Overheard while weeding...

So, I arrived in the cooler, later part of the day to do some much-needed weeding now that we aren't living with rain all the time (although a t-storm was supposedly imminent, and I did have several things to plant)... guess what I overheard while weeding? Being gardeners you'll appreciate this one.

So, we're at more than capacity at our community garden. Opening day we had 130 plots free, and volunteer clearing efforts on that day freed up an additional 5 plots that hadn't been in use in decades. (Woot! Woot! especially to those wielding heavy tools to clear; I was just cutting & pulling the smaller stuff.) Happy increases aside, that still apparently left 15 wait-list folks wanting. Hopefully we'll be able to accommodate a few more folks as plots get cleared out. I'm just glad people are jumping in and gardening.

So, there had been a much-neglected plot next to ours, and it was just a rock bed. Hardpan and rocks. In the interim while I was away, apparently a woman had adopted said plot, and I may say, had done a miraculous clearing job - possibly working solo, too, according to the Duchess. At least that's how it's appeared. We could just have missed the appearance of helpers. At any rate a herculean clearing job in order to make the plot workable, set up raised beds, and a fence, and (!) a gate with a nice lock (always advisable - gardeners aren't the only ones who visit the plots. Sad, but true.) At any rate, an astounding amount of work considering; when I arrived today I could see several beds well-established and they were working a couple more, with husband and kids at work too. Now, this is the funny part: so I'm busy weeding, and appropos of nothing, a piping 5 or 6 year old voice, in exasperated tones, declaims "Mummy! Do you even realize how much work this is???"

...wait for it...there's more...

Proving herself the truly patient soul this woman must be, she actually responded kindly - "Mmm, yes, dear, I certainly do." What an understatement. My back hurts in sympathy just thinking about all the digging and rock cultivating.

I really tried to stifle my guffaw, for mom's sake, but all I could think was how truly exhausting it must be sometimes to be mom.

Then again, I was the odd child who actually enjoyed weeding because it meant i could pick a snack while I worked. No, seriously. Odd, I know. I've said other memorably ridiculous things that I still have to live down. My personal favorite has to be a toss-up between "I can't eat that, it's DEAD!" and "He hit me back first!!!"

Nonetheless, it provided my evening chuckle, and that's all I needed. Just sharing.

And on that note, it's time for me to do the post-garden tick-check, and hit the shower. Photos to follow later...

the Cute Patrol

0502091106, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

...or, how I'm continuing to postpone putting up a decent catch-up post...

I was down in SC for a festival over the weekend. We lucked out with great weather, and I chatted with someone who was carrying around the cutest little kittens - maybe 10 weeks old? These little guys were looking for a home (which each of them found by the end of the weekend. I don't know who adopted them, I just remember the girl carrying them around updated me.) The festival was relaxed; a nice event. My cabin was cozy - a small wooden structure with a porch, that was originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the early 30s. Sadly, the interior had been graffiti'ed to death by decades of teenagers attending summer camp there. Some of them, amazingly, left behind their snail mail address (?!) - it's a little baffling to me but what can I say. I'm still sorting out the photos, and will update from the beginning once I get straightened out.

...more later...

And now...

later, seedlings up, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

...and now the seedlings are up.
peas,
nasturtium

carrots (ok, they're not up just yet, but imminently)
arugula, spinach, lettuce, and mesclun greens
beets
cilantro

I put some scrap fencing loosely over the top to discourage the local robins from landing in there and eating the seeds before they'd had a chance to germinate properly.

opening day at the Community Gardens...

opening day: working on the soil, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

a little photo catch-up, although I don't yet have the oomph to do a text catch up. Much has been going on.

Here's how the garden looked on the 4th (garden opening day); lots of soil turning and planning until we started to get rained on. No complaints there!

Three bean plants

beans growing, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

So we had some of our strange winter weather this weekend: abruptly sunny and warm (for us, at any rate: 50 - 60 degrees F). I took advantage of the warm weather to meet up with the Duchess of 78A to set up some higher fencing in preparation for the coming growing season. I'll be doing a little excavating in order to improve our gate/door situation as well. Happily I found some adequate lumber at the local Dome Hepot. At $1.15 per 1x3x8, it serves our purposes just fine. Add a staple gun and some deer-fencing mesh (the sturdy kind, not the wussy thin kind) and we're in business. Happily the weather held during our project, and then each of us scurried off for other plans that day.

