catching up
We had a stretch of rain over the last couple of weeks, and have been slowed down a bit in both the veggie garden and the Big Yard Project. Since we didn't have much snow, and a fairly dry early-spring I'm glad for the catch-up in moisture levels, even if it means being a little behind. And, I've found you can still work on your "indoor" garden when it's rainy out! Yet another hoop house bonus.
Last weekend I pulled out most of the rest of the greens on one side, and planted peppers and eggplant. We're having a wee bit of an aphid problem again, but only on that side, so out came the kale and mustards, as they seem to be the most attractive. Between the greens in here and a few last overwintered kale in the outdoor garden, I ended up with this:
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| a good chore for a rainy morning |
(Actually there's even some spinach not pictured here) This all went to neighbors and friends; one returned the favor with venison burgers and elk steak. Hooray for creating mini food systems! Also--we've had ripe strawberries in the hoop this week! I threw in a few plants last fall, and the experiment was quite successful, just like the polytunnel book says: ripe berries a month ahead of outside!
Anyhow, the rain has stopped and fine weather has returned, so Friday I got most of the warm main season plants in, and we've made huge progress on the back yard, which I'll update later this week.
Finally, I have found a great use for slightly dated jellies and jams! We get orioles passing through most years, and they do live in our neighborhood, but we've had trouble getting them to stick around. This year we're having much better luck--I think it's the homemade cranberry sauce (circa 2010) that I put in our feeder. These guys are great fun to watch.
Look at that haul! Seems you made a wonderful trade too.
ReplyDeleteSome cross-lake symmetry: I spent the entire day Saturday working indoors (in the two covered greenhouses). Sometimes it's great to be forced to do so, isn't it?