[gardeners] Sunday in the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 05 Mar 2000 17:37:46 -0600
Went out today and finished installed the concrete block on the eastern
edge of the main raised bed garden. Need about 40 more block and I can
do the whole thing in cement. This last batch of block I bought on sale
at Home Depot and the blamed things are solid cement and twice as heavy
as the old standard cinder blocks. Think I'll look around for some of
the lighter ones.
Caught a neighbor outside where they couldn't hide and gave away another
head of cabbage. Only one more to go and we're done with that crop. We
planted twelve plants last fall because we generally lose several to the
cabbage loopers and other varmints. Didn't lose a one and didn't see a
cabbage looper all winter. Even the swiss chard is without holes. It
needs cutting again too.
Repotted all the chile plants today too. Ended up with about 30 of them
all told, mostly hot and mildly hot, with just a few sweet ones. We
generally buy a few "bell" pepper plants each year so probably will get
them from the feed store tomorrow. Will be another two or three weeks
before I put the chiles and the tomatoes in the ground. Want to have
consistent 70F during the days first so the plants will do well.
The tomatoes, in gallon pots, are about two feet tall and have flower
buds on them already as does a small Ichiban eggplant that came up
volunteer last fall. We potted it and it is doing well at the moment.
Had an aphid infestation about a month ago and before I noticed it we
almost lost the plant. A little spritzing with water and liquid soap and
it recovered.
Miz Anne and I moved the decorative plants, with minor exceptions, out
of the greenhouse today. They're comfortably ensconced on the patio
again. We've segregated out the ones we started last year to sell in a
garage sale we're having the 18th and 19th of this month. Have about 50
or 60 plants of various sorts. Most should sell well and I expect the
rosemary plants I started two years ago will go good at about 5 bucks a
plant. I've another batch that will sell for less because they won't get
potted up until this coming week. Checked the ones I staked down last
summer and the limbs are all well rooted. Each staked limb gives me two
plants so there's at least 30 or more to come out and be potted. Should
give us a little more expendable income that can be used on gardening
stuff. I've been marking up my Richter's catalog just in case.
Life is good, Miz Anne is painting a nice watercolor of the garden in
the fading afternoon light and Miss Sleepy Dawg is asleep on my foot.
George