Now that we have our “Hose Garden,” an auxiliary watering system installed by Mike, I’ve begun yard maintenance in earnest. I refer to the lawn and ornamentals. The end of the week seems a good time to approach the back garden. Thursday evening the waste disposal containers are put out, and Friday morning they are taken back inside the gate. Time in the backyard organizing disposal can coincide with watering, weeding and trimming the lawn and ornamentals. Saturday I plan to mow the lawn, finish watering, and prune, the latter perhaps with help from a certain snazzy Englishman, if he is not otherwise occupied. –MJH
The southside flower and herb garden was subjected to soil testing this afternoon. Results are shown in the chart below. –MJH.
| Area |
pH |
N |
P |
K |
Elements for 50 sq ft |
Fertilizer for 50 sq ft |
Amendments for 50 sq ft SE border |
| SE border |
6.7/good |
0/depleted |
5/surplus |
5/surplus |
2oz N |
7.5ozs 26-3-4. |
0.5 cu ft potting soil, raked in. |
I watered the shrubs in front of the house and removed some mint plants from the area in front of the fence, for eventual planting in the southside garden. –MJH
Flowers and more veggies
Our first flowers of 2009 are underway. Twelve nicotianias for planter boxes were planted in trays on June 24, and eighteen sunflowers for the main garden.  Nine nasturtiums for window boxes and planters were started in trays on June 25. The nasturtiums were scarred and planted in unfertilized soil. –MJH
Veggie Map as of June 25th
This is a photo from the deck with the perspective adjusted to resemble an aerial photo. The veggie plantings are labeled. Click for a larger version.
We tested near two corners of the lawn, an irregular half of which is to become the new veggie plot.
The N center of the garden is the NE corner of the lawn and is the sunniest. It was originally the lowest point so it has the most fill dirt.
The SW corner is the shadiest. The lawn there is mostly moss. It was originally the highest point so there may not be much topsoil over the subsoil.
| Location |
Area |
pH |
N |
P |
K |
Elements |
Fertilizer |
Amendments |
| N center |
350 sq ft (veggies) |
6.7/good |
0/depleted |
1/deficient |
5/surplus |
32.5oz N plus 20.1oz P |
7.5lbs 16-16-16 and 3 lbs 26-3-4. Rototilled into veggie patch but only scattered onto lawn. |
6 cu ft compost rototilled in with the fertilizer, then 6 cu ft compost raked in. |
| SW corner |
350 sq ft (lawn) |
6.5/good |
0/depleted |
3/sufficient |
5/surplus |
none |
The 700 sq ft to be fertilized includes both the new veggie patch and the remaining portion of the lawn. Each is about 350 sq ft. For simplicity we applied the same fertilizers throughout despite the differing phosphorus levels. We applied fertilizers containing unneeded potassium because they were much less expensive than fertilizers without potassium.
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