Sunday, 7/15/07

Strawberry Beds: Over the past few days we've managed to get the new slab border installed on both the strawberry beds. In the photo above, the job is finished on the nearest bed only. The strawberry beds have always had wooden borders, but those had pretty much rotted away. The new border doesn't really look like much, but it should hold the dirt in the bed for a while. It also gives us a place to anchor the wire tunnels we use to help keep the critters out of the beds. Installing the slabs didn't require too much time and effort. I did have to use a Skil saw to put a more or less straight edge on one side of some of the boards, though.

Mowing: I also got the garden mowed since that photo was taken. Our recent rains have kept the grass growing and prevented me from mowing it.

Okra: We had our first fried okra of the season for supper last night. It was good, and there's plenty more on the way.

Sunday, 7/15/07

Wednesday, 7/11/07

Sawmill Slabs: Jo and I drove over to the sawmill near Leslie and picked up some slab, the outside cuts the mill makes to square up the logs before they begin cutting dimensioned lumber. We intend to use the slabs as borders for some of our garden beds. Yes, the slabs will rot. The question is: How soon? Will they last long enough to make the time and effort involved in installing them worthwhile? We'll just have to see.

No Rain: We got a heavy shower that dumped .7" of rain yesterday, but no rain today.

Wednesday, 7/11/07

Potatoes Mulched

The potatoes are now covered with grass clippings and mowed leaves. Soon the plants will be poking back up through the mulch again, but the mulch will help keep them moist and give the developing potatoes a place to grow without burying themselves so far in the ground.

Broccoli uncloched.

Spinach up.

Potatoes Mulched

Replanting Strawberries -- Again

Ozark Beauty

The first batch of new strawberries Jo planted earlier this spring didn't do so well. About two-thirds of them died. I think we let them get too dry. So, Jo picked up some berry plants in town and we'll try again. Most of these transplants are larger than the ones that have been growing in the bed for a month. Some even have fruit that is almost ripe.

Replanting Strawberries -- Again

Mulching Potatoes

I'm mowing and trying to get our potatoes mulched with grass clippings before they get any taller.

Mulching Potatoes

Escape Attempt

When the plants start trying to climb out the top, it's time to remove the cloches.

Escape Attempt

Transplants In Garden

Photo by Marvin April 16, 2007

Finally we have something planted in the garden besides strawberries! Jo got the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage seedlings she'd started transplanted into the garden while I mowed the garden area trying to cut down on the ticks, chiggers and snakes she had to deal with while planting.

Yes, we are running behind schedule, but that's normal for us. Besides, had we gotten everything planted, we would have probably lost most of it the the hard freeze we experience a little over a week ago.

Transplants In Garden

Let The Gardening Begin

From March, 2007

Now we've gone and done it! We've officially started the 2007 gardening season. True, Jo has been working with the seedlings and transplants for several weeks, and we did replant the strawberry beds, but starting to get the beds ready for this year's plantings means crossing the threshold into several months of near daily work out in the garden.

Spring bed preparation would be a lot easier if we did a better job of putting the garden to bed in the fall, but we never do. Last year we did a particularily poor job of it. So, now we have weeds that must be pulled before they take over.

Let The Gardening Begin

New Strawberries Planted

On Wednesday Jo got the strawberry plants set out into the strawberry beds, then covered the beds with wire so that the new plants don't become deer food.

It's hard to believe that these scruffy little strawberries will one day produce the berries we love to eat so much.

From March, 2007

New Strawberries Planted