Day 1 - Saturday, May 21
Hurray! Home again for a week straight with a chance of getting the planting in hand! I am not too, too, too badly behind to start out. Only the parsnips need planting of the early things and there is some transplanting and pruning that never got done but, hey, there's a lot that is checked off the list and in a timely fashion. AND my farm helper/working farm member/intern/nice person has arrived home from college and started working 3 mornings each week. Amazing. It is so encouraging to have someone around with whom I can talk over plans and share the to-do list! Thank you, Sarah! (And thank you, Robin, for all your help year round, including the listening and idea sharing. Plus the carpentering, tilling, mowing and now, chain sawing. I am sure am lucky you like doing that kind of thing!)
On the downside, it's been so rainy this month. The soil is wet and it isn't good to work it or walk on it when it's so wet. So I have to be patient. There is plenty to do, both inside and out but the main thing, the planting, sometimes just can't be done. Rain does help me to pace myself, which is good for my joints, muscles and general energy level. I just can't work those 12 hour days gardening any more. It makes me too sore and wiped out and then I lose work time. So, I try to be smart about it. (I had a birthday last week and I feel fine. Pretty darn spry for a 59 year old lady.)
EARLY LETTUCE, CABBAGE, RED RUSSIAN KALE, KOLRABI, ENDIVE, BROCCOLI
So the details for Saturday:
Called Sarah to give her the day off because it was RAINING so hard.
Moved the eggplant, peppers, basil, and frost sensitive flowers outside to harden off.
Inventoried the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes.
Inventoried the spaces I have for those plants.
Analyzed the above. It turns out that I only have 8 extra tomato plants. (I haven't figured out the others yet.) The plums will all fit in the field in 3 rows and the salad tomatoes will all fit in the PYO section and the upper garden.
Filled two more bags of trash, loaded the car, and went to the landfill with yet another load of junk from the garage. The garage floor is appearing!
By this time, the SUN was shining.
It kept shining while I was in town and through lunch at home. Then, when I started work, RAIN!
New bedding for the chicks. Admired chicks.
Weeded, fertilized, limed the PYO tomato bed. Planted 9 different tomatoes, mostly cherries. Mulched them.
Uncovered the early brassicas and lettuce tunnel. Uncovered the extra early tomato tunnel.
The RAIN stopped. CLOUDY.
Fertilized the early brassica beds and set out summer squash plants in between the brassicas.
SUN
Worked on the pea fence.
RAIN
Marked the rows for 3 more rows of bush beans.
CLOUDY
Basically the weather kept changing all day and my orientation kept changing along with it. I am really glad I got some plants in the ground. More tomorrow!
Watched "Sherlock" and really liked it although I fell asleep during the second episode.
PYO VARIETIES: BLACK CHERRY, SWEET MILLION, SUPER SNOW WHITE, SUN GOLD, LEMON DROP, YELLOW PEAR, BLACK PEAR, JAUNNE FLAMME, PINK PING PONG
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