My Garden is Doomed

About every 3rd or 4th day now, we have had torrential rains.  I mean buckets!

My garden barely gets dried out when we have another flood to inundate us.

SM is heading up to Ohio this week for (some) business and (a lot) of pleasure... golf with his brother / practice rounds at The Memorial Tournament / his best friend Mikes' firstborn son is graduating HS... party! 

I've opted to stick around the ole homestead because, lets face it, this is truly where I want to be. 

SM on the other hand spends just about every waking moment here and, social guy that he is, can't wait for any opportunity to "bug out". 

SM hadn't been gone 15 minutes when I happened to glance out the back door and saw black clouds.  Now I knew we had a 60% chance of rain today...I'd just hoped I'd have more time to allow the grass to dry out so I could mow the +5 inches of weeds and clover we call our yard.

It usually takes about 45 minutes to do our whole yard on our old riding mower.  (My evil plan is to diminish the back yard mowing by half...but that will likely take a few more years....hee hee.)

I figured I had 15 minutes "tops".  I was in high gear the whole way.  I'm sure the neighbors found it amusing watching me buzz the backyard at high speeds.  No time for the front...that'll have to wait for another day.

So now, 6 hours later, I can assure you that we've had 100% chance of rain.  I took a quick moment to run out and check the garden.

Yikes!

We Remember...

Last week while walking, I noticed tons of American flags showing up in our neighborhood.  Just about every house had one (or more) flags, bows, ribbons on (and around) their mailboxes. 

Slowly, day by day, each street in our subdivision was inundated with flags.  I thought, "you know that's really wonderful, someone is really generously patriotic to go around to each home and place a flag out front."

What I didn't know (as I don't follow the local news as I should) was that someone really was patriotic. 

A young man in our neighborhood died in Afghanistan last week.  He joined the army to find himself, to seek direction.

I can't begin to imagine what his family is going through.  I imagine that they have lost themselves...lost their sense of direction.

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it."

Thucydides

Tami Bakes Bread

Now don't laugh.

 

And "no"... it wasn't a Three Stooges moment. 

I really can cook. 

Baking on the other hand....

I suppose if I was really into baked goods, I'd have a longer track record with pies and cakes and cookies (my chocolate chip and oatmeal craisins "rock"). 

Generally speaking though, my desert of choice has and always will be ice cream.  Vanilla is best, anything with fruit is a close second.  I have my chocolate cravings from time to time.  (watch out M&M's)  But in general, baked goods don't trip my trigger.

Bread on the other hand....(insert Homer Simpson..."MMMM bread"...here)

When I was single I would often make a meal of a french loaf smeared with butter.  There were always plenty of bakeries around to supply a $2 loaf so why bake?

I'm pretty sure I've tried the "beer bread" more than once (again last week).  Didn't care for the flavor (I don't like beer).

One of my favorite blogs right now is farm girl fare.  Susan (farm girl) is a artisan bread baker and often shows yummy homemade breads on her blog.  I found the "no knead bread" on her blog site so she gets the credit for turning me on to this fantastic/crusty/easy/chewy/yummy bread that will easily become a staple in my house from now on.  Seriously, this stuff makes itself. 

My waistline to hip ratio will soon become one and the same.

SM says to only bake this as a treat.  I told him that I'll only bake this when he tells me too. (yeah...right)

There's lots a variations on this "no knead" bread.  Pizza, cinnamon rolls.  I'll be having LOTS of fun exploring this one.

In other news... we harvested almost 4 lbs of zucchini yesterday.  Our 1st harvest!  SM and I scarfed a large portion of grilled squash and I steamed the rest with butter/ S&P.  Yum.

Here's a picture of KiKi giving me the "high hard one" for disturbing his nap.

Casey on the other hand can't be bothered.

Does any one else have a dog that sits weird?  We call her "broke back Casey" when she sits like this.

When Do Bees Wake Up?

This past week the weather has been very moderate...nice cool evenings with daytime temps in the 80's.  (no AC...Yeah!) 

Last night I slept well, but lightly.  Up by 4:15, we (the dogs and I) were out the door earlier than usual.  I got back to the house by 5:30 and decided that since we would be in the 90's today I'd go ahead and water some of the garden.  (none for the tomatoes)

The squash blossoms look like they glow in the dark.  I hoped I could water without disturbing any bees that might be out and about.  Mission accomplished!  (I use a watering wand to spray the ground directly...the foliage is covered with a heavy dew most mornings anyway.)

I had moved on from the garden and was filling up my buckets for the apple trees and pumpkin patch (too far away from the hose) when I noticed the bees had arrived.  The sky was Carolina Blue with soft wispy pink and gray clouds. 

I saw fat bumbles and ordinary bees. We get on well now, the bees and I.  I used to be afraid of them as a child, having been stung more than enough to have developed an "avoidance" issue with any bees in the vicinity.  This year is different for some reason.  I can walk barefoot through my clover ridden lawn.  I can reach in and gently move leaves as the bees do their thing.

