WHAT'S GOING ON? IS YOUR GARDEN WAKING UP???

And some things progress seeemingly in spite of current weather. Took a walk in the neighborhood, to see and listen to the bunch of robins that were here. Then checked the yard out. Late planted snowdrops are up, and crocus tomassinianus are poking through. Hubby says we can afford to add a bedroom, but if we actually get to, I'll have to move some things of course. 3 blueberries, few small perennials, and my carefully prepared bed for columbine seed. Also will make us take away a Norway maple, not upset about that, and an old lilac, which I have no personal attachment to, and wouldn't mind if replacing getting a newer better variety. Seems OK now, but ask me later when that big diggger us making mincmeat of the yard, and the payments on the loan start.

Sally,

I have always wanted to grow a Blueberry bush. What can you tell me about growing one in our area? I live near White Marsh Mall. Do you get a decant enough crop to make it worthwhile?

I have a 12' narrow bed on the "other" side of my shed. It faces East and gets good light. Also, there are not too many tree roots that far out that would compete. Right now there is nothing of value in that bed. It is full of Lilies of the Valley and with Rudbeckias. It has been that way forever!
Last year I started thinking what a waste of a good bed this is. So I am planning to dig up EVERYTHING in it and amend the soil really well (hasn't been done in eons) and I would like to plant a Blueberry bush, a Raspberry bush and maybe something else edible.

Since this bed is right at the base of a gentle slope (my neighbor's yard) and right behind my shed is a County storm drain, this bed can be quite wet at times. Do Blueberries and Raspberries like a wet place? I don't mean soggy wet, but more so than normal.

So, when my knee is back to normal, I will be digging up all the Lilies of the Valley and the Rudbeckias. Anyone is welcome to them! Just come and get them! IF I get around to it........

Chantelle,
No offense was ever taken at your comment. Why should I? I was just curious where else you have been looking for "The earth". I very seldom take offense at anything, especially if we are all friends--as we are here on DG.

I am progressing well. Had the visiting PT'ist here today and yesterday. Showing me a bunch of stuff to do. He is a very nice young man. 6'6" tall!!!! I guess he will be coming here 3x a week for 2-3 weeks. Then I will be able to drive and will not be considered "homebound" any more. Medicare doesn't want to pay any more than it has to....

Lets have some input on the berry bushes, please.

Thanks, Gita

Gita- BTW was going to ask you to post some garden pic, I have a feeling yours is better tended than mine!
Sounds like a great spot for bluberries! Easy to grow. Like moist and acid. Take some shade(see them in woods) I have three bushes, one low,abt 4 feet tall; two high abt five feet. The oldest was in a pot from a local nursery. Berries are smallest but taste best. Other two bushes came bare root from Burpee. Since read that barerooting is really hard on blueberries, and they did take time to establish, but at that time I also had babies and drought, so not all their fault. I would go to the Univ of MD Extension service website for culture and cultivar advice,then call a good nursery and see what they have in pot. Check on crosspollination, I think that may be needed, may plan on two.
Biggest problem is keeping birds off. They love them. Now I make a big cover out of netting from the fabric store and drape it and hold with clothespins. The bird netting gets caught on the little twigs and/or a bird's leg and is a pain.
Well, when they're going good, I can pick two pints at once, maybe ten times??? hard to say when you try to remember how many went right down the hatch.
Raspberries- I have also. Not fussy, some pruning and staking needed. I got a pack of Heritage sprouts some years ago. I'd be happy to share!! The cane grows from the ground in spring, and bears in summer into fall. In winter I cut the canes off, although if they live you may get some spring fruit the following year. There are everbearing varieties that do that moreso. Canes get about six feet long and kind of floppy so you stake them or cage etc. they sucker a bit, keep them out of the BBs.

http://www.dorset-blueberry.com/uk_blueberry_varieties.asp#halfhigh
Sorry, Gita, I didn't find anything in Ext Service, ecept a pamphlet you can order. I did find the above link which llooked pretty thorough, and I recognize some of the cultivars.
I know I did get strawberriy info from ext svc, but I guess that's a bigger cash crop for MD than BBs.
My short bush is Avonblue. no name for my highbushes.
No, wait! I have something I printed titled Getting Started with Small Fruits2002. I am almost certain it came from a MD site. Highbush varieties listed in order of ripening; Duke, Bluetta, Bluejay, blueray, bluecrop, coville,lateblue,elliott

(humph- gita is too busy with her 'tall nice young man " to be reading about my berries! )

fervently hoping for school delays tomorrow

Sally, Sally--I could only wish..............

My life is so boring nowadays all I want to do is lay on the sofa and read or do a crossword puzzle or take a nap. Not much else I can do. When I move around with my cane, I feel like I am a 95 year old "just getting around". Today is 2 weeks since my surgery. I am just impatient............

The thought of digging up a whole bed is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I may even never do it at all! This idea of having a couple of berry bushes was born last summer when I visited my sister in Homer, AK. She has a fenced in vegetable garden and quite a few Raspberry bushes at the back of it. Too bad it wasn't the season--I would have been there eating them every day.
I even tried to bring some suckers home, but they never made it.

I believe Blueberries are easy to grow here. We even sell them at HD where I work. I'll go out in the garden and pick the ripe ones off the bushes and eat hem. Anyway, it is just a meandering thought at this point.

