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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Hey, remember the garden?
The seedlings survived, the ground's been dug, the beds are made (by me) and lined with aviary wire (which is very poky when you cut it) and filled (by me and LT, and what a job THAT was), the hills are mulched, the seedlings are transplanted, and the seeds are planted in neat little rows.
In other words, the garden is in the ground, and nothing has died yet. Including me! Also, I have a bona fide farmer's tan and my arms are a bit more buff than they were before, thanks to two weeks of hard labor with a shovel. (My hands would never pass Rhett Butler's muster, though.)
Pictures!
Two weeks ago (not even quite that): T and LT pounding in fence poles. We didn't have a post driver handy, so T went up the ladder with a sledgehammer while LT held the pole straight, wearing my dad's old football helmet just in case.
Tomato seedlings, still in their flats a week ago.
This was a week ago too.
And this is today! Going clockwise from right in front of you, there's the corn patch, two rows of beans that you can't see very well (they need a trellis), two beds of Siletz tomatoes, a bed of spinach and broccoli with peas and gherkins on a trellis, a bed of bell peppers, one with pepperoncini and a watermelon mound (kids said we didn't have enough watermelon), one of carrots, one of cherry tomatoes, and one of cucumbers and *another* watermelon. Then there are 18 hills further back and to the right of the photo, planted with several varieties of melons and squash (guess who's going to learn to hand-pollinate this summer?), mulched with pine straw. (I always called them "pine needles" until I started gardening, but now that it's mulch it's "pine straw". Don't ask me why.)
The kids and I, in all our dirty glory, having just put the last seeds in the ground. Well, I cannot lie, I went in and washed my hands before handling THE NIKON.
Detail of my silly floppy monkey hat, which has been a yard-and-beach staple in my wardrobe for a couple of years now.
Spinach seedlings. Aren't they all cute and vulnerable-looking? Poor guys. They have no idea what they're in for.
Comments
Now come plant a garden at MY house!
Posted by: Beck at May 13, 2008 05:15 PM
What a productive couple of weeks! It looks great! :o)
Posted by: Michael at May 13, 2008 05:32 PM
IMPRESSIVE. So awesome. I can't wait to hear more about all your fruits and vegetables. It's going to be so worth all this work.
Also: WHEN did that boy get so tall?????
Posted by: mary at May 13, 2008 05:37 PM
It looks great! I'm impressed.
Posted by: Kat with a K at May 13, 2008 07:36 PM
Sooo exciting, Rachel! I'm very happy for you. Thanks for sharing the pics...keep us posted!
Posted by: Denise at May 13, 2008 09:15 PM
Looks just lovely! I'm hoping to have some photos of my garden in soon, too. What a big amount of work to do all those raised beds! Good for you!
I planted spinach, too, but I don't think it's coming up, darnit. I may have to try another round. My lettuce looks good, though!
Yeah for gardening!
Posted by: Thicket Dweller at May 16, 2008 10:15 AM
