The Crop Report – Week Four

Rain, rain, go away….  It’s been a wet, soggy, sodden, waterlogged week here at Auntie K’s Garden and the Urban Farm.  I know that’s a lot of modifiers, but when you get as much rain as we’ve had this week, I think it’s warranted.  Monday half an inch of precipitation fell.  Tuesday, we got another inch.  Wednesday, we were deluged with 4 inches of rain. 

Thursday, Mother Nature added insult to injury by dumping another half inch.  That’s 6 inches of rain in less than a week. 

The contractor finished the new gutters on the west side of the house before the deluge began, but wasn’t able to finish on the east side.  And, with all that rain, we had water not only outside, but inside, too.  Riverman squeegeed water in the basement for several days.  And, the sump pump has been filling every 15 minutes.  We’re supposed to have warm, sunny weather this weekend, which we and the crops will appreciate after a week of steady and heavy rain.

The Riverman was excited to see blossoms on the Celebrity tomatoes this week – finally!  And, there’s a weensy cherry tomato forming.  We’ve been harvesting the kale on a daily basis for the smoothies, and it just keeps coming!  This really is the way to go rather than purchasing greens during the summer months.  The vining spinach is finally making a go of it – even without a fence.

The cukes and the squash are going crazy!  Last year, the cukes struggled.  This year, they’re thriving.  We can’t believe how HUGE the leaves are! 

The berries are all doing well, too.  Unfortunately, a creature got one of the strawberries that was starting to ripen.  We’re hoping they leave us a few.  (I may need to put a fence around the strawberry box to ensure we do get to enjoy at least a handful of berries.)

My monarch caterpillar buddies have all disappeared.  I hope this means they have found places to make their chrysalises and not that they’ve been snatched up by a predator.

That’s the crop report for this week.  What’s happening in your garden?!

Garden Helper

Earlier this week, one of the neighborhood boys left some flyers and a handwritten note on my door.  This is a boy who asked for a lawnmower for his 8^th grade graduation so he could have a proper summer job.  He’s a sophomore in High School now, and school is out for the summer, so he’s looking for some projects to keep him busy.  Since he lives in the neighborhood, he knows I’ve done away with my grass.  But, I do have him help with leaf raking in the fallj, so he dropped off a flyer anyhow. 

His flyer didn’t mention prices or what kinds of projects he wouldn’t be willing to do, so I gave him a call and asked him to meet me after work to talk about a couple of possibilities – one being the dandelion field in the front, and the other being the stepping path on the west side of the house.  I figured these would be good projects for him to do on his own – with just a bit of instruction up front.

We talked about whether the project(s) should be paid for on a per-project basis or whether hourly was more fair.  We negotiated a “per project” fee for the dandelions and agreed to see how that worked out before committing to the stepping path project. 

He came prepared the next morning with his garden gloves – but without a watch (or phone) and without a water jug.  I told him I’d set a timer for him so he could get home in time for lunch and set out a pitcher of water with a glass.  And, then reminded him that it’s hot out so he should bring water and he’s a business man, so he should track his own time.  Today, he showed up with both water and a way to tell the time!  Quick learner!

Here’s the progress so far!  All that’s left is to mulch!  He’ll be back in the morning – unless we’re having another deluge – to finish up!  I won’t post his picture since he’s a kid, but here’s an image of a garden helper with wings, because he’s such a fast worker!

Pappa Cardinal

I’ve been thinking about my dad a lot recently.  He’s been gone for over a year and a half now, so all the “first” anniversaries are behind me.  Maybe some things will always make me thing about him.  I saw Father’s Day cards while running errands a few weeks ago and thought… oh, I should get one so I can pop it in the mail so he gets it on time.  Then, realized, I don’t need to do that.  Power tools and house projects will probably always make me think about him.  (He taught me and my sisters how to use power tools and how to fix and make lots of things.  The Riverman was grateful for these skills last week when we replaced baseboards  at his condo.)  I think tomatoes and chives will always make me think about him.  We had a friendly yet fierce tomato growing competition for decades.  And, we both liked chives in our scrambled eggs – especially eating them outside on a summer morning.  (I texted my step-mom the other morning when I made scrambled eggs with chives from my dad’s garden.) 

