Strawberries and More

I planted the remaining strawberry plants, the Ozarks. I have plenty of wood left over from my failed cold frames, so I cut a piece 15.5" as a spacer and used that instead of the tape measure to separate plants. I used a line to ensure straight rows.


There are other tasks that I am finding I need to take care of almost daily. I have been turning the compost piles. There are three and a half compost bins that now have a mixture of new manure and leaves. The bins are warm to hot. I realized yesterday that they were rather dry, so I poured 2-3 gallons of water in each. I am in an almost daily routine of moving part or all of a bin into its empty or nearly empty neighbor. I hope the frequent mixing and added moisture will have a tangible pay off. There is heat, it just needs to do its job a bit better than it has so far.

The onions are growing well. They have filled out quite nicely, although it is too early to see how the bulbs will do. I learned last year that a certain proportion will start to flower and there isn't anything I can do about it. Overall, the number doing that is quite small so far. I don't see any difference in the onions where I mixed the 10-10-10 fertilizer in and those where I just sprinkled it on top of the ground.

The Yukon Gold potatoes are up and doing fine. The Pontiac Reds are also now sprouted. I need to get out and pick weeds and start pushing dirt around the stems of the Pontiac Reds. They are the most neglected bed right now.