Gardening

I survived the three events in a row in late March / early April, barely.  It's a good thing I wasn't planning on driving all the way home until after staying a few days at my mom's, because I was pretty much non-functional for those days.  I did manage a trip up to Okeene with my dad to visit Granddad, and got some spectacular pictures of the ice storm the next morning.  Mom and I cooked a bunch of stuff, and it was good.

I made it home and managed to do taxes on my own for the first time, and get them in on time.  It was a frustrating couple of days but I figure it'll get easier as time goes on.

In the past 3 weeks, I think I spent that first week recovering and doing some gardening.  I've got some flowerbeds going (2 xeriscape, 1 'regular' under the shade of a tree most of the day), and re-learned that you have to provide support for tomato plants.  One of mine snapped halfway through in the wind.  I sort of splinted the stem with rocks, and made haste to install cages in the buckets.  That plant is still alive, though it wilts if left in the sun all day, probably because it's running on half water rations.  It's blooming and growing but still hasn't set fruit yet.  The other five tomato plants are setting fruit - the first tomatoes to show up are now almost as big as my fist and have barely started to go from green to yellow-green.

I am really excited to actually be growing fresh produce, though I won't count it a victory until the tomatoes actually ripen and I get them before the birds do.  The plants are obviously happy in their 3-gallon buckets.  The soil they are in is about 1/3 composted cow manure.  That in combination with a ready water supply (there's a reservoir in the bottom) and brand-new potting soil has given them pretty much whatever they want in the way of nutrients.

I've got four red bell pepper plants in larger temporary pots, waiting for me to finish four more of the reservoir buckets.  Having the high-value vegetables in buckets is also really convenient when there's a late frost or high winds forecast - I just move them up against the south wall of the house.  Also I foresee adjusting the amount of sun and shade they're getting as high summer rolls around - the weeks and weeks of 100 degree heat that are possible down here just cook plants that are out in the sun all day, but for now, they're enjoying the light.

I've got butternut squash in the ground that's blooming, so we'll see if it sets fruit.  Kind of an experiment.  I haven't had much luck with squash of any kind in the past; I think it really needs part shade this far south.  

Well, that's the gardening post.  Next up is the business post.