|
|
|
|
|
Greetings, and welcome to the new subscribers!
Happy Mother's Day, whether you mother children, animals, plants, or earth! We're all caregivers. Treat your mothers well!
|
The weather continues to scream Climate Change Is Real! It's so unpredictable but never boring! I've surrendered and decided to enjoy it whatever it is on any given day. I have no control over it, so may as well roll with it.
|
|
May is a big planting month! It's been a little cool so far, but I see that changing soon. The weather people say the second half of the month will be rainy, which will well-timed for planting! Make your plan now!
|
|
|
|
Sungold Tomato and Zinnia Starts
|
I offered to grow 'a few' tomato starts for some close friends. I don't know how to plant 'a few' of anything, so there are extras! They are quart-sized for $10 each and will be ready at the end of the month. (It's almost embarrassing how much I've grown this spring in my 'retirement!')
|
|
|
|
Sungold cherry tomatoes. Photo from Renee's Garden Seeds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May Garden Tasks
Finish getting your cool weather plants in the ground. I think the last cold snap has come and gone, so your tender babies should be safe. Even though greens and brassicas are cold hardy, they still suffer from spring frosts, so be sure to cover them at night, but let them warm up during the day.
|
The weeds are doing well with the latest rain and snow! Get to them before they get too big. The white mallow took over last September. I was waiting for frost and the season finale, but it rained instead, and the mallow took advantage! It had a nice head start this year, too, since winter was so warm. I'm digging it up here and there. BUT! The pocket gophers love the roots, so they are helping me kill them off! Yay!
|
Because it's been so dry, even the kochia is behind. When it's really tiny, I go over it with a scuffle hoe, which cuts it just below the soil surface. This has to be done more than once, because it just keeps germinating, but it's easier than waiting for long. Kochia gets woody and has to be mowed down when it gets big.
|
Start your cucumbers and summer and winter squashes in the next week. They don't need to be very big before they're transplant size.
|
Clip the remaining flower stalks of your spring bulbs, like daffodils, muscari, and tulips. They had a hard time flowering due to the drought and hard frosts. Hopefully next year will be a better show. Plant your summer bulbs at the end of the month.
|
Put out a hummingbird feeder if you haven't already. My hummingbirds are so noisy this spring! There seem to be more of them, and they are hangry!
|
Plant warm season crops at the end of the month. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, and annual flowers like the heat! Direct seed beans, but put trellises in place first. Be prepared to cover plants if there's a June cold snap, like there always is.
|
The grasshoppers don't seem as bad this year. Touch wood! There aren't nearly the numbers I saw last spring. I don't need to remind anyone of last year's disaster! I'll be curious to see what sorts of bug problems there are this summer due to the warm winter.
|
|
|
|
|
My Summer Plans
|
I'm not planting anything.
|
Well, that's not completely true. I'm going to plant chickpeas as a cover crop in all my beds. I'm taking a break, and this is the perfect crop to help me do that. Chickpeas are maintenance free! They don't like fertilizer and need little water. You put the seed in the ground, water for about a week until it sprouts, then leave it alone. Besides being a nitrogen fixing legume and good for the soil, they're beautiful!
|
Even though I had an award winning stand of zinnias last year, the broccoli was decimated by cabbage loopers and then harlequin bugs. I had squash bugs like I haven't had in years, and the grasshoppers ate everything else (slight hyperbole there...). For all the work, there wasn't much of a harvest. It burned me out. I eventually gave up and let the critters have it all. Then the mallow moved in. The upkeep is wearing on me!
|
|
I think I'll work on my landscaping a bit. I have a couple trellises to put up, and I have a few perennials and shrubs to plant. But I need a break from the hours spent every morning in the garden. I go out to water and see something needs deadheading or harvesting, weeds need pulling, and new bugs need squishing or spraying. By the time all that gets taken care of, the morning and my energy are gone. There are other things I want to do for a change. Like more writing, art, hiking, and biking. Watch for some cool yard art...
|
|
|
|
Chickpeas are beautiful and good for the soil!
|
|
|
|
My friend, Ola, was generous with her authentic chickpea recipes,
|
|
which are in The New Book.
|
|
|
|
My new bike! I took my rear rack and handlebar pack off my old bike, so I'm outfitted and ready to roll!
|
|
|
|
Tool Rentals at the Taos Land Trust
Prepping your home garden? Need to borrow some tools? We are now offering small equipment and hand tool rentals through our Working Lands Resiliency program! The tools offered include:
|
|
Each item is $20 for the weekend. Rentals are available for the weekend only, as we need the tools during the week for our own garden spaces. Pick up Friday from 12-2pm. Drop off Monday 9am - 12pm. Email sarah@taoslandtrust.org to reserve tools. Payment can be made with cash, check or credit card donation through our website.
|
|
|
|
A broadfork makes prep SO easy! I swear my mine!
|
|
|
|
The New Book
|
The New Book is at Earthgoods, Crone & Crow, Moxie, Gutiz, Taos Herb, Petree's, and op.cit. Books. Hit me up if you need a signed copy for yourself or shipped out. You can order The New Book directly from UNM Press below. Please avoid buying from third party sellers. Thank you!
|
|
|
|
|
Substack
|
My latest Substack post is sort of a sequel to the piece about starting a gratitude journal. Times are bizarre. Surreal. It's hard to grasp the dangerous nonsense going on in DC. But what's it all for? The photos from the Artemis moon mission showed us the big picture putting our lives into perspective, and Nanci Griffith's cover of Julie Gold's From a Distance drives that message home further.
|
|
|
Buy Me a Coffee with a paid subscription for $8/month or $80/year. You now also get 20% off your first year with an annual subscription!
|
Essays come out about once a month. I'm trying to shoot for every couple of weeks, but once the Sungolds are in your hands, I'll get back to it!
|
|
|
|
Etsy
Once all the plants have been distributed, my attention will also be on Etsy. I have lots of great ideas for merch. The Non-binary People Collage cards are doing well! They're 4x6" and come in sets of 3, but special orders don't upset us! See the image caption. I'm also working on 5x7" cards and do custom work!
|
|
|
|
This was a special order for 5 Non-binary People Collage cards for Mother's Day.
|
|
|
|
Please forward this email in its entirety. All rights reserved.
|
|
If you received this newsletter from a gardening friend who loves you, you can subscribe here to get your own copy!
|
|
|
Want to advertise in this newsletter? Ads are $25/mo with a 6-month commitment. One-time placement is $30. The newsletter usually goes out on the first weekend of the month. You provide artwork, and I link to your website or event page. Contact me for more information. Thanks!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
