Thursday, May 22, 2014

May Flowers or Life in the Greenhouse

May is the time when many farmers in our area assess the land, check the health of their trees, and start planning for the coming growing season.  The deer and bunnies apparently had a good winter out in the blueberry patch.  All the plants that hadn't been protected by cages, were nibble down to their stems.  
Not to be discouraged, we had some cuttings that had been rooted.  To ensure a healthy start, these cuttings were potted is good soil and have been receiving lots of TLC out in the greenhouse.  As the weather outside fluctuated wildly, as it is known to do in May, the greenhouse temps remained mild.  

In what seems like no time at all, a little green twig in the dirt has turned into a lovely little bush waiting to join the others along the hillside.  You can be sure that when these are planted, a little extra protection will also be provided.

While clearing weeds from the raspberries, much to my surprise, I found two healthy stems nipped off at the base.  My suspicion is that this was the work of voles, a mouselike varmint that is the bane of orchardists. 
After clipping the ends to form clean surface the ends were dipped in rooting hormone, then planted in clean pots of rich soil.  In less than two weeks, the stems were putting on leaves and looking relatively healthy.  The plan is to replant these after Memorial Day.
There is something very satisfying about caring for little plants and critters.  Watching thing grow, we're looking forward to the fruits of our labor.