Dear Reader,
Here we are again. A thunderstorm is threatening as I’m writing this letter, and many of my poor plants have begun to wilt in the heat. Hopefully, the storm will bring rain and cool things off for the plants and people. Last Saturday, my son rototilled the garden area for me, and I pulled weeds as he mowed the lawn. Then I picked out the supplies for my raspberry trellis after consulting my mother. I selected four metal fenceposts, each 4 feet tall, and took them to show my dad. He determined a sledgehammer would suffice, and I went home happy with my new plan.
Monday, my son and my dad actually put up the raspberry trellis. It looks like it will work beautifully, and I am pleased with it. They also placed the stakes for the peas and pole beans. I was “supervising,” which really means I was traipsing through the garden barefoot and offering unsolicited opinions. Then, I went to my parents’ house to work on my plant labels.
I got the idea off Pinterest to try to paint my labels. I think they turned out rather nicely, but I needed more than I could paint in just a few hours, so the saga will continue this weekend. I did plant a few of the plants I had started inside earlier this year, but they are not faring very well in the heat. I still have some thyme growing inside, and lots of seeds that need to go into the ground this weekend. I’m hoping the weather will get better for the plants (and my) sake.
On the agenda for this weekend is acquiring a garden hoe, planting the rest of the seeds, and getting the plant labels into the right spots. I’ve included a list of what I hope to plant (with asterisks next to ones I expect to use in the recipes later on), and at the end of the letter, pictures from this past week. I’ve chosen to include the wilting plants because the struggle is part of the experience.
Watermelon, Winter Squash (spaghetti), *Winter Squash (Waltham Butternut), Zucchini, Pumpkin, Sweet Corn, *Garden Beans (pole green beans), *Cabbage, Swiss Chard, *Carrots, *Bunching Onions, *Spinach, Sweet Pepper, *Peas, *Chamomile, *Oregano, Cilantro, *Basil, Spearmint, *Chives, *Parsley, *Lavender, Peppermint, Marigold, California Poppy, African Daisy, and Sunflower.
Sincerely,
Cyndars
Wilting forsythia
Rosemary and lemon balm start in the ground.
Raspberry trellis is in place
Stakes for the peas from dried bamboo
The apricot tree is happy
Strawberries ready to eat, plus the offering my son left on the ground
Fresh harvest of berries