This is a work in progress.
I love taking photos like this. When I go back each month and take more shots - I get to see how much change happens.
Somehow - you just can’t see exactly how much - or how fast - things grow when you’re waking up and working around them on a daily basis.
You’d be surprised by all that was actually planted in this bed yesterday! As things grow enough to be recognized - I’ll fill in the details!
It’s that time of year. Days off are spent outside - more than inside the house. I do good to get anything posted here on my blog - much less - even look at the computer.
Yesterday was a close call. Dwayne was pounding posts into the veggie garden for the tomato bushes and pole beans. Made it to that very last pole - the center support for the pole beans - when his rhythm became lax and his head took a goose egg. The post-driver came off the post - stealing his balance and - wham!
It was time to take a break - get some water down him - along with some Tylenol. But I’m guessing it may have been the Allergy meds that had more to do with the accident. The pollen is killing both of us this year. And that’s just downright rare for Dwayne.
I have planted four Red Beefsteak tomato bushes and two Amish Paste tomato bushes - so far - in the garden. There’s just so much to do. We’re having to remain strict on prioritizing everything. All the potted starters are having to be planted before any seed or bulb.
For whatever reason - our spring is becoming more like summer. I’m not so sure I’ll be able to get any spinach or carrots planted until August.
We did manage to get our grape vines planted - as well as the Kwanzan Cherry tree that we planted in memory of Monica Knarr. I’m swamped this morning - but I’ll get photos posted as soon as I can.
I have an appointment in Lenoir City this morning. I have to stop by Home Depot for pine straw to mulch tomatoes and plant potatoes. Then - another stop at the Vet’s office to pick up some meds for Carlie - before I head home and get back to working in the garden.
There’s dirt to be moved out of walkways - which I save for mounding on some plants later. We have onion sets and potatoes - jalapeno plants - all the seed. And then comes the chore of bringing bales of hay down from the barn to distribute all over the entire garden area for mulch - and for weed control.
And they’re telling us the temps are expected to be 86* today. They’re usually off about 5* - lately - and not in our favor.
On a side note -
I have no idea why. But for the past week - I have had somebody in particular on my mind. Like - even when I go to brush my teeth - wash dishes - while I'm huffing and puffing with frustration while driving 35mph behind someone's granny when the speed limit is 55mph.
I remember the first song he brought out. Came out on the radio with no big flash. I never could catch it when a DJ would mention who the singer was. Ticked me off!
And then he disappeared for a couple years. When he returned - it was " If Tomorrow Never Comes " that blew the doors wide open! I bought the cassette tape!
And - Oh, My God - I found the song - " I'm Much too Young to Feel This Damn Old ".
Finally - I had a name to go with the song! My youngest was only 3-years-old back then. And she called him - " Okie Hunk ! "
The world calls him Garth Brooks. Friends and family call him Garth.
Right now - I'm just calling the man! Where in Hell are you, Cowboy? It's time to rope the wind - again!
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3 comments:
Oh yeah, gotta love Garth's songs, least his older ones, I don't listen to the radio much, so who knows what the new stuff sounds like. I think I fell in love with his songs when I heard "The Dance". LOVE that song!!
Your garden is looking really nice, love the barn wall behind it in the photos.
So gotta question...how much hay do you put down around the plants to stop the weeds, and would straw work or does it need to be hay? Course really I think we might have trouble keeping either (and especially straw) in place, with all the wind we have here.
Also if you plant seeds, how do you put the hay down so they can still come up...yet be able to keep the weeds out?
Have I mentioned how we don't garden? LOL Course if we didn't have to weed...maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but I don't see how anything could keep ALL of the weeds out, so....*sigh* not sure how much of a garden we could ever have and keep up with...as much as I'd LOVE to have some, cause I'd love to do more canning! (Although not sure where I'd store it once I canned, as our pantry gets kinda full with the little bit I do now...but we would figure something out! LOL)
I'll try to remember to come look for an answer in a few days, if you just want to put one here in the comment section...if you have time to anyway. :)
Thank, Hon! That’s my flowerbed in front of the barn wall. But I’ve got herbs planted in there with flowers.
We used hay in the walk areas and around most of the plants - but either can be used - as long as it’s sweet. However - we used pine straw for tomatoes and potatoes. We always dig trenches for planting potatoes ( about a foot deep ) and lay pine straw before placing the potato sets in and covering them up with soil. After that - we go put a layer of pine straw on top - but we go through periods of taking it off and putting it back on each time we hill the plants.
We get a lot of wind here, as well. We’re able to shake out flakes for spreading. At first - we end up with hay looking like it’s stacked about a foot deep. But you’d be surprised how quickly it beds itself down - especially as you work around around the garden. And the wind hasn’t given us any trouble here.
As far as placing around the plants - we leave a couple inches of space between the hay and each plant - or - row of growth ( I.e. carrots ). When we plant seeds - we wait until the seeds sprout and get a second round of new leaves coming before laying hay around them. And then - they hay is set same way as the others.
So far - we’ve only done our tomatoes. But I’m taking pics. Once we get the entire garden covered with hay - I’ll do a posting about our process!
Thanks for the info! We bought some tomato plants today and a couple peppers, a little early for here, but they were nice looking and I didn't want to wait to late like we did last year. We tried planting them in buckets last year, and it didn't work so well for us, so I think we are going to actually put them in the ground this year...will see if we manage to keep them alive and get anything out of them or not. *giggle*
I think DH has some straw left, so maybe we can use that, unless we can find a neighbor with an OLD hay bale they want to get rid of. We are considering a couple peach trees too, but not sure if DH is up to tilling that big an area for them, and doubt he would want me to, as the last time I tried using the tiller I kinda ummm bent it...not sure how, but outside impliments are kinda out of my league. The apple trees we planted last year are at least still alive, so thats something! LOL
Here's hopeing the tomatoes produce well...so I can do some canning this fall! There are several things I'm wanting to make out of tomatoes, but hate to buy enough to do it, so gotta try to grow them...even if we aren't to good at gardening.
Love herbs and flowers, so wish I were good at it, so I could have a nice flower bed like that too!! The heat of summer kinda messes with me, so even if things ARE still alive then, they get negleted, when I can't be out for long periods of time without turning bright red from the heat and almost passing out...maybe I'll have to make myself get up early and go outside, instead of getting on the commputer.
Anyway, thanks again for the info! I really should know more about gardening, cause we always had one growing up, but I think I blocked out all that stuff cause I hated it so much! *giggle*
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