Notes From The Potting Shed #5

We are now on our 2nd spring and 5th winter, I think... the weather has been bonkers. We went from double digits one day to snow the next. That melted away, we had a few nice days, and then we woke up to snow this morning... that has also now melted away. From Sunday onwards it is supposed to be nice again. Oj vej!

Here are some notes from potting shed about what has been going on the past week and what to do this week... I have been busy, you guys!

The lawn needs some help! Oh, and this snow from yesterday is all gone!

We will be busy raking the lawn, removing the straw from the garlic, cleaning off the patio... again! Just general tidy up to get things looking good around here. I love raking! It gives one an instant sense of gratification.

The lawn looks prettier, nicer right away. Getting rid of some of the dead grass, any leaves and things on the lawn... just a good raking will make even the crappiest of lawns look better. Speaking of crappy... see what our lawn looks like? Wait till you see it after we rake!

I picked up a bag of grass with micro-clover mixed in so that we can overseed our backyard. It's such a mess from the dogs. We need to level things out to get rid of the lumps by raking (hah) some soil over it and then reseeding right over it. The grass from below will come up and the new grass will make it thicker, better. It will all have to be a patch at a time, cordoning the patches off from the dogs.

Raking mulch and gravel pathways gets rid of any debris so that they instantly look much nicer. I do not yet rake up the dead leaves, plants, and flower stalks as I want the over-wintering critters to stay safe until they are ready to emerge from their hidey-holes. But.. when you rake your beds up, they look amazing, too. Nothing better than raking for cleaning things up, and it could not be any easier to do.

My two blueberry plants were covered in leaves last year, then topped with straw to keep them from getting tip kill. As they are right beside the deck, we have just piled snow on top of them when we shovel our deck to insulate them from the cold, too. I will be uncovering these guys this week to see how they made out.

This is a great time to give them a few shovelfuls of manure to feed them, as well. Just pile it around the base, rake it out a wee bit... the plant has been fed.

Garlic - If your garlic is just covered with a little bit of straw, say 4 inches, leave it be to help retain moisture in summer and prevent weeds. However, if you have a whole lot on yours, like I do, then you need to take some of it off with the upcoming nice weather. This will warm up the soil and make it easier for your garlic to grow through. Garlic is super hardy, it will be fine even if we get a few more dumps of snow, and the frost.

Inside the 'Potting Shed'

I have been busy painting/staining the furniture in the potting shed all week. Some things were painted while others were stained. I had an old set of dressers that I have been using out in the garden shop for years... these got a new fresh coat of paint to feel like new again.

I love the way these potting tables turned out. You can see the before and after above. I had envisioned a medium golden walnut stain in my mind, but ended up with this dark one instead. You know when you wipe it on, it is too late to change your mind, so dark walnut it is, hah! I'm just going to roll with it and pretend that was the intent all along.

I am down to needing just one more coat on the workshop tables and then I am done painting! Ready for clean up (wash windows and floors) so I can haul in the plants and start set up for the workshops.

Six packs!

3" pots x 100

4 inch pots x 100

Six Packs / 3 inch pots / 4 inch pots

It all looks really nice, I am super happy with how it turned out, cannot wait to put my tomatoes and other seedlings in there. The shed is insulated and heated so no worries about freezing my babies. I have about a million snapdragons as most of them survived the dumping, and all my tomatoes to transplant this week, too. Going to be a busy week!

In The Greenhouse

This was my unheated hoophouse on the acreage, at the ngp - sown in early March.

Out in the unheated greenhouse, I have still not done much due to the wonky weather and my ongoing issues with allergies, but will be heading out to do some direct sowing of cool season crops. Yes, directly into the ground, as I am wont to do. Even though it is cold and will stay cold for a few more weeks yet. The cool weather crops do not care. I do not have a raised bed in there like you see above, just an inground one, but it will all work just the same. A raised bed will warm up so much faster in spring, so that is in the works.

I want to put these galvanised raised beds in the greenhouse this spring. The melons will really love the extra heat, as will cucumbers and tomatoes. They will grow much better than directly in the ground as they get off to an earlier start. If you want to grow sweet potatoes or luffa gourds, these would also be the answer for them.

We can start cold season crops in the greenhouse over here on the prairies already (could have done it a couple of weeks ago already if you were more on the ball than I have been, hah!) and they will come up nicely on their own as soon as the ground warms up to the right temps for them.

Sow things like radishes, lettuces, spinach, peas, kale and other greens, and even your brassicas. Just go for it! Don't be afraid to try. If you prefer to start them in starter packs, that is just fine, too. Put your cool season crops inside a mini greenhouse (or tote bins) inside the greenhouse so you don't have to use a heater. If you prefer to put more out there than your cool crops, set up a heater to keep it above zero at night and put in anything and everything, except tomatoes, peppers, and other hot season veggies. They will be fine. Don't forget your min-max thermometer! That is key!

Mini wooden greenhouse

Raised mini greenhouse

Portable cold frame/Greenhouse

Potting Table galvanised top

Potting Bench with everything!

Potting Table with Soil Bin

Mini Greenhouse / Raised Mini Greenhouse / Portable Cold Frame/Greenhouse

Potting Table with galvanised top /Potting Table with Everything /Potting Table with Soil Bin

*As an Amazon affiliate, if you purchase an item from one of these links, I make a teeny bit of money to support my blog. It does not cost you a penny more than it would if you went to the item on your own, without my link. Huge thanks : )

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Here are a variety of mini greenhouses and potting tables if you are also setting a new potting area, or needing work spaces in the greenhouse. I have the first one in both rows... that wooden mini greenhouse and the potting table with the galvanised top. I love both! Can highly recommend. Would give them both 5 stars.

I really want to thank you all for the lovely comments in the giveaway. Thank you so much for playing along. The winner has been contacted and these lovely 'Shades of Pink' flowers are on their way to the winner, giving her lots of time to either sow some indoors for a head start, or direct sow at the end of the month.

I have another giveaway coming up real soon. This one will be on fb and Instagram rather than a comment on the blog. Start thinking of names for this potting shed, studio thingie!

Upcoming In The Week Ahead...

Expandable trellises from the dollar store to keep cats (and dogs) out of the garden beds.

I have no Q&A's this week, but I have a great tip from the winner of the seeds. She said that she has been putting her citrus peels (lemons and oranges) in her garden beds to keep out the kitty cats and it is working really well!

I hope to be sharing the finished potting shed with you all next week, the big reveal if all goes well. With any luck, I will be holding workshops by the end of the month. Oh, and hey... if you were to come to a workshop, what would you like to learn more about. If you are a past attendee of my workshops, which one was your favourite?

One last thing. We are hosting a big 'Spring Into Gardening' fling this weekend, on Sunday, April 7th, from 2 till 4. If you live in the area, please pop on over. It is at the Lundgren Center, right beside the post office. Lots of parking in front, back, and sides. There is no cost to come in, there will be free giveaways, and 'experts' talking about various gardening topics. Bring your questions and pop over for some free coffee, tea, and treats, and mingle with other gardeners.

I will be talking about my most favourite thing... Companion Planting, and also How To Sow Seeds. The other topics will be...

Watering In Drought

Composting

Overwintering Plants

Geodesic Dome Gardening

Cold Storage

Tanja (me) – Companion Gardening/How to Sow Seeds

Gardening: Where to Start

Secret Garden

Companion Flowers!

Sure hope you will come!

Have a Great Week & Happy Gardening, eh? ~ Tanja