When our holly bushes were covered in blooms last month, SM and I watched one evening to see which way the bees flew off as evening approached.  Heading south.  I went in the house and noticed that we had a bee in the house, against the window.  I trapped it in a glass and walked outside.  It made a "beeline" (grin) south. 

I hope the bee's are happy with our offerings.  We give to them and they give back.  Thank you little bees...just remember not to sting me, OK?

A Lesson in Patience

I grew up in the immediate gratifaction generation.  If I want it, I get it. 

This year, to save myself from the Febuary "blues", I decided to grow plants from seeds.  You know...the whole "peat pot, warm room and lights on all the time" thing.

Now I know I could've run down to the Home Depot and purchased all my plants (as I've always done), but I needed a distraction this year and thought "what the heck?" lets buy a bunch of seeds and see what happens. 

So with minimal out of pocket expense, SM and I made our seed selections at Walmart and went whole hog...veggies and flowers. 

First in were the pansies, violas and petunias.  I started those in Febuary in hopes of April flowers.  No such luck.  Plants but nothing else.  I went ahead and sucked it up and bought some petunias for some front door color and stuck my "from seed" plants in various places and pots around the yard.

This weekend I've got flowers from the seed started plants!  (Note to self...start flowers earlier.)

I'm proud to say that ALL of the garden is from seed.  I did NOT succumb to the $4-$6 tomatoes at Lowes.  (Can you believe it? PER PLANT!!!)  I probably saved $100.00 in tomatoes alone at that price.

This weekend, I direct sowed another patch of green beans (where the alaska peas were) and I'll sow another patch when the sugars petter out.  I am determined to discover the secret to growing bush green beans in NC.  I will not bend, I will not break.

My summer and zuchinni squashes "appear" to be producing.  I've got bees and am watching for blossom end rot but I think we're going to be sucessful with squash.

The bunnies chewed through the last of the sunflowers so I pulled up the stems and planted what was left over of my zuchinni seeds.  Now before anyone points out to me that I'm soon to swarmed by squash, I need to make you aware that it is truly one of my favorite veggies.  I've been reading alot on farmgirlfare and have disovered that grated zuchinni freezes well (for baking) and that both squashes can be blanched and frozen for winter soups.

SM and I were oddly disappointed by the loss of the sunflowers so I bought another seed pack (mammoth) and put 6 little seeds in the protected garden area. Space is precious there but we were so looking forward to seeing those great big heads.  Truly a summer image I don't want to miss.

We have a 60% chance of rain today and as the garden was due for a shot of fertilizer, I went ahead and applied "Garden-Tone organic fertilizer".

Can't fool me.  Chicken poo is chicken poo no matter how you package it. (The dogs are circling....Good thing the gardens fenced.)

New arrivals

Well... after all the rain this past week, I now have a somewhat unhappy garden.  I guess this is why raised beds would probably work best in this area.  My garden STILL hasn't dried out.  I expect the clay has alot to do with this. 

I've created a bit of a clay swimming pool with my idea of digging out the garden instead of building up the garden.  The water has no place to go.  I know tomatoes don't like wet feet and that is exactly what they've had this past week.  The top leaves are turning a bit gray.  SM says not to worry because in his opinion "tomatoes can survive anything."

 

Well, there's nothing I can do about it this year anyway...so we'll see what happens.  Isn't that the point?  Observe and see what works?  I expect Mother Nature will challenge us with something new every year. 

I keep planting bush beans and I'm not getting a good response so far.  The locals swear by pole beans, but really...those things are tough and chewy.  No thanks!

I've got squash!  Both zucchini and summer are blooming so I'm hoping to be eating oodles of squash soon.  We have lots of clover in the grass this year so I'm hoping of lots of pollinators...(you know... bees.)

The bunnies can't stay away from the sunflowers.  They are on in an "open access" part of the yard.  (little bastards)  The bunnies not the flowers.

No disturbance in the pumpkin patch yet.  I'm not sure if bunnies are into pumpkins or not.  I figure they eat first and ask questions later. 

We have a chance of rain again this weekend.  (Please...no more!)

In other news, Casey (aka Pig) took out a chunk of the old leather sofa we use for the dog couch.  (Duck tape is great stuff isn't it!)

Innocent looking isn't she!  Ha!  Back in the crate she goes!!!!

And the Jeep got T-boned on the way home from work.  No one hurt (Thank God!) but all in all...I'm feeling a bit cranky.  Watch out!  

OK...You can stop now.

We've had (at least) 2+ inches of rain. 

My garden is a swimming pool.

Please stop.

I love a rainy day...

Rain finally came down today. 

About 2 hours of steady earthsoaking rain. 

Afterwards, we went out to play.

