Rain, rain, go away! I whined. Now -- rain, rain, come back! Well, after the hay is cut and baled, that is. A busy weekend of yard sale, work on the garden, cookout at the parents, and assorted other non-ending chores.
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| Alpine strawberries - can you see my huge crop? |
Marianne gifted me with some Alpine strawberries that I used to line my front walkway. They are now flowering and actually growing tiny, jewel-like red strawberries.
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Kentucky Wonder (l) Cherokee Trial of Tears (c) Chinese Red Beans (r)
You'll have to bigify to see the beans popping through the soil. |
This year I decided to grow pole beans - three kinds: Kentucky Wonder green beans, Cherokee Trail of Tears black beans, and a Chinese variety of red bean that grows 18 inches long! I pre-soaked two of the varieties in water before planting, just to see if it really made any difference. About a day's worth. I planted all three last weekend and on Saturday morning I had one Kentucky Wonder bean sprouted (pre-soaked). By Saturday afternoon, KW and the Chinese (both pre-soaked) were popping up. Yesterday the Cherokees started to show. I love to watch beans grow - you can almost see it happening.
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Potato plants need to be hilled (aka adding a tire)
Garlic is going great-guns behind it. |
I planted four varieties of potatoes in my hillbilly planters - there are enough old tires around this place to put in a bumper crop. And I like to put stuff to good use, if you haven't already noticed. I am also trying potatoes in a bag (on the right) just for comparison. The plants are growing wonderfully, and I am ready to put on the second tires and hill the plants. Luckily, I don't have to worry about what my neighbors think. Garlic and onions are in the raised bed behind them.
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A perfectly lovely view ... ruined. On a nice morning (like this morning)
this scene is repeated every 5 minutes in both directions. |
My willow bushes seem to be coming along nicely. I have planted them as a screen between me and the road and the g-d dump trucks. Even though they paved the road, there is always a tsunami of dust that rolls up the yard.
7 comments:
I am right with you there on the rain. First there was so much it did damage, now we have not had any for almost 3 weeks and the poor garden is dying. I have a well, so I can only water so much and the rain barrels are empty. Why cant we just have a happy medium. I will be watching your potato harvest to see which produces more, the tires or the bags. Interesting.
I have a well, too. I keep saying that I'm going to put soaker hoses in the garden, then I find out how much they are and skip it. With they way things are going, I might as well get one a year and I might have a good harvest in 10 years! A little moderation would be very welcome.
I COULD SAY THE SAME ABOUT THE WEATHER TOO. I WANT IT WARMER NOW, I WANT IT COLDER ,BUT IT IS EASIER FOR ME TO WARM UP THAN TO COOL DOWN--IF YOUR IN THE HOUSE THAT IS. IF I'M OUTSIDE-NOTHING CAN WARM YOU UP EXCEPT A FIRE OR A LIMO---HA.HA-SURE- GOT ONE WAITING FOR ME RIGHT NOW!
Nice you have everything coming up green! Careful of those Chinese Long Beans LOL they will need their own bedroom for storing, but they are beautiful to grow - make sure you have a big trellis, mine is a pvc hoop about 10 ft wide and 8 ft tall, they are amazing. We desperately need rain.
Gosh, your gardens and yard look fantastic. (Well, maybe we could have done without the dump truck. ;o}) I can see you've been putting in a lot of work out there. Geesh, in the winter it's the snow shoveling and removal and in the summer it's mowing the grass and tending the garden. When's the "down" season?
I'm right there with ya Susan! Your gardens are looking great and you have a beautiful yard and view!
Judy - I agree, it's easier to warm up than to cool down. I am not a hot weather person.
Erin - I am now looking at my Chinese Long Beans with trepidation! I will have to jerry rig a special trellis on the end. Cool!
Mama Pea - Down season? Whazzat? I don't know how long things will look green and lovely if there is no rain. What happened to normal, moderate weather? Is this a thing of the past?
APG - I love my yard - especially my retired neighbor who can't sit still and likes to help out his neighbors - by trailering over his John Deere and mowing my lawn!
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