April 27th Gardening updates

Today I am so excited to go to the mushroom workshop at Tsolum River Truffula Tree Farm!  I realize though that I’ve not done a gardening update.  I’ve been so busy trying to get the yard in order, and renovating what I have.
My goals this year:

1. Raised garden beds in the back yard.
2. Re-do the lawn edging along the path in the back yard, from the house to the workshop. I want to use landscape ties instead of the plastic edging. When doing this I want to incorporate a future fire pit/ bbq area  (On my bucket list is to make a Cobb Fireplace/Rocket Stove/Oven). I’m still pondering how I’m going to do this.
3. Weed and mulch the soil under the Prune Plum tree to plant “Garden Giant” mushroom spawn.
4. Completely redo the planter bed between the deck and the workshop. Its overgrown with weeds and lawn seed that I missed vacuuming up (long story from last year I did not share online). Mulch it well so it will be lower maintenance than it is now.
5. Take out the lawn from the front yard. Plant with shrubs, perennials and annuals, and mulch heavily to make it low maintenance.

I’ve got #1 done on the list, although I still have to tweak the positioning of the landscape ties that separate the garden from the lawn.  The wood I used was 2”x12”, and it provides a good height that the dog thinks is separate, and so far hasn’t gone into (crossing fingers!)
Here’s a picture of the back yard garden, the first picture is when I was making them, and the second picture is filled and partially planted. 



In the first bed I have 1/4 planted with Garlic, 1/4 planted with one Cardoon, 1/6th planted with Sugar Snap Peas, 1/6th planted with Red Russian Kale, and 1/6th to be planted (I’m thinking with Perpetual Spinach).
In the second bed the planting is more free-form. I planted a one foot by five foot strip of sugar snap peas along side the fence. The central part of the bed has five sprouting purple broccoli plants, surrounded by three different types of lettuce (12 plants total). The remaining part of the bed is filled with “walking onions” (Egyptian walking onions… you treat them like green onions, snipping what you need, and then let them go to seed… they form bulbuls that make at least five more plants!)
I’m debating on what to plant in the last bed, closest to the greenhouse.  I’m thinking squash, although I may try the Three Sister’s Planting method one more time. I know that I want a good planting of Purple Peacock Pole Beans - I really enjoyed them last year!
I should note that between the last bed and the greenhouse is a Lovage plant that barely survived me digging it out and leaving it “bare” over the winter.
Below, Lilac and Asian Pear Tree in bloom.

Below, the info. for the Purple Sprouting Broccoli, and Blueberries in bloom.

My Dad used to say “no rest for the wicked”…. Now, I really didn’t think I was that bad!!!!
Stay tuned for more gardening updates in the next month or so… did I tell you I wanted to accomplish this all by the end of next month?????? YIKES!