portions of the asparagus bed are mostly portions that the asparagus ferns are guarding. Thursday, 12 October 2023 3:39 PM 10/12/2023 Plowed from the garlic row to the east edges. I deemed the soil too wet to plow where it didn't desperately need it. I plowed up two multiplier bulbs that looked as though they would keep, and one winter-onion scallion. Tuesday, 24 October 2023 6:38 PM 10/24/2023 planted the remaining garlic cloves. Most had roots, but there are worlds of volunteers. I may have garlic to give to the food pantry again. Wednesday, 25 October 2023 11:41 PM 10/25/2023 If I can find a food pantry that wants them. Our Father's House is permanently closed. Thursday, 26 October 2023 10:48 AM 10/26/2023 I pruned the thyme on the side next to the marjoram, put the prunings into a water bottle, and put the bottle into the freezer. All the herbs are vigorously green, and the parsley has taken over. I will have to thin the catnip in the spring. I don't know where all those seedlings came from, in both beds. I must graze on the parsley while it lasts. Tuesday, 31 October 2023 10:41 AM 10/31/2023 The sprigs of parsley I ate this morning were frozen, right to the bottoms of the stems. Friday, 3 November 2023 11:15 AM 11/3/2023 Much to my surprise, the parsley wasn't harmed a bit. The basil is quite dead. The oregano and thyme are florishing. I cut the thyme back from the marjoram. The catnip is doing well. I will have to thin it in the spring. I've no idea why it volunteered all over after so many vain years of trying to get it started. There is a mysterious plant with broad oval leaves in the southwest corner of the southern bed. It looks like something that one might plant. I haven't seen it anywhere else. Sunday, 19 November 2023 10:42 PM 11/19/2023 I harvested some garlic chives today, but they were poor. The parsely, thyme, and oregano are still going strong, and we ate some scallions of winter onion. Thursday, 30 November 2023 3:45 AM 11/30/2023 Sunday's snow didn't provide much protection to the herb beds, and it had been below freezing for some time before it started. It's been too cold to investigate, except on pre-occupied days such as yesterday. Thursday, 30 November 2023 12:26 PM 11/30/2023 I don't believe this! I'm eating a sprig of parsely. The thyme also looks good. The marjoram and catnip are under leaves. 3:44 AM 11/30/2023 12:25 PM 11/30/2023 Saturday, 23 December 4:02 PM 12/23/2023 Still parsely, thyme, and oregano, and I could dig some more winter-onion scallions, but I peeled off and threw away most of the previous batch, and they are so strong that they are best used in cooking. There are enough that I don't need to worry about wasting them. The parsely is looking shopworn. The rue seems to be healthy. The asparagus bed has been mowed, and today I took pruning shears to stalks the mower merely knocked over. Made a big fluff on the compost heap. The snow of a few days ago is completely gone. We have not yet had a suitable day for cleaning the freezer. (Maybe there was one or two on days when we were too sick to clean.) I wonder what will happen to the garlic and overlooked multipliers when cold weather finally settles in? Multipliers planted in California, one of my aunts was quoted as saying, don't flourish. (That would have been seventy years ago, egad.)