Rain Rain Go Away

Here in New England, the rain is rolling in on a regular basis.  Three inches in one day last week - which almost drowned my lettuce and carrots in the "uptown" garden.  This past Sunday, it was two inches according to the rain gauge in the plot next to mine.

Not only that, it came with tornado warnings.

Yep, tornado warnings in Massachusetts.  Last year we couldn't buy a raindrop, this year we can't seem to buy a drop of sunshine.  *sigh*

When the sun does peek out from the haze of the Canadian wildfires, it's in the air that is hot and humid and makes you feel like you're wrapped in a wet wool blanket.

Of course, most of the plants are loving it, particularly the weeds.  I really hate weeds and yet, they are so happy to be watered on a regular basis, they pop up above ground to party and I have to yank 'em and tank 'em.  In fact, most of the work in the garden these days seems to be keeping the weeds under control.

The tomatoes are loving it too.  They are loving this weather and are growing tall and strong.  I can see lots of fruit appearing on the stems as well.  This is kind of exciting as I see myself being able to make a lovely batch of tomato sauce to can for the months when, as Guy Clark once pointed out, I can forget about the diggin' and the sweatin' every time I go and pick me one.

Of course, there are some Sungolds in there with the Romas and the various Heirloom varieties.  I'll try to save some of the seeds to start in the winter as that's a goal for this year: learn how to save seeds from year to year of varieties I like.  My peppers... well, they're trying.  They seem to be stuck and I don't know how to help them.  

The squash!  Oh my goodness the squash is so happy right now.

It is hard to think that these are the little seeds I had to restart after something ate the originals and they're all like, "Yo! We're gonna be pumpkins and other things because... SQUASH!"

They totally have an attitude and it makes me smile.

I have some poles and twine to guide them up to the trellis netting and it is always fascinating to see those runners reaching out and up to let me know that they are ready to head on up high.  

The other plants with attitude right now are my beans.  They are stretching and reaching and racing up the poles.  The poles are six feet long and with the way they are racing up, I'm wondering if they will reach past that point.  If so, what do I do then?

The sugar snap peas are ready for picking, so I'll pick those and plant some more beans in their place.  When I do that, it will be fun to watch the whole teepee fill in, which will make a great place for a little one to hide.

Last week that whole box was weeded and all the little bits of rogue herbs, another legacy of the ghosts of gardeners past, were under control.  After Sunday's rain, there was a carpet of them throughout the whole box.  An hour later, they were gone, but I have a feeling that it will be back after today's rain blew through.

There is an old belief to plant rosemary for remembrance by the garden gate.  Not me.  I have sage by my gate, hoping it will bring me wisdom.

This plant keeps surprising and delighting me.  It was a rescue from a supermarket years ago that I had hoped would make it through that season.  Each year it comes back stronger and fuller than the year before.  I trim it often, hang the leaves to dry, and then grind them up.  It is one of my favorite things to give to people in the depths of winter when it feels like everything is cold and distant.  Then there's a little jar of fragrant summer goodness to remind us all that it won't be long until spring will come along to warm our spirits and hearts. For now, it greets my comings and goings and whispers messages of encouragement.

Here's hoping for some summer days that are dry, temperate, and sunny.

Sexy Dirt Update

Last spring, when I started trying to amend the soil, I was so upset at how much I did when it looked like I did so little.  As I shared my woes with a local farmer about how it looked like dirt, she replied, "Yeah, but I bet it's sexy dirt."

That made me smile.  Little by little I kept adding to my uptown garden and, for the first time trying my hand at flowers, it's looking OK.  I know the bits of flower garden wouldn't exist at all if I hadn't done the digging, amending, and refilling before topping it all off with new topsoil.  

The snapdragons look lovely and the lilies and other bulbs (with the exception of the dahlias that I caught the chipmunks snacking on) are starting to pop up. The miniature roses from Trader Joe's have been loving the rain and spreading upwards.  Again, if I can keep the critters from eating my rose blossoms, they will be a colorful display of love. 

Let's just say, I'm armed with siracha sauce if I see any buds soon.

Of course, anyone who has heard about the weather in New England recently, you know we've had some unprecedented amounts of rain.  Last week we had three inches of rain in one day.  The next day we got another inch or so.  Then, after a number of humid but rainless days, we had another couple of inches.  

The upside?  I haven't had to water much and the plants are loving it big time.

The downside? Well, outside of the huge amounts of damage from things like flooding and roads being washed out in New Hampshire and Vermont, it's just wet out there.

My poor lettuce are living in mud right now and every time there is even the threat of rain, I move them off the stairs and under the overhang to keep them from drowning in their pots.

Along with the rain, the humidity makes it deceptively hot.