Can you feel it?...hot, hot, HOT!

It's hot already.  (sigh) 
I'm aware that by May 15th, all bets are off.  It's hot! (90's)  I keep hoping this is the year we'll have a long spring.  Ha.

The AC runs constantly from 4pm on.  We hibernate indoors until 7ish to venture into the shadows of the maple out back to get a little outside downtime...(cool beverage in our hands). 

But if the daytime is an oven at least the mornings are beautiful.  (low 70's)By 5am I'm out the door with the dogs for our daily walk.  We do about 2 miles daily, and I enjoy watching the sky lighten as the birds begin to sing. 

Most mornings I'm on my own.  (I have noticed on weekday mornings a few up & at-ems doing the jogging thing.  Surprising how many don't say "good morning.)

Most nights we sleep with the AC on and when I get up in the morning I open all the doors and windows to allow the house to cool off.  I call this "blowing out the house". I turn on a stand fan in the kitchen and a box window fan in the master and let the breeze blow out all the warm stuffy air.  I can generally get the house down 5-10 degrees.  Plus it makes the house smell so good.

With that little bit of effort, I can keep the house cool (75 or less) with the ceiling fans on.  AC kicks on at 77.

Last month we slept with the windows open most nights.  With the night time temperatures in the 60's, I would go out for my morning walk and notice that no one had their windows open.  I could hear the AC's running.

Lots of people suffer allergies around here, so that might be a big reason why no one opens their windows. It just seems weird to me that even on a nice day, everyones' homes are shut up tight.  I remember growing up not having AC.  I remember a fan blowing on the bed and sweaty sheets.  (yuck)

I'm trying not to over water the garden.  When it's this hot it's tough to say "don't water". 

I try to do an "every other day" thing with the tomatoes.  They are starting to put out flowers now.  I watered everything this morning except the tomatoes.
By 2pm the leaves were rolling up.  I went ahead and hit them (and the entire garden) with another shot of water. My water bill is going to be through the roof. 

Another victim of the heat is the Alaska peas.  I knew that once temperatures exceeded 80 they would start to slide.  I went ahead and pulled them today.  I inspected the vines for pods and maybe had a dozen full rounded out pods.  The rest were immature.  If I'm going to try these again, I'll have to shoot for an early February planting.  Mid March is too late.  Not enough growing time.

Surprisingly, the sugar peas are thriving and producing.  How much longer is anyones' guess.  I planted these on a whim and will definitely expand the patch next year.  I water these every day without fail.  Sweet and yummy.

Not so sweet is the bibb lettuce I harvested.  Bitter.  Perhaps better eating this fall. 

I like the salad bowl lettuce and have harvested 2 bowls so far.  Will want to expand that also.

The romaine lettuce I planted is scared.  Go ahead and sleep little guys...we'll see what you're capable of this fall.

Bunnies went and mowed over some of my sunflowers.  They didn't eat it, just chopped it in half.  For now they seem disinterested in the pumpkin patch. (yeah)

This year is very much an opportunity to observe what works and what doesn't.  The climate we are in will decide what we grow.  I suppose that's true for everyone.  I just wish I liked tomatoes and peppers more.  Oh well,  I'll have squash coming out of my ears soon enough.  Green beans too if I'm lucky. 

Puppy run!

First Harvest

The "girls" saying good morning!

I went out this morning and weeded the garden walkways from the bermuda grass that grows (somehow) through the landscape fabric block that I put down this spring. 

I also added some more nylon string to the pea trellis.

Before

After

My alaska peas are rounding out and I'm hoping they might be ready in a week or two. My sugar peas are going bananas with blooms.


I cut the lower branches off of the tomato plants. 

Before

After

I've read that overcrowding and lack of air circulation is an issue with intensive gardening.  I've tried to make smart decisions on the plant "combinations" in each bed.  We'll see how sucessful I am.

Here is the"begining" of my cucumber trellis.  I'm still considering how I want this to work.  The idea is to have the cucs go vertical while I corner the bed with summer squash.

I did find this early sugar.  I've read that peas don't do so well once temperatures get into the 90's. That's where we'll be within a few weeks.

I harvested some "lettuce bowl" leaves.

TaDa...first harvest!  SM and I munched this salad for lunch.  A few bites each. 

I've read that lettuce (and carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower) do better as a fall crop here in the Piedmont.  Hot=bitter taste, cooler=sweeter tasting.

I plan on planting carrots, broccoli, cauliflower towards fall to take advantage of cooler fall temperatures and a longer growing season. 

The lettuce I put in this spring on a whim.  I planted bush green beans around them thinking that the shade from the beans might allow the lettuce to survive into the fall.  As a mature plant, once fall hits, my hope is that the lettuce will take off and provide a good harvest this fall.

The pumkin patch is looking good.  I'll be thinning the plants out in a few weeks.