Thursday, March 30, 2017

A stormy day, off and on, today. I trimmed the two "new" junipers on the east fence. These were replaced last fall by John (landscaper) since they appeared to be dying. At the time, Morgan (east neighbor) bought the two junipers that were removed at a greatly reduced price. I asked him today how they were doing and he said "great". The two replacement junipers show a lot of dead branches compared to the other three junipers. Not concerned yet.

I churned the square composter and added some compost starter pellets. I rolled the old barrel composter out of the garage and put it along side the square on. I also ordered a replacement door for the barrel composter. Several years ago I put some rancid macadamia nuts in the barrel composter and the neighborhood squirrels gnawed a hole through the door to get to the nuts. I decided it was time to move beyond using duct tape and get a new door.

At Christmas last year, our new neighbors on the west (Liz and Ryan) presented us with a beautiful poinsettia plant. It still looked healthy today so I looked on-line for the proper time and method to keep it alive. I found the plant could potentially grow to 16' tall and it was recommended to prune in March-April. The pruning technique recommended was to cut back the plant by 50%. I did it and we'll see how it does. It is not hardy in our Hardiness Zone, so I will need to keep it inside during the winter if it survives my pruning.

Before Pruning

After Pruning

I am also putting plans together to install a succulent bed between the pond and the east raised bed. More on that later.

I also added the beneficial bacteria to the pond today.