So grey and rainy earlier today in my neck of the woods in Chicagoland.
I wanted tomato plants for the raised garden beds and some herbs for the pots.
I went to Home Depot in the cold and rain, figuring there would be very few people there. I was right! I got everything I needed!
The lows at night still look pretty low, so those plants will have to cool their jets in the shelter of the garage awhile longer.
Just planted my two tomato plants before the rain started today. My neighbor bought them for me, I wouldn’t usually plant them this early, but she always does, and hers always do well. The plants were little so I had to protect them from the rabbits.
Temperatures hit the upper 80s here this week. (Today was supposed to be 90+, but thankfully that didn’t happen.)
Peas are up, and so are cucumbers. Tomatillos I transplanted 2 days ago are looking good.
I had a tray of tomato seedlings sitting out on the porch to harden off in the sun and the damned deer ate my biggest, most robust plants. Didn’t touch the eggplants, though.
Our raised beds are very old and falling apart at the corners.
We have 3 unused “U” trellises made out of plumbing pipe back from when the kids were wee and gardening was a Big Deal.
So, I thought I’d get into “frugal & make do” mode and cut the pipe down into 18” pieces and hammer them in as stakes to support all sides of the remaining two raised garden beds.
The pipe cutter broke during the second cut! Plan temporarily derailed. Humph.
Finally gave in and went out for some gardening supplies. I love to garden, but I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not essential, unless you’re a farmer, lol.
Went to Home Depot at 6:30 AM and got mulch and some questionable potting soil. They were out of orchid bark and all terra cotta pots. It was nearly empty, but you had to go in and out through the contractor area. This was Monday, but luckily “Monday morning contractor hell” hadn’t set in yet (that’s what a contractor friend calls it).
Swung by my local small hardware store and got BT for a friend, Neem oil and insectcidal soap. Grabbed a few terra cotta pots. This place has narrow aisles and people would wait for someone to be done before they entered the aisle. Except one guy, sigh…
Finally went to a small, local garden center today and got lots of stuff. I had emailed them a list, and they said they were doing curbside pick up but that was 2 weeks ago. Got some orchid bark, orchid pots, a few herbs and peppers, better potting soil, etc. Everyone had masks, stayed far apart, and they used apple pay and emailed me a receipt. Pretty easy. Went home and did some happy re-potting. More left for tomorrow, yay!
ETA - every place I went had plenty of seeds.
A great feeling, isn’t it? Especially after these past two months…
My lettuces broke through the soil, finally! 
Mr assembled the big white bed, we looked at it… and decided that a few bags of dirt would not do. Off to Pacific Topsoils will Mr go in our truck that just turned 20 years old. ?
I had a grand time today dividing & moving plants. Babies!
Then got serious about attacking the runner grass. Mother Earth, I’m sorry.
Sunny and warm — what a treat! I forgot all about the craziness in the world.
Planted my eggplant seedling outside in the raised beds this afternoon and covered them with a shade cloth. (Partly to protect them until they get used to SW sun and partly to keep the deer from eating them.) Peas, cucumbers & summer squash are all up. Transplanted tomatoes, chiles and tomatillos are all doing well.
Transplanted dill and chives seedlings into a windowsill planter.
Found some wizened fingerling potatoes in the back of the fridge vegetable drawer that had sprouted–so I pulled a Mark Whitney–cut them into pieces and planted then in pots on the porch. I’ve grown potatoes off and on with modest success. I figure it can’t hurt to try.
I had been wondering what had ever happened to the Italian parsley seeds I’d ordered along with other plant starting materials, then I got a call from D2 2 days ago. She got a box of “garden stuff” earlier in the week. Apparently the last time I’d ordered from Parks Seeds it was seeds to help her get her garden started last summer–and I forgot to check the shipping address. Doh! ?
Bought some herbs and planted today. Got a few plants for my community garden and threw in one kale plant amidst my flower beds - worked last year!
I have two big flower pots on front porch “stoops” - I’ve learned the last couple of years that instead of buying 5 plants (a couple of geraniums and then some proven winner flowy stuff) to fill it (and then still have to wait for it to grow to fill in) that it costs nearly the same to just buy two matching hanging baskets with multiple flowers in it and transplant them into these two pots. Big impact from the start and last year they grew and were enormous and beautiful in the front of the house!
I do something similar for most of pots.
I have some very large pots and just plop the hanging flowers baskets into them. I just cut off the plastic hanging parts.
I also buy several very large already potted flower pots every year.
@chmcnm I have my hot pepper plants on top of a heating pad and under grow lights. Won’t take them outside until after Memorial Day.
I am getting herbs (tarragon, cilantro, thyme, and basil) from the nursery–you call your order in and it’s on an outside table at the nursery. Plan to plant those today. We have a large built-in planting area at one end of the deck (instead of railings). Sorrel is already growing like crazy. Sage has started as well as oregano. I’ll add parsley later. I like to grow mint, but it spreads like crazy and I usually keep it in a big pot. We have also been successful keeping a laurel bay tree/shrub alive–we brought it in for the winter and will put it outside at the end of May.
Brilliant idea about the hanging basket transplanted to the large pot.
We have three large pots on our porch and each year, there is such an impatient wait for the plants to kick in gear & fill in.
And you are right, the cost of those individual plants adds up! Yet, I have a knee-jerk negative reaction to the price of the hanging baskets!
Thanks for sharing the tip!
https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/a-better-way-to-stack-firewood
This is a link to a round wood pile.
A few years ago, I switched to stacking our wood this way. We have a Jotul wood stove insert & go thru quite a bit of wood in the winter.
We currently have 2 round piles. I just love how they look, adding visual interest to the backyard. We put them in spots where they also serve as not-so-obvious privacy screens.
Returned from Flower World with a load of strawberries for my tower (and a couple of beautiful rhodies and a peach tree). Ran into our good friends there… they were trying to figure out how to haul a fruit tree in their car. We helped them with that delivery.
@Midwest67 Love the look of those! We have three years’ worth of stacked-and-tarped firewood around our lot. How many cords per round pile?
Tulips are looking beautiful! My area always has a Tulip Festival which is of course cancelled so I especially appreciate the ones I planted last fall. I ordered a bunch from Brecks. Some planting groups are much better quality than others. I wish I knew the trick when ordering. If it’s the variety or price point. I’ve been battling the deer and so far winning!
It can be large or small!
Diameter, height, filling in the center will factor in.
We tarped one pile one winter. Then switched to making a smaller traditional stacked wood pile (row) closer to the side door with a tarp just for the fire season.
Is it the one in Albany? They have a virtual tour. https://www.albany.com/things-to-do/tulip-festival/
I’m going to take a drive through the park this week. I hate the actual festival bit. Haven’t gone since S was a toddler - but I love just walking through the park when the tulips are in bloom.
As a division during stay-at-home, I ordered a mushroom growing kit.
I’ll harvest my first batch of cremini mushrooms later today!
With temperatures hitting the upper 80s and 90s already, I was afraid it was going be too warm for the mycelium to grow.