A lot of people say their loved ones appear to them as birds.  Some are Snowy Owls, some are love birds, some are eagles.  For me, it is the cardinal, and more specifically, the pappa cardinal.

In August of 2012, my dad and I had a few email and text exchanges about cardinals.

Aug 22, To me.  A text:  Cardinals!  After all these years we have a cardinal family in the burning bush by the blue bedroom! we Think its cool.  Sent from my iPhone

Aug 25, 2012, To the family.  An email:  The Miracle of Life:  For years, Mr. and Mrs Cardinal have been flying around our deck. Kathy finally discovered their nest in the burning bush by our guest bedroom! We have witnessed a new generation being born with four hungry beaks fighting for nourishment! Today they were taught to "fly the coop", and alas a new life chapter begins! Better than watching Leno!
love P

Early September, To Pappa.  An email:  Hei, I love that you have cardinals nesting in your yard by the bedroom.  There's a pair here, too.  I love that they perch on the rose bushes and peek in the windows.

Shortly after this email, we had a phone conversation, during which it became clear to me that he knew he didn’t have much longer to live.  I dropped everything, jumped in the car, and made the 7 hour drive to be with him.  The last conversation I had with him was, in part, about cardinals.  He said birds were one of our bonds.  I agreed.  I told him that when I saw cardinals, I’d think about him.

The cardinal pair are still visiting the rose bushes and peeking in the windows.  The snapshots are  from the sunroom window of the pappa cardinal at the feeder.  Happy Father’s Day, Pappa!

The Crop Report – Week Three

The crops are really taking off!  The Riverman is disappointed that there are no blossoms on the Celebrity tomatoes, but he’s pleased with how much they’ve grown since last week.  He “ruthlessly” thinned out the carrots last night.  And, we’ve been using the kale in our smoothies all week!  The onions and peppers are all very healthy.

The cukes and the squash haven’t yet set blossoms, but I can see the tiny little cucumbers where the blossoms will form!  They are much more robust than the plants we had last year.

I haven’t yet gotten the fence around the vining spinach, so the creatures are still having a field day chomping off the newly sprouted plants.

All the berries are doing well.  They seem to be in a race to see which one will bear fruit first.  I don’t remember them all starting to show fruit at the same time last year.  Last week I predicted we’d have raspberries by now.  Sadly, that prediction did not come to fruition.  Maybe next week!

Two of the Monarch caterpillars are still around.  I saw four earlier in the week, but when I checked this morning I could find only two.  My neighbor says she’s seen some on the coneflower plants instead of on the milkweed and says I shouldn’t worry too much.

Mother Nature is doing the watering again this week.  We’re expecting 2 – 3 inches over the weekend.  We’re having additional gutters put on the house and the guy finished the east side of the house yesterday.  So, we’ll see if the additional gutters help to keep the water away from the foundation!

 

That’s the crop report for this week.  What’s happening in your garden?!

The Next Step

I have discovered that if I do a few small things in the garden each day, I can feel a sense of accomplishment without feeling completely undone physically.  I’m back to my morning ritual of weeding while I have a cup of coffee.  (It’s not going to clear every weed in every bed, but you’d be surprised at how much weeding you can do in the time it takes to drink just one cup of coffee!)

I figured if it worked for weeding, I could apply it to the patio project, too.  Every day, I’ve gone out and turned over a few more shovelfuls of soil—preparation for getting rid of grass and dandelions.  And, while I was shoveling, I was thinking about where to "start" with the outline of the patio.  (I'm going to use 4x4 cedar as edging and some permeable "decking" I found at IKEA!)  Originally, I thought it made sense to start at the corner by the compost bins, but I ended up thinking it was best to start with the "step" from the driveway to the patio.

