Sunday I had to wait for it to warm up enough to go out as it was 42F. I got the amendment raked in and started laying out the rows for the onions.
Then I carried over about ¾ of the flats of onions and got started planting. Starting on the left were 2 rows of Cortland storage onions, then 3 rows of Walla Walla Sweet onions.
My intern was coming and she started planting the 2nd row of Cortlands. By lunch time we’d gotten all the onions in, including the small amount of Dakota Tears storage onions I’d forgotten about. We planted an 8’ row of them in the middle of the last row of Wallas. (You can see the stakes at the end of the row.)
I set out the 2 types of kale and the broccoli to do after lunch.
She planted the Vates kale first, I planted the lacinato, then she did 4 broccoli. When I reached the end of my lacinato flat, I still had room, so I put the extra broccolis from her flat in. It was then I realized the remaining plants after I planted the 2 broccolis weren’t broccoli but 3 more lacinato kale. So I put them in at the end of the row. That row is going to be a real mish mash.
She went home and I set about getting the hoses out and the sprinkler working. The sprinkler in the photo had sprung several leaks over the winter and was tossed out for a newer one. It took me the best part of an hour to get it started.
We’ve not had rain for over a week and the soil is getting very dry. The plants had been fed on Friday and were still plenty moist but that would not be enough. So I ran the sprinkler for about 4 hours for a good soaking.
On Monday my intern comes back and helps us with moving hay mulch. I am hoping to get some or all of this area mulched, to help retain the water. We are expecting near 90F temps starting Tuesday and I’d like the mulch in place by then.
There had been hybrid spiderwort and lily of the valley in the old bed the azalea had been in for decades. When the azalea was dug up, a few of these went with it. Both are pretty invasive, so I figure they will fill this area all by themselves. This flower was a nice pop of color in the construction site of the back porch.
The azalea started to open its flowers on Sunday and with the coming heat, they should burst. There are a whole lot more of them than I expected, so it might be a nice show.