LysmachiaMoon's blog: Mega Vega

Spent ALL DAY working in the veg on Saturday...well, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m and then again for an hour in the evening. I got 2 big square beds dug over, the sweet corn planted in one, cukes and tomatoes in the other. I got the "back side" of the long bed with the onions hoed up and put in more tomatoes so they can climb onto the veg garden fence, finished out that bed with my sweet and hot pepper plants. Finished mulching the long bed of tomatoes that I planted last week. Then I got a half of another of the big square beds weeded off so that I can then dig it over. I am SO BEHIND on everything. Normally I do all my heavy digging in the late fall or very early spring, but it's been so very wet this past year I couldn't do it so now I'm left with trying to do this during the hot weather. I've got two big square beds to do yet. I think I will finish weeding off the first, get the second weeded off, then just mulch heavily and put in my pole beans and sweet potatoes without digging over the beds. And keep my fingers crossed. I know everybody is very hot on this "no till" gardening, but with my heavy clay sometimes it works, sometimes it is a disaster. It's ok on the eastern-most beds of the veg where the soil is pretty good, friable, lightened up with compost, etc. But on the western beds, which are still "in the process" it's very likely the roots will hit hardpan and that is the end of it.

I'm using masses of old newspaper as mulch wherever I can put it and then piling up anything I weed onto it. Sort of "composting in place." I'm going to haul in some grass clippings from the neighbor's yard tomorrow to put down over the weed piles to pretty them up.

This "new normal" weather is, I have to admit, throwing me a curve. I'm not used to gardening in constantly wet conditions....and it's been more or less "wet" since late fall of 2017. Our temperatures are wildly fluctuating at the turning points of the year (winter to spring, spring to summer, etc.) which is difficult, but I am coping with that. I can always cover things to keep them warm. It's the precip that's hard for me to work around. And yet, you know, there's the constant fear that it will shut off like a spigot and we'll have our usual 6-8 week drought right in the middle of the summer. Or worse. If these high precip conditions continue, though, and it looks like this is truly the "new normal" for our area, I'm considering starting more veg in the greenhouse, things like cucumbers and squash, because last year my seeds rotted in the ground.

And I'm still feeling my way along with the greenhouse. I'm just thrilled at what it's turned out for me so far, but I know I'm not using it to full potential. Also, since it is unheated, I still need to learn how to best get seeds started in the house and then move them into the greenhouse to grow on. It's a lot to wrap my head around. I need more and better benches/work space. I was really pleased with the tomato plants I started from seed in the house, then moved to the GH....huge. They were HUGE when they went into the veg this past week.

***
Pot trouble. (I remember when I was a teenager and that meant the nickle baggie was a little light...) I planted up three of my big pots and don't you know as soon as the Tropicana canna came up nicely, one of the hens hopped in and tore it all apart...everything...the canna is torn up and right out of the soil, the petunias and other plants are ripped to shreds. Argggh. And I still haven't figured out what to put in the other 3 pots yet....I am dedicating this afternoon to thinking deep thoughts on that.

***
And finally, a couple more pics. These are two views of the Below the Deck garden, taken last week at peak bloom for the peonies and iris. This week it will be the foxtail lilies, tradescantia, and a bit later the daylilies and phlox.

( No account? Join now! )