Thank you for both your links you provided. I Bookmarked them for future use.

OK! Gotta get to the shower! My "nice, tall young man" is coming today at about 12 noon. He is going to take my 38 staples out today, then put me through "the ropes" of all the exercises..

Sorry about not writing more--I DO read everything posted on my "watched" threads.

Gita

Gita, hang in there. At the rate you're healing, I'll bet you'll be bouncing around before you know it.

Are there any local teens you could hire to dig up that bed for you? Perhaps put in a raised bed that would be easier for you to reach without putting strain on your knees?

Gita, I know how you feel, impatient to feel back to normal and do the things you use to do. The folks in this board have a way of keeping us sickies in line. LOL I got told to take it easy many times.

How did your day go, getting your staples out? When the drains in my chest were removed I felt a lot better!

Take care!

Chris

Well, Gita, sorry I teased ya! You sound pretty bored all right. ( i am not crippled but still all I feel like doing is laying around.......feeling totally Seasonal Affected this year)
Please forgive my berry fervor! nobody in this house has much patience to talk gardening, so I jump on the chance to display some knowledge. It does sound like a good location for BBs and they are easy.
Hope the PT went well. sure could use a break n the cold so you could peek out the door a little.

Chris,

Taking it easy is not in my normal vocabulary, but I have to. Today was 2 weeks since my surgery. I think I have come a long way, if I may say so. Of course, I did not, and will not, expect less out of me.
I do my exercises twice a day. I take my pain pills (Oxycodone/Percocett) about an hour before I have to do them and then it is a lot less painful. I have about 12 different exercises I have to do--10 reps of each--and each one hurts in a different spot..
It is hard as you have to really concentrate on doing them right, or you are waisting your time.
The PT guy will be still coming here next week and then that is it. Medicare does not pay for anything that is no longer needed. I guess that means that I will be able to drive my car and get around more after next week. We will see.........

Then I have to go to an outpatient PT place for another 3-4 weeks (3 times a week) and do a lot of other exercises there. They have all the machines and equipment.. They use Ultrasound to warm up all the tissues then do massages around the incision and then have you do all the work outs which get progressively harder and harder. They will be adding ankle weights and such later on. Recovering from something like this is almost a full time job in itself!

One good thing--all this freezing weather we have had the last 2 weeks--I have never set foot outside.
I sleep almost 12 hours every night and veg on the sofa off and on during the day as well. Not too great a way to spend the day, but what else is there to do???

Thanks to you all for thinking of me,

Gita

Hi Gita - So sorry that I haven't had time until now to read about your surgery. It sounds as though you are coming right along though. You made the comment about "recovering from this is a full time job." That is so true. Major surgery takes a lot out of a person and we shouldn't expect to be recovered too soon.

I have found this group of folks to be some of the very best in helping to lift moods. I am so glad that I found Dave's Garden last year. It has definitely helped me get through some tough days.

Anyway, I am wishing you speedy recovery and lots of laughs while doing it. Have a good week.

Ruby

Ruby,

Welcome to this wonderful bunch of people. DG is addictive! Anything and everything you ever wanted to know is here--NOT in a mayonnaise jar on someone's back porch! :o)

Yes, recovery takes time. It is especially hard on me as I am a person who is always on the go. Being idle is almost as hard as nor being able to walk. I wanted this surgery over with by the time gardening season starts. I am coming along, thanks to a lot off perseverance and hard work. I have lost almost 10 lbs (YEAH!) as I do not have much of an appetite. Also, I am not able to stand there and cook something. Besides, something weird happens to your system anyway after major surgery. Have lots and lots of frozen dishes and soups in my big downstairs freezer. Starve I wont!

Thanks for the speedy recovery wishes. Don't know about the laughs??? If someone were to come bye and see me here all by myself laughing my head off I think they would call the "looney truck" to come get me.

OK! I better get dressed! A new day has begone.......my crossword puzzles await me!

Gita

You might find this funny, I really did. My husband does not do many crowsswors, but was doing one and needed a word like snowblower, but it had to be one letter longer than that. So he put 'asnowblower' Just struck me really funny that he thought you could bend the rules.......I guess as one who's done a few, it seemed goofy.
well it was hysterical to me at the time- I think it lost something here!!

I will laugh sally. ha-ha-ha-ha Now, don't laugh - I was thinking of just adding an "s" to the end.....snowblowers. ha-ha-ha-ha

I used to do crosswords every day but lost the habit some time in the past year or so. I do find that I take along an easy book of them for road trips and while in the hotel rooms when we are away from home. I still like them. I used to do the daily ones that Yahoo offers.

Gita, you will be up and at 'em before you know it. Keep listening to doctors orders. I have a breast implant surgery on Wednesday morning. I am not especially looking forward to it either. I will be glad though to have it finished and done with. At least I hope this is it for a while. I have talked with a couple of women who have had theirs removed after using them for a while. I hope that I will adapt and have no problem.

Well, hubby is yelling for me to get off. See you ladies later on.

Ruby

It was pretty nice here today, central MD, the 40s feel good after weeks below freezing. I hope Gita got to peek outside a bit. it stinks to be cooped up. ( Does that phrase originate from 'chicken coop'? I wonder )