Planted (4) Mulanto Isleno peppers today. No one at my local farmer’s market had regular Poblano seedling but this is a Poblano type. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise and will have great production. Dave’s Garden only had one review and it was neutral.

Moved the Nikko Hydrangea I received from the plant swap from a 1 gallon bucket to a 3 gallon bucket filled with sifted compost. I really like to baby perennials the first year I get them. I have found one season of love will allow years of neglect. I also placed bird netting over it. * I am not going to let the deer win this year, I say in my best Elmer Fudd voice. I had three Hydrangeas in the ground last year and only one has survived the hordes.

One of the things I am happiest about are the Purple Coneflower Echinacea, I have propagated over the last three years from 1 plant to 1/2 dozen. They all look great and are just now starting to bloom.

My spearmint is doing great and it is just in time to loan a friend a huge bunch for her Derby Day Mint Juleps. In addition to Spearmint, I also grow Chocolate mint which I can’t recommend enough, tastes like one of those chocolate dinner mints.

Update on Compost Piles: Knocked over 2012a after watching its temperature come back down into the 80s. Everything is well composted and black. I will wait for the next rain storm to wet it down, pile it once more and then pull from the pile the rest of this year. 2012b is hovering around 100 and doesn’t appear to want to make the move above 100. Not enough coffee grounds, are my thought as to why the pile didn’t heat up. On a cool day, I will knock over and rebuild within the bin with more UCG.