So, the other night, I removed part of the old retaining wall between the driveway and the raspberry patch/patio area.  (It really wasn’t much of a retaining wall – two blocks high – one of which was mostly submerged.)  But, I wanted to do something that would tie in with the new patio, and crumbling block didn’t cut it.  I also wanted more of a formal -- and level -- step between the driveway and the patio.  The previous owners used the wall as a step from the lawn to the driveway and over time, it not only heaved, but eroded and crumbled, creating a dangerous transition -- especially in winter.    I thought about replacing the wall with stone or block, but that's both expensive and time consuming.  So, I decided on 6x6 cedar timbers, which I thought would work well with the 4x4 cedar edging for the patio.

Today, at lunch, I ran to the lumber yard and got a length of 6x6 cedar and some sand.  I had hoped they could make the cuts I wanted in the lumber, but they said the saw wouldn’t take 6x6.  So, after work, I cut the cedar the old fashioned way – using the circular saw on all four sides and the hand saw for the leftover bit in the middle.  Then, I dug out some soil to make room for some 16 x 16 pavers.  I put in the sand, tamped it down, and edged it with the cedar.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to tweak this a little bit before I drive the rebar through the cedar to anchor it.  The height is just a bit off, which means I’d need a lot more sand for the patio space than I’d originally planned.  So, I’ll tinker with it and see what evolves.  In the meantime, the step to the driveway is a whole lot better than it used to be.  And, I’m one step closer to getting the patio project finished!

Ode to Joni Mitchell

I’ve mentioned a few times that I don’t use insecticide or herbicides here at Auntie K’s Garden.  I get rid of bad bugs with a bucket of soapy water and my dandelion digger—cuz, I don’t want to grab them with my fingers!  And, I get rid of the weeds by hand – pulling them out by the root.  Like Joni Mitchell said so well, “Hey farmer farmer, put away that DDT now, gimme spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees, Please!” 

Sometimes, I get behind with the weeding, and a passerby or a neighbor will comment.  A few weeks ago, a neighbor stopped by to admire the garden.  She turned around and her eyes got HUGE as she said, “My, that’s a fine crop of dandelions you’ve got!”  It’s true.  It has been a bumper crop of dandelions this year.  But, I don’t want to use weed killer… So, I “deadhead” them staving off the seed heads, and dig them out when I have time.  But, I need to come up with a new plan because there are just too many.

One of the local nurseries had a post on FB about using a flame thrower to kill weeds!  I thought about this idea for about 30 seconds before determining that the mulch might catch fire and I’d have a bigger problem than a fine crop of dandelions on my hands.

But, I thought about the “heat” aspect of the flame thrower and thought boiling water might work.  I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but I will (at some point this summer) and let you know how it goes.  And, if you’ve done it, I’m curious to know how it went.

A fine crop of dandelions  :(

A few years ago, I used heavy brown paper under my mulch.  This method was a TOTAL failure. It looked great for the same season, but the weed seeds had NO trouble popping through the following year.  And this year, I have a "fine crop of dandelions."  So… as much as I don’t like to use it in planting areas, I’m going to use landscaping fabric in the non-planting areas like walkways and patio areas.  Before laying down the fabric, I’ll double dig and get rid of grass clumps and dandelion roots (and any little tree-lets).

Do you have ideas for getting rid of the weeds but leaving the birds and the bees?  If so, post a comment and tell me how you did it!

The Breathtaking Blues

I do not discriminate when it comes to color in the garden.  I plant pinks, reds, yellows, blues, purples, oranges, whites, and foliage of every color and texture.  But, nothing seems to take my breath away like the blues.

Snapshot does not do justice to the plants

I’ve got a variety of blues in the garden – creeping phlox, Johnson’s Blue geranium, Baptisia Australis, Cornflower, catmint, salvia, lupines, bearded Iris, and Siberian iris.  Many of them are on the west hill, and when I come down the walk from the garage to the front of the house, the sea of blue gets me every time!  So, I guess even though I plant all colors, I’d have to say that the blues are my favorite.  No other color affects me like the blues.

I like to have bouquets from the garden – for myself and to take with me when I visit people during the growing season.  I keep a variety of inexpensive vases and a collection of ribbon.  Here’s a blue bouquet I made the other night to take to a walleye and wine evening with some friends.

Do you have a favorite color in the garden?  Or, do you plant and appreciate all colors equally?