You're in for a surprise.

  With the forecast of rain for today (Thursday) I decided to prep the vegetable garden. Our 4ft wide tiller is the perfect width for each individual bed. one can reach the center of the tilled area without standing on and compressing the soil.

With an outdoor wood fired oven, two wood stoves and a fire pit, we have copious amounts of wood ash which must be stored dry to prevent nutrients, particularly potassium from leaching. 

From the various wood burners I store the hot ash in a metal trash can until completely cold and then from there into bags ready for Spring spreading on the newly tilled ground, 

along with Milorganite and the liquid mentioned in the title,

Just dragging a hoe through the freshly tilled soil is all it needs to create a three to four inch deep trench into which I lay a weeping hose.

I then pull the soil from either side to cover the hoses, thus creating a raised row. I find a raised row warms up quicker than a raised bed.

 I gave up using timers with the watering system as this made me less attentive and therefore more likely to miss any developing problems.

Here are some garden fruits that will thank you for the addition of wood ash to their diet. Wood ash and urine is almost the perfect fertilizer for tomatoes.

Raspberries, Blackberries and Gooseberries.

If your soil is acidic, wood ash can also be applied around the drip line of fruit trees, including the one pictured below. Any ideas as to which one?

Stonewell Farm 9am June 3rd 2019

A week later and the golden Weigela (center) is starting to bloom, as is the blue Amsonia.

The Iris bloom is starting to wain and make way for the Peonies and Roses.

The blue Amsonia (left) hide the fading flowers of the Polygonatum.

These Iris flower later, due to the shade from the Philadelphus and Apple tree

Due to the cold spring we have combinations not usually seen. The Siberian Iris bloom is usually over before the Potentilla flowers.

The Allium have opened, The Peonies hardly. The identical plant placed in less favourable light can extend the flowering period considerably. 

This end of the driveway border is somewhat shaded by the Junipers causing the late flowering of creeping time to coincide with Miss Kim.

Here, the Allium are past, our second Miss Kim almost, and the Spirea (right) about to turn into a bouquet of white. The pink Rose between the wall and the variegated Willow is a beautiful combination.

Dart's Gold Ninebark (left} is now in flower, Diabolo (right) probably next week.

The golden Locust tree is a spectacular colour at this time of year.

The Chinese Fringe tree is in full bloom. if we are lucky, it may last a couple of weeks.

Not much change in this shot, I'll try and include some ducks next week.

I've included three shots from the front of our Lilac border and one shot of a particularly beautiful Clematis.