Gardens on May 21 - 22, 2018

Big garden ¾ finished May 22, 2018

I’ve put a lot of time in the Big garden and it is done until the end of the month.

Monday I got this block cleared off so I could amend and plant. It needed:

Cabbages
Swiss chard
Carrots

It also had a row for parsley and for basil. Those 2 rows are prepped and mulched, I just need to stick the plants in when it is time.

The potatoes are well up, so now I could mulch them. That was done on Tuesday morning. Planting in straight rows is REALLY crucial if you are mulching as I do.

My helper planted these and would not use strings or tape measures. The plants ranged from 6 – 12” apart, when they were all supposed to be 12” apart. This made for very hard to do mulching. It took me 2 hours to mulch this bed.

There was one last row at the back of the garden for sunflowers. I’d used the area to hold mulch. Once it had been moved off onto the potatoes, I prepped it and mulched it from the pile in the driveway. Another one I just put the plants in when it is time.

All that’s left in this garden is the southeast corner where peppers and tomatoes and lima beans will go. I may or may not prep it before their planting time.

Empty roundtop window

Squash seedlings

Tomato seedlings

On Monday I took as many plants out to the cold frame as I could. Most of what’s left in the house, all in the lower 2 shelves of the East window, are tomatoes, peppers, and things like squash and cucumbers.

Tuesday my husband and I took down the shelving that was not in use and brought it down to the cellar for storage. He brought the 2nd dehydrator and its table back up. I need to get those 2 running.

Rhubarb

Garlic

Comfrey flowering

Around the flower gardens:

Buttercups are flowering

East garden – bleeding hearts

East garden – one of two white iris open

Tuesday morning we were looking out at the gardens through the dining room window when a rabbit comes tearing through the yard. Right behind it is a big coyote.

Our geriatric cat was outside so my husband went out to find her. She was down on the woodpile looking for rabbits, totally oblivious to the coyote. Certainly didn’t see it and definitely couldn’t hear it. So she escaped being a coyote snack yet again. At age 17 I hate to think how many sets of 9 lives she’s run through….

Wednesday I plan to spend the whole day in the flowerbeds. Vegetable gardens are WORK, and flowerbeds are play! I’ve earned play time!