Too wet to till?

We went ahead anyway. It has been raining off and on for the last two weeks! Today the sun was out and the top layer of the garden was dried out -- but underneath it was still wet. I tilled anyway - first tried the Mantis - DH laughs at me when I try it - then he hauls out the Troy-bilt Junior and tills a few rows and turns it over to me. He thinks my rows look like a drunken sailor tilled them so he went cross-ways over it. It's really too wet, but there were lots of hairy galinsoga seedlings so we just can't let them live. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow, so no way can we till tomorrow, and probably not Sunday either. Doesn't the weatherman know that some of us have to go to work Monday through Friday, and have to save the big garden activities for weekends? (We've had so much rain we'll probably have a drought all summer to make up for it...)

Baby salad greens

I fixed salad for dinner last night and topped it off with baby salad greens from my seedlings - they've really grown, but we've had so much rain in the last week I can't get into the garden. It's nice today, I can't go out tonight because of Master Gardener class - and tomorrow it's supposed to rain again.

I have been starting another tray of lettuce every 10 - 14 days, so hopefully I will have some for the farmer's market days.

I found volunteer arugula plants in the garden last week, and potted them up while DH did the final tilling. I will be setting them out ASAP.

Last frost?

We had frost this morning - I hope it was the last frost of the season. The weather this afternoon is beautiful, almost 70 and the sky is clear.

Master Gardenener class tonight- we're being tested on insects!

Apple-rhubarb pandowdy

I'm making apple-rhubarb pandowdy - I found that the huge leaves of my rhubarbs were overshadowing my little beet leaves so I clipped the rhubarb back.

DH loved the apple pandowdy but he picked around all the rhubarb.

They're UP!

Finally, after 4 weeks, my Yellow Magic tomatoes have burst out of their seed jackets and are waving their two little leaves at me.

I wish I knew what made them finally decide to wake up! The temperature today was about 65 degrees outside - we've had both colder weather and hotter weather. I think the average temp in my little greenhouse during the day was probably in the 80's but these last two days have been cooler and rainy, so temperatures didn't climb so high.

The Healthy green peppers finally sprouted today too, and a lot more of the parsley has sprouted.

Touchy little things!

Which manure?

OK, I've made a decision to buy local, and to practice organic gardening. Not always easy choices!

I know there is free horse manure at many places locally, including riding stables, racetracks, and boarding stables.

But I don't have any way to haul it! I've considered getting a hitch put on my little Aztec and buying a used trailer, suitable for hauling manure. Cost will probably be at least $1000 to do this.

This morning I went to Meijers and bought 20 bags of composted cow manure. Noticed it was from Indiana. Long way to haul manure, plus the bags aren't readily recyclable. Total cost was $30. But the cost of shipping them here was probably distributed over 50 tons of manure.

Which is the better choice for the planet? Am I over-analyzing this?

Later I decided to take old garbage cans to get some of the free horse manure. Couldn't lift the cans after I filled them, had to call my daughter and her fiance to come and rescue me! Lucky it was close to their house so it wasn't a lot of extra gas for them. LOL... I was at least able to get them out of the car on my own.

Freaky weather

We were expecting snow (and got it) a few days ago, but my rhubarb is bolting. I am told it does that when the temperatures are high. We've had 65-degree days highs in the last few days.

I am thinking of investing in a couple of weather stations so that I can capture degree-day information to my computer. Will post the results of my research here when complete. In my master gardener courses, the instructor made reference to the degree-days for determing when to treat for certain pests. We haven't gotten deeply into integrated pest management yet, but I think it is the key to using a minimum of pesticides (even organic ones) and still maximizing yield.

One of the things that has been emphasized is not planting in a frost pocket. We are in the Clear Fork River valley, and I believe the temperature is lower here due to the elevation - although that MIGHT be somewhat mitigated by the reservoir across the street. Our whole two acres might be a frost pocket. What to do if your property is in a frost pocket? Sell and buy somewhere else?

Snow tonight

I am staying up late - I want to see what the temperature is at 11:00 p.m, I have to make a decision whether to put a small ceramic space heater in the greenhouse. We are supposed to get snow later tonight. I am sure the tomatoes and eggplant seedlings will not like that.

For sure my peach tree will probably lose its blossoms, and maybe the apple tree, too. The blossoms on the apple tree are just about to burst into bloom. I think that commercial growers used to burn tires in the orchard to keep the blossoms from freezing, but I don't see how to keep the smoke around the trees. I thought about throwing a tarp over the tree but read that sometimes covering actually are conductive and make the problem worse.

Beekeeper plea

Bob Hooker, a beekeeper and Vice President of the Ohio State Beekeepers Association, is seeking your help in a matter of deep concern to beekeepers across Ohio. The Ohio Department of Agriculture plans to make cuts to their Apiary (Beekeeping) Regulatory Program this summer. The Ohio State Beekeepers Association (OSBA) believes this is a mistake and endangers the beekeeping industry in Ohio. They are mounting a letter writing campaign to protest the cuts.

There are only about 4,000 beekeepers in Ohio. They fear they cannot generate enough letters by themselves to make a difference.

They are asking the help of everyone concerned about honey bees and their contribution to our
food supply and our environment.

Many of you, concerned by the media coverage of the threats to honey bees, have asked, how are the bees, Is there anything the average person can do to help?

Yes there is.

You can contact the Governor and the Director of Agriculture and ask
them to rescind ODA's plan to cut the Apiary Program this summer.

Contact Bob Hooker for an official position paper from the OSBA or sample text to include in your letter.

Strawberry Rhubarb custard

My rhubarb is ready! This morning I went to the garden and found huge seed stalks that looked almost like cauliflower. I cut them out, and harvested a few stalks this evening. Left the leaves in the garden to mulch the awful creeping charlie.

Strawberries here won't be ready for another month or so -- but I still have a few strawberries in the freezer from last year. If you don't, there HAVE been some good sales on California strawberries lately -- local are always better, but the California ones are awfully cheap!

1 cup rhubarb, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped into fourths
1 cup Splenda
3/4 cup half & half
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Bake in custard dish at 350 degrees until the wonderful smell permeates the house! About 40 minutes.

I didn't want to fuss with a pie, but I didn't want to miss the first rhubarb of the season, either!