Kale survivor is flowering
On Thursday morning, I was up at 4:45AM, checked the e-mail, and got the kitchen cleaned up, then set up for seedling feeding. I collected my equipment and went out to the garden. I was working on mulching the sugar pod peas when my brother came out to go to work.
I asked him to follow me to the barn so I could bring the truck up there and not have to walk back. Once he left, I could get my car out of the driveway (I am mostly always boxed in because I seldom drive) so I got the plants and tools and water and went up to tend the poor plants in the box under the sign.
The poor pansies I had planted there earlier had wilted badly from the heat. I had brought torenia and snapdragons to plant and then watered the box well.
One just has to love brainfog… I’ve been using pea fences for a few years now, and every year I plan so I don’t have to haul the moved mulch far to put it back around the fence. Well, not this year. I was so focused on getting the fences up; I forgot that very important detail. So I’ve had to haul mulch around fences all week. Fortunately, I hadn’t gotten the last one up and so it’s been easier doing the 3rd fence.
But because of this mistake, I had to plant the artichokes and leeks, so they are in now.
It was far cooler on Thursday, and I was able to work for 4 hours with just a couple breaks. I came in around 11:15AM to rest and have lunch. I went back out around 1:15PM just before my #4 helper arrived. I asked her if she wanted to work in the garden, but as I suspected, she wasn’t crazy about it.
But before she did anything, the seedlings inside and outside had to be fed. So she set about doing that. It took most of the afternoon.
I managed to work another 1½ hours before I died. I cleaned up after resting, and then got a shower.
It was about this time I noticed the temps dropping fast. I checked the weather and they had frost warning up for the hill towns and we were to be mid 40’s. So I closed the house up and the cold frame once she had finish feeding the seedlings.
I asked her to harvest some of the mesclun in the volunteer bed and wash it, so I could have greens with meals. She did about a third of the bed and filled a big bowl. I got 2 big bags in the fridge.
I made supper after starting to watch ‘Roman Holiday’. It finished just after 8PM and I got the shades pulled and hoped it wouldn’t get too cold in the house overnight.
Sunset, looking east, Thursday night
On Friday, it will be too cold to get out there before 9AM, so I plan to catch up on my posts, do the milk order, and some other chores before going out to the garden.
I have to mulch some more and try to get the last fence up by myself, then plant the last of the peas. My #3 helper arrives at 12:30PM and I hope to lay out the rest of the Big garden and all of the Small garden. I may get as far as planting some of the other things. We’ll see…