[gardeners] Sunday in the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 05 May 2002 20:16:51 -0500
Since we both slept away most of Saturday today I went out a few times and surveyed our domain. Miss
Sleepy Dawg was most insistent this morning that I go out with her and chase squirrels so I did.
While she maintained a vigilance against squirrel invaders I pulled a few weeds and checked out what
is growing. Did pick three or four boysenberries and checked the others for degree of ripeness.
Unfortunately most of the chiles and tomatoes we planted as seed in the garden never came up. So,
tomorrow I will start them in pots in the greenhouse, still have plenty of time for them to grow
before frost. Everything else is doing well and I did pick three cherry tomatoes for Miz Anne's
dinner tonight. She needs a boost as her sinuses have acted up again and she has had a headache
since Friday.
Tuesday at 0900 Miz Anne goes in for minor surgery involving an attempt to clean her maxillary sinus
of what appears to be a long-standing infection. I'm not sure of the procedure but it involves
putting something up in there to wash out the sinus cavity and is done under a local anesthetic. I
have arranged to take all day Tuesday off to nurse her and provide transport to and fro as I'm sure
she's not going to feel very good. I just hope it works as the alternative surgery costs over $10K
and is involved.
Back to the garden. Our fig tree lost half it's multiple trunks this winter to a hard freeze. I was
most pleased today to see that what is left is covered with figs. Reckon the good feeding and
soaking it got a couple of weeks ago is doing some good. The peach tree has lost most of the fruit
that set after bloom, I'm not sure what is happening but I find green peaches lying on the ground
and no bites out of them. The Fuyu persimmon is covered with small fruit and I hope we get more than
one of them as that's all we got last year. The Ponderosa lemon lost almost two-thirds of its limbs
due to freeze but what is left is covered with blooms and is setting fruit so I fed and watered it
deeply today. The kumquats came through pretty good but got a feeding and deep watering today also.
We are in drought conditions here again, no rain in a month now. The soaker hoses are in place and
ready to run as needed. Temps are bumping 90F nearly every day so everything drys up quickly. Still,
I must admit - Life is good.
George