Garden Update 4/6/25: IT'S SPRING!!!
- Yvonne Muse
- Apr 6
- 3 min read
I am knee deep in my favorite time of year.
IT'S SPRING, Y'ALL!!
Maryland Spring is beautiful because you really get to experience all four seasons in one day. A careful review of the weather is necessary before leaving the house and layers are definitely preferred. Yesterday was 60° when I left the house and over 80° when I got home.
The garden is coming along beautifully and I noticed today that some of my first seeds I'd planted last week germinated!!
These seeds were down March 30, which gives them a nice 6 day germination period. Not mad at that.
The seedlings inside are coming along too. They got a nice stiff drink of fish emulsion to help them continue to grow big and strong!
Fish emulsion is exactly what it sounds like. It is waste from the fishing industry, ground up and ready to feed your plants. This is a very gentle and bioavailable fertilizer; and one that is generally safe for organic gardening. Check your labels to be sure though!! This stuff is great to feed your plants and as a foliar spray, but baby it STINKS. Be mindful of that, lest you accidental pour it all over your arm and your dog looks at you funny until you can wash it off.
During the growing season, I typically spray everything with fish emulsion and neem oil twice a week. More on neem oil later!
In addition, I've been busting butt in the herb garden. While I am reevaluating the entire idea of an invasive plant, the fact remains that honeysuckle, multiflora rose, Chinese privet, and mulberry all continue to grow in places I did not plant them and don't want them. Georgia even came out to help all on her own!
As I'm cleaning things out, I'm planting too! So far I've brought out some of my stratified seeds. Valerian, skullcap, bergamot, and mullein have all been tucked in to their new homes.
It is so fun to walk around the garden and see all my friends coming back. The perennials are waking up from their winter slumber and throwing our greenery!!
I welcomed back a wandering blackberry, agrimony, lemon balm (also wandering! How?), my big beautiful rosemary bush, yarrow, mugwort, two kinds of milkweed, marshmallow, echinacea, thyme, chives, sage, and oregano. The deer had chewed my comfrey down to nothing and I was SO excited to see how quickly she came back and that she has spread!
Have you heard of Chip Drop? They work as a liaison between growers and arborists. You sign up and when an arborist is working in your area they will contact you and drop off what they have. You can request chips, logs, or some combination of both. I selected either/both. I needed logs for my raised beds and wood chips for the walkways. This is what I got.
There are many large pieces that we do not have the equipment to cut, let alone move! I contacted Chip Drop and they said it was what we should've expected so.... Anybody need some wood?
The intention for the logs was to complete the last two raised beds in our multi year project.
I fill my beds using a method known as Hugelkulture. Hugelkulture is a centuries old German method of building huge berms, usually around 4-6 feet tall, and growing along the sides and top. These berms consist of rotting logs, twigs and branches, compost, top soil, and mulch. As the wood decays, it releases nutrients in to the soil and also releases all of its moisture. What results is a nutrient rich, low water need bed that has more growing space and is easy to access. In addition, they can be planted horizontally along a hill to catch water run off. This is also known as a lasagna gardening or composting in place.
As I don't have the room or really the drive to build five foot tall berms in my front yard, I do this in my raised beds.
Over the last few years we've built 2 beds like that - one 8'x4' and around 3 ft deep and another L that mirrors this one. These beds are beautiful to me and produce big healthy plants. As they're metal and the wood that comes in to contact with the soil is cedar, I expect that they'll last a good long while too. With this one done, I only have one more left!!
Scroll through for more pictures of garden fun. Every time I notice another plant blooming I get so excited. Welcome back!! I missed you so much!!
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