So I’ve read and been told that we have two growing seasons here, that we can have two summer gardens. So I’m giving it a try!
I planted cucumber and peas and they actually sprouted! I also have some sprouts that I think are arugula (I sort of let the last batch go to seed, and the seeds went everywhere). My rain barrel is empty, so I had to reroute my irrigation system (aka lots of hoses) to run from the well. Having cucumber and pea salad would be pretty exciting!
Was very sad. It turned out that most of what sprouted was wheat seeds from the straw I put down as a cover. I was able to harvest one bulb, which was smaller than the bulb I broke up and planted last winter. Bummer. But I will try again in the fall.
For Mother’s Day I received a rain barrel rock. I set it up just before the rain came, and now it is full!
Let me tell you that it was a pain to get set up right. Everything was going well, I leveled a space, put a layer of sand, leveled again, set brick, followed all the instructions on measuring (even measuring thrice), cut and installed the diverter, tested by running water on the roof… nuts. The tube was about 1/2″ too high on the barrel side. I had to remove and reset the brick three times to get it to the right level. Ugh. But, when we had an inch and a half rain fall, it filled my 80 gallon barrel all the way up! So it was worth making it right.
Now I can use the water for my old garden (not the failed garden in the chicken run). I have strawberries, carrots, and rosemary that I’m sure will appreciate it!
We’ve been getting quite the down pours this spring. We had 2.5 inches last night. Last night.
I had already decided that the garden in the middle chicken run wasn’t going to work (mainly because it is quite shady in spring), and had moved the basil plants to pots. Last night’s rain finished washing away the garden area.
So now the plan is to sow some rye for the chickens and to help hold the soil. We’ll see how that goes.
On the chicks side, it seems Cloud would rather be an arm chicken.
We really don’t get ice here often, but growing up in the midwest I still carry an ice scraper in my vehicle. It came in handy this morning! Yesterday was beautiful until the front came through and we dropped 30 degrees. I’ll be waiting to see what plants made it through. It wasn’t a heavy frost, but there were some very sad daffodils on our way out the door this morning.
The “catnip” that grew yesterday wanted outside, felt the cold, and immediately changed her mind and came back inside where it is warm. Temperamental plants.
Critters and Craft 