Protecting Plant Flats From Frost

Ah, my evening ritual right now. Michigan is unpredictable weather wise most of the time but May seems to be the worst. We see several days of nice warm temperatures then Mother Nature throws in a week or so of frosty nights. Right now that’s what’s happening.

So every evening I bring all my veggie and annuals into the dining room and park them in front of the French doors that get the morning sun. Then once it warms up a little I take them back outside for another dose of sunshine, just to do it all over again.

The price of plants seems to get higher and higher every year so I hate to lose them to frost just to replant or rebuy them again. I know you’re probably thinking why do I purchase them so early? Well the stores seem to get a batch in early spring and once they’re gone they don’t reorder so if I don’t pick them up when I see them sometimes I can’t find what I want.

So I babysit them until all dangers of frost have passed.  Every year I buy less and less flowers. I try and decorate the porch planters with herbs, pepper plants, and a small sprinkle of white flowers. My motto seems to be if it’s not edible I shouldn’t waste my money. I do splurge and buy marigolds to go around the garden beds. It’s a touch of color but I mainly like them because they keep the critters out. Rabbit’s and deer don’t like the odor they give off.

Just yesterday I added chicken poo to another area of raised garden beds I have that I’ve never photographed. I’m waiting for my new tiller to come in Fridays mail and I’ll give the soil a good turning over then plant my direct sew seeds. Those beds will have my winter squash, cucumbers, and any plants that won’t fit into my main garden bed. I tend to plant more seeds than I think will germinate so sometimes that means more plants than I’d planned on. I’ll give some away and the rest I’ll squeeze in somewhere.

I’ve already planted peas and the forecast is for warmer temps at the end of the week so I’m hoping I see them popping from the soil. I love shelled peas. I can eat them straight from the garden and I’d rather have them that way over cooking them any day. Many pods won’t make it into the house I’ll just shell them and eat them as I pick.

Several years ago I ripped out all my strawberry plants. They’d taken over the area and had pretty much stopped producing big juicy fruit. I’m thinking of starting a new strawberry bed this year. I’ve always done bare root and they perform perfectly. They sure don’t look like much but a dead root when I get them but they spring to life once in the soil. Do you have any recommendations for the best strawberry plant? I like to get a lot of fruit at one-time verses a few berries stretched out over the summer. Tell me your favorite before I head out to shop.

TO MY REGULAR READERS: ANYTHING YOU SEE IN THE GREEN BOXES WILL BE MY DAILY UPDATE DURING THE VIRUS! Please leave a comment and fill me in on what you’re doing. God Bless you all!

Sunday May 10: Got up and did my normal routine, let the chickens out, feed and water them, make myself a cold coffee, do my bible study, then scroll through twitter. After that I made a double batch of oatmeal raisin cookies, planted a batch of cucumber seeds in starter pots, added compost to the garden, made a batch of dandelion salve, and cleaned out the chicken coop. I like to keep up on the coop so I clean it out about twice a week. I’ve tried several methods of keeping and cleaning the coop over the years and I’m still learning.

Monday May 11:  Another chilly day so I decided to get a few projects done that have been on my list. I painted rock to use as a plant stake that says “sunflower” for the sunflower stock tank (I’ll post pic soon).  Moved the meat chickens from the basement out to the coop. That meant rearranging the already established chicken areas. My DIL helped me with that and all of a sudden I freaked out because I noticed 2 chickens in with her laying hens that weren’t chickens at all, they were DUCKS (pics will be coming). What the heck, I turn my back for a moment and more critters move in. A friend of theirs gifted them two ducks as a house-warming present. I had to laugh, I said I’m not sure if those are the kind of friends to have, lol. Made pork cutlets, and chicken cutlets for dinner (hubby is allergic to pork so none for him), fried and seasoned with oregano potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a southwest salad. Had the strangest dream overnight that I put a tracking device and app on my phone for my pillow. For those of you who don’t know me I have a ragged old pillow that I’ve carried around like a security blanket my entire life (as long as I can remember) and I panic when I can’t find it. Anytime I’m at home I have it on my person somehow. I’ve even been known to get in the car and not realize I have it thrown over my shoulder like a dish towel.

Tuesday May 12:  Got up and did 3 loads of laundry. While they dried on the line I ran to town and purchased a few herb plants and then back home to pot them for the porch. Then weeded out 8 of my raised beds and added chicken poo to them. Then a quick wash of my hands and I fried 2 pounds of ground beef for tacos or nachos. It will be an easy dinner night and everyone can help himself. I’m going for a bike ride with my DIL!