Sarah Mae Keeps Busy

Hello friends! Let’s have a little catch up. I don’t think we have chatted since before Mother’s Day, which was fantastic, if I do say so myself. I got to stay in bed, David made my morning tea (correctly) and brought it to me. Then I got to have a pancake breakfast. It was wonderful. My 3 year old and 16-month-old even managed to purchase the perfume I wanted. I felt pampered for a few hours. Then we were off to my mothers for the rest of the day and David’s mothers the next day. What is a holiday if you’re not going every which way?

Also, I released my latest pattern last week and it is doing great. You can find Poppy Seed on my Etsy if you are interested.

Now! Let’s talk about what you’re really here for: the garden. Things are looking beautiful. My cabbage is still doing well, the kale seeds are growing (slowly but surely), and I have peppers, tomatoes, and sunflowers in the ground. It’s that weird time when I have everything in the ground, but nothing much to show for it. There are a few concerns I have though.

For one, I think I got my cabbage in too late. I think it should have gone in the ground a few weeks before the last frost and I waited until just after. Whenever I see cabbage plants from gardens in the same zone as me, they look much more developed than mine. I really hope I get something from them, but I guess we’ll see.

Another concern I have is nutrition. If you recall, I added a lot of horse manure to the soil when I built up the beds. Since the weeds are a little more under control this year I want to put more effort into feeding my plants and trying to get the best out of them rather than simply leaving them to their own and hoping for the best. I have thought about additional fertilizers, but I am not sure it is a good idea with the manure already in the soil. We shall see.

I also started a cut flower garden last week with cosmos and zinnia. The cosmos seeds I saved from our wildflower patch from last spring and the zinnia were sent to be me by my friend Joey at Burning Hearth Homestead. If you are into permaculture, organic, and heirloom gardening, he is your guy. His knowledge base is vast. I have seen a few of the zinnia’s pop, but the cosmos have not come up yet and I am not sure what to think about that. It could be because they were commercial seeds from one of those huge wildflower mixes, but I can’t be sure.

In more good news, my gladioluses are all doing well. They have filled in so beautifully and I am looking forward to the color they provide this summer. The irises in the front flowerbed put on such a show this spring. I have not a clue where I’ll put them when I divide them this fall. We are practically out of room already and the whole house is nearly surrounded with flowerbeds. I guess we’ll just have to add more.

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Oh! And I nearly forgot! Guys, the strawberries this year have been amazing. They are coming in so thick and strong we can hardly keep up. We pick nearly two quarts a day, eat them from breakfast and snacks, and still have so many left over for freezing. Fiona has started eating them straight out of the basket as I pick them and I don’t even bother stopping her because we have so many. (Just a few weeks ago she wouldn’t eat strawberries, now she won’t leave them alone.)

I am looking forward to a couple months from now when everything is filled in and looking lush and fruitful. We do have actual plans this summer to start a couple new flowerbeds. Joey sent me A LOT more than just zinnia seeds this spring. He has set me up with so many wonderful herbs that I need to have a whole new bed just to house them all. I have been tossing around the idea of building them around a few of the fruit trees to have that true, permaculture vibe. But there are so many other idea’s in mind that I can’t commit to just one thing yet. You all will know soon though, I promise.

Until then have a lovely week!