The weather is doing that thing it loves to do this time of year where it might be freezing, it might be warm, it might be both in one day, it might be raining buckets…you get the idea. We’ve definitely had a lot of rain, cold mornings, and warm afternoons this past week. I’ve gotten out to the gardens when I can, but small human wrangling hasn’t always allowed for it. In spite of the chaotic weather, though, the cherry blossoms are starting to show themselves around the DC area, which can only mean one thing:
Spring is upon us.
I think before the growing season really gears up, I should go into a little more detail (I mean, that’s why you’re here, right? Garden dirt!). Last time I gave you a little bit of background about myself and my gardens, but a little more context couldn’t go amiss.
So here is my garden breakdown!
Right now I am lucky enough to have two gardens going: one at my house, and one community plot that I rent through the county.
My home garden consists of a 4 x 6 foot raised bed, and a deck-top container garden where I like to grow some of my herbs and peppers. Also featured in my deck-top containers are my two Brown Turkey fig trees. I started them last year when they were basically twigs, and I’m hoping they’ll grow enough this year to get some fruit. If they don’t, well, I’m can be patient another year, I guess!
At the community plot (which I affectionately refer to as “the big garden”), I have a 20 x 30 foot fenced off block in which I can more or less grow whatever I want as long as it sticks within the community guidelines. When I got the big garden, there were ten raised beds already built, one of which held a jungle of blackberry canes. Some of the beds there are good sizes for veggies, and some are a little smaller, which makes it hard to decide what to do with them every year. In the smallest one I have a Victoria Rhubarb plant that I started from seed, an in one of the shadier beds in the back of the garden I planted a lavender bush and a rosemary bush. I love that back corner, it always smells amazing. That leaves me with seven beds that I can use for my annual crop rotations. There are also two spots that are jam packed with day lilies. I left them in last year, but this year I’m going to dig them all up and put in other things.
I’ve had the community plot for about a year and a half, and now that I’m finally managing to get the weeds under control and getting a feel for the place, I’ve started the process of making it my own by taking out four of the raised beds and rebuilding them in different places. I’ve already taken out the beds that butt up against the blackberries, and the fences, because having them all shoved together made it so difficult to weed as the plants get bigger and hit jungle mode. My biggest goal is to have 360-degree access to the main growing beds and the blackberries to keep weeds at bay and to make it easier to compost and mulch and all that necessary stuff.
Weed control is so important here, because this plot was left untended for a really long time, and the thistles really had the luxury of establishing themselves. There are still four beds that will be up against a fence, but they are the smaller ones and I have found that weeding them isn’t as big of an issue. I might change them eventually, but it isn’t a priority right now.
How the Beds Were When I Got Them. 
The Planned New Layout
So what have I been doing in the garden this week? If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw in my stories that I managed to get a lot of greens planted at my home bed. I’m growing Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale, Long Standing Bloomsdale Spinach, and Red Salad Bowl Lettuce that came as a free sample with one of my orders.
I decided after the fact that I wanted to go out and get some Romaine Lettuce seeds because my spouse eats a lot of it with his lunches. I haven’t managed to plant that yet, but I will soon. I also need to plant the pak choi in one of my little beds when I head back to the big garden. I need to finish building the bed that I’m going to put more greens and the onion transplants, too. Such a long to-do list this time of year!
The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, so hopefully I can get out there and finish those raised beds! See you next week!
The Geekret Garden 
Before you dig the daylillies all up, you may want to consider that the flowerbuds are a popular vegetable in China (I’m still waiting for mine to have more than one bloom!).
Are your thistles creeping thistles or biennial? I’ve found that pulling the creeping thistles just before they flower really does knock them back. If they’ve been in the soil a few years then you’ve probably got lots of seed in the soil ready to germinate too!
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I didn’t know that about the daylilies! It probably won’t stop me from digging them up, because they take up an awful lot of room. Whomever had this plot before me sure did love them.
As for the thistles, I’m not totally sure what kind they are, but I suspect they are creeping. I’ve never let them go to flower in my plot, but I think they definitely had time to establish themselves before I got there. I think they have a pretty substantial root network going underneath the whole gardening area, because you can see them popping up in other plots, and some of the other gardeners are not as diligent in removing them as others. *sigh*
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Sounds like creeping thistle then. It’s not too bad as weeds go, just keep pulling it. In my experience that stops it being too much of a nuisance after a couple of years. You just need a good pair of gloves!
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Yeah, most of the research I’ve done seems to agree with you. I’ve been pulling thistles for about a year and a half now (LOLSOB), and they’re already starting their spring time creeping. I’ll just keep at it!
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Mine are only just showing their heads – they’re easier to pull when a bit bigger! Good luck.
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