Season Opener

Here it is! the official first look at the 2010 Vegetable garden, 4/25/10. Raised beds are in, trellises are built. So, what's in so far? Bed 1 has 4 lacinato kale, some onions, french breakfast radishes, 5 color silver beet Swiss chard, bull's blood beets, rondo di ponghi carrots, masai pole green beans, a tiny patch of dill, and my giant Thessaloniki tomato. The other bed with the large trellis has cucumbers, (Marketmore and Space Master) Minnesota Midget cantaloupes, lettuce, onions, cilantro, dill, Swiss chard, carrots and spinach. All the melons aren't in yet, they are still inside in peat pots. I'm trying to decide if I want to try one of my Delice de la Table melons on the trellis or not... I'm afraid they will be too heavy, even if I hang them in a sling. I haven't planted the third bed yet, I am waiting for it to get a bit warmer. I think I will have two zucchinis in there, along with some other stuff. I got one of each of 8 varieties of tomatoes in, they all seem to be doing well so far. The wall-0-waters worked great, but I did decide to take them off before they got too big. I could see them becoming slimy and mosquito ridden and hard to deal with later on. The tomatoes that were in those had a bunch of suckers going becuase I wasn't able to get in there and prune them off. I got rid of some, but left one or two of the really big ones. They should be OK. They look really full and lush. Now it just needs to get warmer. It's supposed to be cool and rainy until Wednesday. I guess it will just give transplants some good adjustment time.

I got hooks and hung up the extension ladder and the big galvanized tub on the side of the shed. I raked out all the leaves and cleaned up all the brush that was stored back there. I am trying to make it the least rat friendly as possible back there. I also got the lawn mowed yesterday, so that looks good. I still need to make a dump run and go get a load of mulch and put it around, but for now, I'm happy with what I've managed to get done. I made some progress with the house; Marc took Olive out for awhile and I was able to bring down stuff from the attic and sort through it. I am giving a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. We have the community yard sale in a few weeks and I am trying to get rid of as much as I can. I'm tired of the clutter.

I think I'm just kind of taking stock of everything and weeding out because it gives me a feeling of control; I've been so upset about work these past few weeks and I am trying ot stay focused on other things so it doesn't consume me. I'm trying to just go with it. I keep telling myself to just do the work and get paid and not worry about it. I'm just in one of those phases where I am questioning everything; maybe I should be doing someting else entirely; maybe I should relocate. (Although the thought of moving and leaving my garden behind is unthinkable) Just when I think it's all going to be over and I'll be free to start something new, it just drags on a little longer. Maybe that's not such a bad thing; the logical part of my brain is saying so. I don't have any other options at this point, so it's better than nothing, it's just more of the same. I just wonder which is worse. OK, I'm whining. Enough. I'm going to go see what I can round up for dinner.

Springtime = Frogs & Bluebells at Gunpowder State Park

Raised beds in progress

Here are the beds in progress...this was a couple of weeks ago. They are lined with a heavy plastic mesh, and then I added an additional layer of weed blocking material to help control erosion on the concrete base. For the pressure treated boxes (two of them) I lined the sides with plastic to prevent chemicals leaching into the soil. I'm not terribly concerned; basically the research I did said that it's worst the first year, but if it is lined with plastic, it can't leach through. Also, the chemicals tend to be stored in the plants themselves, so things like carrots and other root vegetables would absorb more than say, a tomato, which would have more of the chemical found in its leaves.

I got the bamboo trellis built, it looks a little weird now, but once things start to fill in, it will be very pretty. I built the whole thing by drilling holes in the bamboo and using cable ties to attach them. I just wish it were warmer... it's still a bit too cool for me.

The peas are up, doing OK so far. I also have spinach and Swiss chard coming up. The cilantro seeded itself everywhere, so I have been transplanting seedlings into the big beds. I also planted borage for the bees, some onions, and transplanted some kale from one of the grow boxes. My tomato plants are out of control; they are taking over the house. I've given a bunch away, but I still have more. I started the cucumbers and melons in peat pots inside on the seedling heat mat.

This time of year is tough because there's so much to do and it books up quickly. This weekend we are going to a birthday party on Saturday. I was hoping to borrow a truck and go get some mulch for the yard inteh mornign before we have to leave, but it's supposed to rain. I always plan more things than I can realistically handle. I know I just got back from Florida, but I could really use a break from work; just a mental break. I've just had it with everything; I just want to get this Church project wrapped up and go do something else. I'm actually looking forward to some downtime so I can work in the garden, precious time which truly makes me happy and takes my mind off of work. This kind of stress is not healthy at all.

Busy week

Wow, I have been up to a lot since my last post. Marc and I built three 4x4 raised beds in the driveway this last weekend. Kyle is bringing me a truckload of Leafgro-soil mix from Hollins Organics today; Marc is making Julie a website and in exchange, Kyle is bringing me truckloads of dirt. Very exciting. This weekend I planted some spinach, carrots and beets in one of the grow boxes, and my kale is coming up. I planted some more lettuce in with the stuff that overwintered from last year. My tomatoes are going like gangbusters now. I've given a few away, bt I still have plenty. I think I'm going to have at least 8 plants, one of each variety I started. I ordered some heirloom Anatolian melon seeds on ebay which arrived yesterday; it didn't occur to me that they were actually coming from Turkey, but there they are. I started basil, dill and tomatillos in pots. Once I get the dirt in the beds, I can start on the bamboo trellises for the cucumbers and melons. It's going to be cool to see just how much stuff I can grow in just three boxes.

It's going to be in the mid 90' s today, just like yesterday. One week ago yesterday I was wearing a down coat and a wool hat. It's just crazy. It's supposed to cool off this weekend and be a bit more seasonally appropriate. I'm hoping to get at least some stuff planted this weekend. Marc and I are going to Florida next week, and I don't want to leave my mom a houseful of needy seedlings to take care of while I'm away.

Work has been so stressful , it is really nice to have a distraction. But now that it's nice out and I have other projects that I love, it's easier to forget about work once I get home. I've been working in the garden a lot, I've been weeding and cleaning out flower beds. They are coming tomorrow to trim the black walnut branches, which should give me some more light and less icky mess in the fall.

I released the bees on Saturday; I put their house up under the overhang of the deck. They have been out, but it's not quite the level of activity I imagined. They do seem to be going in the tubes and stuff, so hopefully they'll do OK. I've already rescued a few that made their way into the house. I have been trying to defend them from the damned carpenter bees which are out in full force in the backyard. I just wonder if the carpenter bees are attacking them. They are just so territorial, it's amazing. They don't sting, but they will just hover 12" from your face.

And, I threw out a few of my little flower bombs in the vacant lots at work, I am hoping for the best. I'm curious to see if they work. I was going to toss a few in the park by our house too, where they just cleared out a bunch of stuff. I figured some of them have to come up. They are all native wildflowers, so it's not like I'm releasing some sort of invasive plague. It's just butterfly and bird habitat as far as I'm concerned.

So, more pictures soon... We are going to gunpowder falls tonight after work to see the bluebells blooming.