In the indoor containers for seedling starters, the peas and peppers are up, and the beans seem to be pretty happy growing in the cola bottle. I'll be snipping an extra hole for that third plant to emerge; not quite enough room now for it to squeeze between the stems of the two others already coming up through the sprout.

I planted some of the potatoes I'd had leftover that sprung eyes before I could use them; they've gone into a pot outside my window that was going begging. I have some more containers to fill with starters, when I find the time.

Shameless silliness.

What, as if I need a reason?

more animals

Comic relief is my reasonbig fat justification: plus the fact that some of my online friends commented that they didn't picture me as a kickboxer (hey, I'm only just learning kickboxing, but it's fun!) -- I should say, my online friends who are gardeners and in the season traipse around flailing large, heavy metal weapons implements of weed destruction like hoes, rakes and shovels.

I ordered some seeds...

So, I ordered some seeds from Johnny's... I like Johnny's because they have so many heirloom varieties. The short & sweet: I'm looking forward to figuring out where to put a few of each of these plants. I ordered one packet each of these nifty neeto things:

Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme), 60 days to maturity
...I love cherry tomatoes, and mine died last year due to my unintended neglect...hey, it happens. So this year I'm trying again. I promise not to neglect them this time...

Chioggia "candy-striped" beet (Beta vulgaris) 55 days to maturity
...because I'm curious - it looks like a radish but will taste like a beet? How can I go wrong?

New York Early Onion (Allium cepa), approximately 98 days to maturity
I just like growing onions.

Pepper "Pretty in Purple" (Capsicum annum) - apparently this pepper goes purple in 60 days, then in 85 it finally goes "red ripe"? I'm curious. This is the photo they show:


Cutting Celery (Apium graveolens) ~80 - 85 days to harvest

Bee Balm Panorama Mix (Monarda didyma)

Alpine strawberries "Alexandria" (Fragaria vesca) ~120 days to fruit.
I've had good luck with Alpine strawberries, and I want more; maybe a whole bed of them outside my window.
Strawberries "Tarpan (F1)" (Fragaria X ananassa) ~100 to 120 days to fruit.Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) I love the smell of wormwood, and want a patch in my herb garden. In my mind, it's part of the smell of summer.

Flax "Omega (OG)" (Linum usitatissimum) - approximately 95 - 100 days to maturity

Bush Bean Trio: progress

tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

So, I came home tonight to find this is how far the little green babies had pushed out of the soil. I can't wait: string beans! In my apartment! And they're the pretty combination pack too: green, yellow, and purple beans. Yum.

The great seed experiment...part 1

tri-color bean mix, originally uploaded by Margo and George.

...part 1 of several, apparently. So, as mentioned in a previous post, I was inspired by someone else's work with little tiny spare holiday lights. I came up with my own spin on things, though: I like that flavored seltzer water (mmm, lime/raspberry), but hate that I have to "throw away" (recycle) the bottles all the time. I found a good use for some of these bottles at least: I realized that the "collar" next to the cap would allow me to hang them with a string from some kind of a hook. From there I could wrap the lights and move them around as necessary, without interfering with the tender seedlings. Also the clear bottle would insulate it from temperature vagaries and curious little paws.

I wasn't sure if it would work...but it worked better than I'd expected: beans I wasn't expecting to see for at least 10 days came up in...5 to 7 days. The peas and peppers are only now just starting to peek out...but all in all, I"m psyched that I may have something going on here. The next post is of today's progress on the bean-front...

I realize it isn't terribly attractive, what with the soda bottle, but hey - for those of us with space constraints...I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Not exactly "bunday monday" but...

Whinnie, originally uploaded by Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians (MANE).

Thought everyone would appreciate this wonderful horse. I logged on to find something else on creative commons and instead found this little horse, randomly. I think he's even wearing a mardi gras scarf and beads??? Ilex, it's true, they've got nothing on your rabbits, but still. Since this horse was only slightly taller than the bunnies...