Friday, February 19, 2010

sigh!!

Weds - After work, moved the Leaf pile from the garden space to in front of the compost bins intending to grind them down with the mower. Fueled it up, gave a couple of pulls on the pull cord which then came off in my hand, Bah humbug. So, adding 'repair mower' to list of things to do Monday and/or Tuesday (my Saturday and Sunday). Then moved some more soil from paths to beds, 4th bed is in position.
Thursday - Weather turned cold over night, woke to temperatures in the high 20's and pea soup fog. I figured the weather would get cold again, brr.
Got to wondering how warm the soil in the beds was, so stuck a thermometer through the cardboard covering one of the beds. Got a reading of 55F, so need to get the watering system in, so I can get planting. Haven't had water in the yard for a couple years after re-plumbing from the meter to the house because of a leak(s) some where in lines.
Friday - Rebuilt part of the compost bin as the old one was in BAD shape, it was left over from the last attempt at gardening, over 10 years ago. The pallets were rotting and coming apart. New pallets are larger so should work better, as I have noticed that the compost cools off quickly.

6 comments:

The Idiot said...

Good luck with your plot. Just remember that if you only make half the mistakes I am making, then I've made twice as many mistakes as you!

Annie*s Granny said...

The hard work always comes first. When you pick that first ripe tomato, you'll forget about all the trouble it took to get that far. My garden was put in a new location in the yard, and increased greatly in size, in July of 2008...remember that big windstorm we had that year? It cleared my back yard of a huge maple tree, and gave me room for the garden. Lots of work the first year, a joy since then.

DaBeardedOne said...

IG - Thanks for the support. And that is one Hairy Jiffy7 you have.

Granny - It seems that every year we have at least one big blow. I look forward to sun ripened tomatoes, I'm tired of the cardboard ones from store.

Annie*s Granny said...

You need to try overwintering some tomatoes. I got seeds for some indeterminate dwarf varieties to try. I'll grow them in containers and they should bear fruits as long as I can keep them alive. Or I can snip off the tops and root them for new plants. I grew patio tomatoes this winter, but they didn't bear enough to fill our needs, just an occasional salad for the husband.

If you want some dwarf seeds, just holler.

DaBeardedOne said...

May take you up on that. Only planned on one variety of tomato as I'm the only one in the family that likes them. Want to trade for some 'Eva Purple Ball' seedlings? Will be starting them around the 1st of March.

Annie*s Granny said...

I'll be starting at least three or four seedlings of each variety, and will only be planting one of each, so you'll be welcome to any extras. I'm not starting my tomatoes until April 1, as mid-march was a bit early for me last year, and the plants got almost too large. I'll probably have extra peppers, too. Both sweet and hot.