Too Hot To Trot

Saturday morning arrived with overcast skies.  TWC showed that the temperature would maybe get into to lower 70's.  Perfect weather for transplanting my long and leggy tomatoes I thought.

I try (if I can) to garden by the moon cycles.  I figure I can use every bit of help I can get.

This past Thursday and Friday were indicated as good planting days so I figured if I planted the tomatoes first thing Saturday morning I'd sort of "piggyback" onto a moon planting day.  That was my rationale anyway.

There was only one hitch in my giddy-up...I needed more compost. 

Tomatoes grow in just about any soil condition so I thought I would grow this years batch of tomatoes in the newly dug strip.  We'd only gotten half of the new strip newspapered and composted last weekend.  And I've got 40 tomatoes to get in the ground.  I planned on using the whole strip for them.

So we needed to get the compost down if the 'maters were going in today.

SM said that if I'd make him pancakes with strawberries (fresh and in-season)and whip cream, he'd run up and get the compost.  DEAL!  Who says you can't have desert for breakfast?  SM said "This is better than IHOP!"  I should think so! 

Anyway, SM comes back with the compost and says "It's steaming." 

I didn't think anything of that comment because the place that we buy our mulch and compost is a huge operation. Acres and acres of processing with these huge yellow earth movers crawling around.  You can see the mountain sized piles of mulch steaming from the road. 

Just like last weekend, I spread out the newspaper and held it in place while SM gently shoveled a pile of compost onto it.  I grabbed and handful to spread it around and yelped "Hey...This is HOT!"

"That's what I told you."  SM says. 

"I didn't think it would be hot!"  I replied.  "Well, crap!  I can't plant the tomatoes in this.  The heat would kill them for sure."  I leaned back on my heels looking up at SM.  "Why don't we go ahead and spread this out for now.  I'll just wait until next weekend to transplant them.  I think they can survive another week indoors."  (BTW, next Saturday, Sunday and Monday are excellent days for planting according to my moon calendar.)

So SM shoveled about 1/2 the load then I took over while he ran into the house to deal with some business.  He came out a bit later and got in the pickup to sweep the last bit out of the bed.

Then we tackled the mulch pile that's been sitting over by the shed for the past 2 months.  The grass around the shed area is a pain to mow so SM weed wacked the grass tight, I sprayed some grass killer...(Yes, I use the stuff when necessary and trust me, it IS necessary)...and I laid fabric while SM shoveled the mulch.

SM was on fire today.  So motivated!  

He went to the big box store to buy some landscaping timbers to "edge" the garden fence line.  We're finding it hard to mow the grass and weed wack around the wire fence line, so we thought if we suppressed the grass and laid a wood edge to it, it might create an easier cleaner line to maintain.  SM then mowed the yard and then tossed a bunch of yard waste from this Springs pruning into a pile and burned it.

I must say it was a very nice fire.  I made SM a Crown and Coke and he got himself a cigar and settled in by the fire.

Good Job Baby!