One day in my downtown garden, I brought my big water bottle that holds a liter of water. The intention was to do "easy" work knowing it was hot out.  I planted all my root veggies (parsnips, three or four types of carrots, a couple of types of beets) in the former three-sister box.  I tied up my cukes to keep them from running along the ground, staked some tomatoes as they're going gangbusters, and spread DE on the sage, peppers, and eggplants... not a lot, but I felt myself go sideways.  

 In spite of drinking the whole thing in the 30-40 minutes I was there, the sun and heat got to me.  Now when I get whumped up the head by a cosmic clue by four, I notice.  Ignoring everything else I wanted to do, I headed back home.  I made it to the shade and called my husband for a ride home.  Yes, it was only a quarter of a mile walk; however, I knew I wouldn't make it.  He was running errands and almost home, so he got me back to the house and into some AC. I ate some crackers, drank a lot more water, and got my legs back.  After a shower, I felt a million times better but was careful for the next couple of days.

I am excited that I should have some peas this week as I noticed the flowers have been stretching into pods.  The beans are really starting to come into their own and climb up the poles.  I don't know how much taller the peas will get, it's late in the season for them, so I may be pulling them soon for another round of beans before I start a new round of peas for the fall.

Something I'm not excited about?  After a couple more days of rain, I know there are weeds waiting for me.  *sigh* While the battle never ends, at least I have some things to be excited about now. 

The war has over, and the chipmunks have won. 

I have started cleaning out the corner where all the junk has accumulated over the years and will consider what goes in there when I'm done.  Another box? A small greenhouse?  Who knows.  I do know one of my plot neighbors complimented me the other day saying it looked like I'm an engineer because everything looks so organized.  I thanked him, but the truth is, I look at his plot with great envy because he looks like a gardener.

In spite of the forks, Irish Spring, pinwheels, etc.  The chipmunks at 18 out of 20 corn seedlings.  So I waved the white flag and ceded growing corn this year.  Time to rethink that box, perhaps root veggies like radishes, carrots, and other yummy root veggies.

Tee Turtle ❤️

To be safe, I will make a cover out of chicken wire to go across the top of the box until things are growing strong.

Recently I discovered my favorite place to buy t-shirts, Tee Turtle, now has a "cottage core" line. Now I don't get any type of affiliate stuff from them, but I will always take a moment to tell people about how wonderful their customer service can be and the quality of their product.  ❤️❤️❤️ I own lots of their shirts, pins, and games so when I saw their new design my eyes lit up.  It is lovely.  It will be in my cart and winging its way to me if I hit my goal in Camp NaNoWrimo this July.

Back to plants.  

I spend a lot of time weeding little bits that grow up in my bean teepee box, but I am excited that the peas are climbing up the poles.  I noticed little white flowers on them and did a happy dance.  Hopefully, I will have "sugar peas" for my little nephew and, once the beans start climbing, I will get a little mat to put down in the middle of the teepee so he can hide in there when I'm working.

When everything's done, I'll plant a fall peas and beans crop to start the climb all over again because ... gardens!

The onion box is so self-sufficient, I sometimes think it resents my interference when I jump into weed and guide things.  I will say the Egyptian walking onions I thought were doomed last year have come back with force.  Between those, the garlic onion thingies, and the chives, that box will just be what it is until it's OK with me going in so I can muck around some more.  One thing on the agenda this week, if we don't end up with more buckets of rain, will be mixing up some soil to top off a few boxes.  That includes my curmudgeonly onion box.

 My tomato plants are thriving, which makes me so happy.  There are some Sungold cherry tomatoes, some Roma sauce tomatoes, and some heirloom tomatoes too.  Someone once asked me the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes.  

I said that determinate (think fixed height) will grow and then everything ripens at once screaming, "Tomatoes baby... come and get your tomatoes before they're gone." 

Indeterminate will grow all season and be, "Oh, you want a tomato?  Here, have a tomato. If you want another, come on by and we'll see what we can do for you."

Me, I tend to think sauce vs sandwich tomatoes.  The determinates all show up at the same time as a convenience for people who make tomato sauce and can them.  The indeterminates just keep popping out tomatoes all season for everyone's enjoyment.

My peppers are in an odd state.  Something (I'm looking at you chipmunk) ate the bottom tiers of leaves on my peppers.  They kind of look like lollipop sticks right now.  The ones that were chewed off at the bottom are starting to produce peppers.  That's always fun.  

My squash... oh my poor squash.  My cucumbers are now coming up and I'll put in some straight neck yellow and winter squashes after starting the seeds at home recently.  I'm not sure if the seeds were a bit sketchy or they got eaten by critters or both.  I just know I have enough to put in the box now safely.  I'll run some bits of strings down from the trellis to the plants for them to do some climbing.

It's not a lot this year, but it is happy and happy is good.