Last week, in the garden. (May 20)
This morning, in the garden.
This week in my garden...
While it seems to the eye as though not a lot has changed, I know there is so much growth and activity happening, mostly underground. An abundance of rain has fallen in the past days, clearing just today really for what looks like a long, hot stretch to come. On the rainy days, with each calendar day going by, and my fingers itching to get everything in the ground, we got out there anywhere. Whenever it was just a drizzle, one of us or seven of us were making progress in the garden, in little pockets of time.
After being recommended by so many people, Grow More Vegetables has moved itself to the top of my bookshelf, and I find myself with each page running back out to the garden to tweak something, or to make note of what I might do differently next year. Particularly, I am loving the companion planting tips that Jeavon's shares. Last year, borage was so helpful with my tomatoes in deterring hornworms (while
Adelaide might enjoy picking off hornworms for her chickens, I am not a fan). When planting them yesterday (the tomatoes are in!), I interspersed basil and calendula too, alongside the borage.
With the tomatoes and peppers done, nearly everything is in that should be right now! But despite all of my careful measuring and planning, I ran out of space and find myself with a lot of winter squash, but not a single pumpkin. I'm hopeful that another garden bed can be created today. Halloween pumpkins are a must! (Even if, at this point, they might not be ready until Thanksgiving!)
Now that most of the spring planting is over, our time out there is being spent thinning, mulching, taming the weeds, and battling with the burdock (I know, it is a wonderful plant....but not when it gets greedy and doesn't let anything else grow in the garden). And none of this work would be possible, of course, without the help of all the little hands. My garden shed has turned into quite the play house and favorite spot to be. Shovels and buckets, rain guages and dibblers, and garden gloves really do make wonderful toys. Add in some rain barrels full of water with a faucet you can turn on and off yourself? Golden. It makes for a very happy garden assistant. And a very forgiving Mama when the bean seeds are taken off the shelf, opened and counted on the floor over and over again (one...two....seven. one...two....seven.)
Good, good times in the garden this week. And more ahead!
(If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may visit!)
