I'm almost afraid to use that title for fear that it will tempt the weather to bring us deep winter weather again. And I've got enough blooming now that I really don't want deep winter weather coming in.
The peas are up and thoroughly happy. Their trellis is over the bed with a frost cover over it. The garlic and onions are just as happy. And the greens are coming in well. I should be able to start harvest greens by the end of this month. Only one of the old beds still needs cleaning and planting. And it should be done this week.
I decided to buy tomato plants rather than use seeds since the cold weather held on so long this year.
I received a truckload of cotton compost that was almost completely composted. And then five bags of goat manure. The goat manure was mainly straw so I may not do that again. But I worked both into the beds that hadn't been planted. And then into the new beds I made.
I spent the last couple of days building the two new garden beds and filling them. I am officially out of dirt in the dirt pile. Hopefully I can find another construction project that will be happy to bring a scoop or two of dirt from their site. I have enough wood for one more full size bed.
I rebuilt the potato bin. I've tried using tires several times now and it just doesn't work here. The temps in July and August make the bin too hot for the plants to survive despite frequently watering. And I always forget to drill drainage holes so the sides of the tires hold water. All in all, not a good thing.
This year I was allowed to take some 3 x 3 lumber from an old swing set. Then later I was able to get some fencing that my Dad was taking off of some gate frames. The 3 x 3 posts were cut in half for the corners so the bin can get almost 4 feet high. Then I cut the fencing into 2 1/2 foot pieces to form the sides. And lastly, I screwed the boards to the corners. I was so very thankful that I had both a drill and electric screwdriver on hand as it made the project go so much faster. I put the top board and three lower boards on each side. The rest of the boards are set aside to add as necessary.
After it was constructed I put a full wheelbarrow of the cotton compost in the bottom. Then I put a 3 inch layer of dirt. Now I just have to get the potatoes tomorrow and we'll be set. I'm thinking about spacing the additional boards so that some of the leaves can grow between the boards as well as going up above. Fingers crossed for a better potato crop this year.
I decide not to grow as many sweet potatoes this year. As much as my son likes them, he doesn't seem to be eating them as frequently.
And I won't be growing watermelons. I grow most melons for dehydrating. And that's pretty much all I do with watermelon. It makes a treat that my son loves. But he won't eat it fresh. And even the tiny watermelons are really to large for me to eat by myself. And lastly, dehydrating seeded watermelons is a pain. So I'm going to grow other melons that I will eat fresh and dehydrate. And then buy seedless watermelons for the dehydrator. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a local farmer who is growing them.
And finally, I found the pie pumpkin seeds I was looking for. So those will get planted this year. I still remember the group field trip this last year where the farmer told us that he planted pumpkins on the 4th of July in order to have them ready for Halloween. I'm not worried about having them for Halloween but having the harvest then would be best so that it's not right on top of me processing other things. So I may plant around mid June in order to harvest and get the beds emptied before the frosts hit.
All in all, life is busy. In the house I still have 40 lbs of onions to get processed. That will probably be the task today and tomorrow. Mixed in with finishing the outside beds and getting stuff planted. Oh yeah, and laundry...
I hope Spring is in your area and that your are enjoying it. Maybe I'll get some pictures this week to help those of you who are still waiting.
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