Stay ahead of the weeds...ssshh...it's a secret.

I was just reading some of the gardening blogs and one blog in particular caught my attention because weeding was the topic.  Yes, weeding.  Something that I've been doing for the last few weeks.  I still have more to do.  The advise given was "stay ahead of the weeds" and "never let a weed flower in your yard."  Sounds like good advice to me, especially because it was coming from a grandmother.

It's official...Spring has arrived to my backyard ahead of schedule.

The Robin appeared on Friday!  That's my sign that Spring is officially here.  Yeah!  Now the fun begins.  Time to dig and prune and plant.  My finger nails will never be completely clean for the next few months.

Planted Strawberry Plants in Early March

I've decided to go ahead and plant strawberry plants even though the weather can still get below freezing here in Fallon, NV.  Both local nurseries have plants for sale, so I figured it must be time to plant them.  However, I did not purchase my strawberry plants from any of the local nurseries.  I purchased my 30 bare root strawberry plants at the local Walmart.  The price was right:  10 plants for $3. 

The variety I planted is 'Aromas'.  It is an ever bearing variety.  I found a site on the Internet that describes this variety as "High production of fruit, later than others with large quantities in fall.  Medium to large berries with good flavor.  Extra weather tolerant."

I also discovered that the 'Aromas' are patented by the University of California.

I decided to plant in a raised bed.  So I turned an old cabinet into my strawberry planter.  I had my husband drill holes in the bottom for drainage.

  I then mixed two bags of garden soil and one bag of steer manure with several, sifted shovel fulls of my local soil.  I filled the planter as shown below.

I then planted the strawberry plants in 4 rows and added some shredded small bark for mulch.

For extra protection I stapled a clear plastic cover.  My plan is to cover the strawberry plants at night when the temperatures are much lower.  This cover will also be extra protection from snow that will most likely fall sometime in March, April, or May.  Yes, we had snow last year for Memorial Day Weekend!

Update:  March 19, 2011

It's all about timing...and Mother Nature

I've started these seedlings indoors.  They are growing great, but now what?  I need to move them out, but it's not even March yet.  What was I thinking?  I was thinking that I wanted to start early so that I would have time to figure this whole thing out.  I would have time to make mistake and correct.  How did I know that every seed would germinate and grow so fast?

Here is a table of the Fallon, NV average high and low temperatures:

                       Feb     Mar      Apr     May     Jun    Jul    Aug   Sep    Oct   Nov
Avg High:       53       59         66        74        84     92     91      82      70     56
Avg. Low:      23       28         34        41        48     53     51      43      33     24

Apr-May:  Cool Weather
Jun-Jul-Aug-Sep:  Growing season for most plants
Oct-Nov:  Cool Weather

First Frost Date:
Last Frost Date:
Zone: 5b

My next step is to determine when I can set out my various young plants.

What my garden looks like Winter 2011.

Butterfly Bush

Purple breaded Iris

Lilac

Mum

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Rosemary is the only herb left in the herb container.

East facing side bed.  Looking for ideas on what to plant here.

New vegetable-flower garden.

February weather in Fallon, NV

Here's a photo of what I woke up to this morning.  The wind was howling all night and didn't let up until mid-day.

Happy Valentine's Day