Playing Catch-Up

Wow, a bout with a bad cold really knocked me back for a couple of weeks. But, I've returned, and need to catch up with running down the few things I managed to do garden-wise when not blowing my nose.

I gave up trying to get a rainbarrel on eBay and just ended up buying the two-barrel kit from Gardener's Supply, although I probably won't link them together. The barrels have already arrived and they are fantastic - really well made, and they hold a whopping 75 gallons each. It'll be nice to have a supply of rainwater around this spring.

In addition to the seeds I recently started indoors (as detailed in my Feb. 3 Suite 101 article), I also got some veggies going outside in containers: onions, radicchio, radishes, and peas. No germination just yet. It's been chilly here, so there may not be any activity for another week.
Before I started feeling really crappy last weekend, I did manage a few miscellaneous other outdoor chores, like:

Pulling back the mulch from the irises to give them a little more sun exposure. Looks like only one bulb rotted out of the 13. I was afraid another one was going to die, but a little digging revealed some new growth - yey!

Getting the vegetable bed ready for planting by removing the nasty landscape cloth and spreading some chopped leaves over the area, which is about 25' long and only 1.5' feet wide - not your typical bed dimensions, but despite its narrowness I think it'll work, as it receives lots of sun.

I also pulled up most of the rest of the landscape cloth from the front beds - what a chore that was! The soil underneath is fabulous and full of earthworms. More chopped leaves went over top of these areas, just to add some organic nutrients for the future.

It's getting close to shipping time for spring plants! I received notification from Avant Gardens that my order will go out 4/11 - can't wait to see the beautiful Pelargonium Vancouver Centennial they're sending me!