Getting Ready to Plant

Written 3/13/13

Tomorrow morning is the last predicted freeze between now and March 22. The garden is almost ready for planting

A new bed 2’ wide has been built around 1/3 of the perimeter of the garden with landscape timbers. It still needs to be filled with landscape timbers and dirt. All but 4 of the old beds have been reworked and some of them have been planted with early crops. The kale and mustard have sprouted.

The plants in the greenhouse are either going to have to go in bigger pots or the ground. It is probably too early to plant things like tomatoes and peppers, but the traditional day is Good Friday which is the 29th. Tomorrow after things warm up a little, a few plants will be put outside to harden off. They will be brought in at night. The cilantro and parsley can be planted. One each of tomatoes, peppers, marigold and black peony poppy will be planted this weekend if the 10 day forecast still predicts no freezing.

The marigold can take a light freeze. The others will still be small enough to cover with a 2 liter bottle if a freeze is predicted. Even though it is sad to lose any plant, the greenhouse has more than I will be able to plant or give away.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Drying Soil

This summer we will wish for rain like we’ve had lately. For now it has been keeping the soil too wet to till. Yesterday (Thursday) the ground in the garden and a front flower bed were too wet to till. The front yard, that just needs enough tilling to be able to rake smooth, was tilled. The tilling was started 4 months ago, but “projects” have gotten in the way of completion. Now it has to be raked and then it will be ready for grass seed.

Hopefully the front flower bed will be ready to till this afternoon. That soil drains really fast. If no rain comes the garden will be tilled Saturday. Then some new beds will be built and filled with mushroom compost and dirt. The compost from the bins is almost gone. There are probably 2 wheelbarrows full left. It takes 1 wheelbarrow load to refresh a bed. It takes 4 to make a new bed.

The 10 day weather forecast calls for no freezing weather after today until St Patty’s day. That forecast is very frequently wrong, especially this time of year. I am resisting the urge to set out some summer crops. Even if the weather stays warm, it really doesn’t speed the harvest. The potatoes for the spring planting still need to be planted.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

A Tale of Two Marigolds

Parsley, Cilantro and Marigolds (only a few of each) were put outside during the day to harden off. Friday night they were forgotten and left out all night. Since the original intention was to plant them on Saturday, this was not a problem. They did not get planted Saturday. The temperature went to 25 on Sunday morning. This was not a problem except for 1 marigold. One thrived and one died.

The cilantro and parsley were set out Sunday. The surviving marigold was taken back into the greenhouse. Kale, Swiss chard, onion sets, radishes, mustard and sugar peas were planted over the weekend. Two asparagus plants were hardened off, but their planting is being delayed until the asparagus in the bed start shooting up. One has poked its nose up, but it has only grown 2 inches in 4 days.

The soil in the garden is still too wet to till. Freezing nights and windy sunny days should dry it out fast. If it is not dry by Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday more rain is predicted.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Figs Already?

The fig trees in the yard do not even have leaves. Several of the little fig trees in the greenhouse that were started last fall have little figs already. They should probably be pulled off so that the tree can concentrate its strength in plant growth. Of the two volunteers that appear to be sunflowers, one is over a foot tall. The other is about 6 inches. The greenhouse is getting crowded. Maybe the parsley and the cilantro can go in the garden this weekend.

The “nuc’s” for the bee hives have been ordered. It is hoped that bees will improve the pollination of the garden. A “nuc” is a nucleus hive. It consists of 5 frames of brood, covered with bees and a queen. It is placed into a 10 frame hive with a feeder in hopes of getting a head start on the honey flow season. A trip to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm yesterday, helped Michael and I identify the equipment we need and we hope to order this weekend.

The ground is still soggy and cannot be worked, but the soil in the beds is about 45 degrees. Waiting much longer on the planting will make the ground too warm for the early development of the crucifers. The broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will be purchased today. The cilantro and parsley will be put outside to “harden off” in the afternoons. Sunday, depending on the predicted temperature, they will be left out overnight.

Blooms and Swollen Buds

The narcissus plants in the front yard are blooming as are the cherry trees (I think that’s what they are) on Sardis Rd. The blueberries in the front yard have swollen bulbs. The cherries in the front yard are doing nothing. The new bulbs that were planted this fall are doing nothing. Perhaps with the hard freezes we have had over the weekend, it might be a good thing.

Today it has rained all day. This afternoon will probably be a greenhouse day unless the rain stops. If the rain stops it will be a good day for digging postholes. The garden really needs to be tilled so some new beds can be built, but with the constant rain, who knows when that will happen. That is the good thing about raised beds. There are still places to plant the spring garden.

The mustard that was planted this fall has pretty much succumbed to the weather or something. The volunteer mustard is doing great. Fortunately the collards are growing fast enough that we are not without greens. The spinach is still growing as well. The onions are doing great of course. We haven’t been eating many of them so they have not been replanted in over a month.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Still Full

The mats have arrived and been placed, but the shelves are still full. The shelf that has no mats or lights has been covered partly with cilantro, asparagus, parsley and marigolds. I don’t think the cold will bother them and they are growing so fast that they may do just as well without the artificial light. Many of the plants are almost big enough to transplant now. By Good Friday, there will be a problem.

It snowed Friday and turned everything white. My yard actually looked good for a change. Most of Saturday and Sunday were spent in the greenhouse dividing and transplanting. Some cabbage was planted, but the lesson has been learned. One seed per container. The cabbage was not put on a heat mat. It will not germinate well at over 70 degees.

Sunday afternoon things had warmed up and melted off enough that the two sections of privacy fence to hide the lumber pile were installed and the trench for the power and water to the greenhouse was deepened and covered. The fence on the other side of the yard from the garden was started. That will just be a rail fence with no wire. Its purpose is strictly aesthetic. The property line will be planted with fig trees and camellias.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Sunflowers, I Think

About a month ago a little plant appeared growing in the bed of my truck. It had seed leaves like a cucurbit, so it was assumed that that is what it was. No. Now it looks like a sunflower, but it is not growing very fast. Another plant jumped up in a pot where camellias were being rooted. It is definitely a sunflower. Where do they come from?



It rained on Friday, so it was too wet to stretch fence on Saturday. The fence for another section was put in place and the stretcher was hooked up to have it ready to pull. Sunday afternoon the ground had dried enough to stretch the fence. It was stretched but not nailed. Yesterday it was nailed, but it had rained all night Sunday and most of the day Monday, so the last section was not installed until Tuesday afternoon. Everything is done now except for a strand of wire on the top and the gate.

The new greenhouse is getting full with the plants that are being divided or repotted. The new seedling heat mats have not arrived yet so the parsley, cilantro, thyme and marigolds were put on a shelf with light but no heat. The greenhouse is pretty warm anyway.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/