18th St

18th St

tomatoes growing quickly

inside

morning glories

cactus flower

boweia (South African)

baby birds

baby birds in tree, Ave H

 (thanks to Amy Sara Clark)

cactus flower

wisteria

tomatoes

compost in action

We can add to the composting bin again . . . the 'mature' stuff is now in a rectangular blue plastic box next to the bin and ready to be used.

Rain! Hooray!

So sweet that it rained! Now I can have my second cup of coffee...

wisteria hysteria

The woman who gardens next door says that it should be pruned only after the first frost or else it will not flower. She added that 'only men should prune, not women, or no flowers'.

watering & mowing

Watering will be a constant need when nature doesn't cooperate, especially when it gets hot.

Back yard: There are hose boxes in the back yard: the faucet on the 17th Street side is pretty straight forward; the one towards 18th requires that we first turn the water on from inside the basement, and then the outside (and then all off.)

Front yard: There is a faucet with hose/sprinkler next to the front door that can be used for the three beds closest to it.

Side yard: Another hose with sprinkler/timer need dragging around, setting timer, etc

You may have noticed that the lawn was mowed last weekend, thanks to Kerwin and the friendly guy who seems to be working with him these days.

trellis (for wisteria) on to Ave H gate

 

recent planting

clematis

morning glories

Composting

yes, it's full of worms

. . . but don't be afraid, it's supposed to be. The worms appear on the top of the compost when the it's too hot for them or there's not enough oxygen. The composter makes great fertilizer for adding to the garden beds and containers.

Our is a little warped, so you have to push the lid down firmly before twisting it into locked position for tumbling (you do not want the top coming off when it's upside down.)

What can go in the composter:

First Spring Garden Clean Up

Today we removed the winter leaves from the beds and from the cement area.
Debbie came to help filling lots of garbage bags. She said she's going to put a big garbage bin out in the garden.
We threw out some of the wooden poles and sticks that were standing in a corner and put away the better planks.
There is more space to put our apartment plants out for summer and for new garden plants.

We also got the compost going, added some of the rotten leaves to it, all the worms we found and spun the container.

The "picnic area" still needs to be cleaned and tidied up.

If you are doing this, please be aware that leaves cannot go in the regular garbage. Leave the bag with the leaves by the gate on 18th Street. Kerwin will dispose of them.

Rakes, brooms and shovels are either behind the washing machines or in the back of the basement.

There are some bulbs that urgently need to go into dirt! Done
You can find them in the basement to the right of the elevator, in the bike area. Some are in a big basin on the floor, others on the table behind the piano.The bulb shovel is behind the dryers.