This Week in the Garden: March 30, 2025
Daffodils and Forsythia
The daffodils and forsythia are in full bloom, the yellow singing out in the landscape. I planted seven or eight forsythia along the back fence line with the intent to have a big, bright yellow hedge each spring. It is in its second season and already each plant is becoming more substantial.
While the daffodils in the orchard meadow look great, there still aren’t enough (yet) to achieve the “sea of daffodils” look that I’m going for. I have planted hundreds around the garden, but there are many hundreds yet to be planted. I hope they naturalize and spread, helping me with the process.
It’s Time Slacker… Weed Patch Clean Up
I have been avoiding an area of the garden behind the raspberry beds that, at one point, was very tidy, organized and weed free. In one season it became a weed patch. And because I need to extend the privacy screen another 20-30 feet to the north, passing through the weedy and cluttered area, I had to stop putting off the job and get on with it. So, I moved out stacks of pots, piles of t-posts and stakes, several pallets, buckets, and rolls of welded wire fencing. With the area cleared of clutter, I grabbed my trusty mattock and started swinging away at the clumps of grass, dried out weed stalks, and spreading patches of clover. You can check out the YouTube video here or in the Videos gallery.
Extending the Privacy Screen & Wood Chip Paths
With the weeds cleared and the ground prepped, it was time to dig the remaining holes needed for the post bases I’ll be using to extend the privacy screen for the raised bed area. I used metal post bases set in fast-setting concrete that was mixed and poured into forms. The next step will be to attach the redwood posts to the metal bases and continue building the cedar and redwood privacy screen. Then, I’ll bring in more wood bark to mulch the area.
I had a load of bark chips delivered that I’ll continue to use for the paths between the future potting shed, the soon-to-be-delivered greenhouse, and the blackberries. I’ve been using a heavy duty, woven landscape fabric under the bark chips. So far it has proven to be much better than many options that are sold at big box garden centers.
Planting Potatoes
It was also time to get the potatoes planted in one of our raised beds. I planted three rows of potatoes - Yukon Gold, Russet Burbank, and Red Pontiac. The soil in the raised bed is very friable and “fluffy” after working in some well-rotted manure into a nice raised bed mix from last year.
I hope the potatoes will do better this year. Last year I was “out of commission” for a month following surgery and even with well-intentioned watering from those trying to assist, I think it was too variable and we had mostly misshapen spuds. If it happens again this year, it’s on me!
I hope your garden is starting to wake up and you are fully underway and excited about the new season ahead! Happy gardening~
