Perfect Gardening Weather

I downsized the tomato patch and only planted 32 plants this year. Last year, I put in 40. I reserve the right to add a few more, though, if I run across any others I’d like to try.

Planting required that I get down on the ground, cut an X in the plastic—it’s a new sheet—bend the flaps back, get up, dig the hole, get back down and plant the tomato, get back up and put the tomato cage over the plant, then move to the next spot. It was a lot of moving around, which is good for me, but after 32 plants, I decided I had done enough calisthenics for the day.

[I have been mildly anemic for years—probably because my bone marrow took a beating when I had chemo—and it’s driven my naturopath and me nuts because we couldn’t get my iron levels to budge. I think I’ve finally gotten them up to something resembling normal, though, because I’ve noticed that I have more stamina this spring than I’ve had in a long time. I take an iron supplement called Perque and it seems to be helping.]

Half of the plants are Oregon Star, which is my preferred paste tomato variety. I did stick one Roma in there, too, which came from the kids at the elementary school via the plant sale. We’ll see how those two compare this year. I also put in a couple of Aunt Ruby’s Green, some Dirty Girls, a Weisnicht’s Ukrainian, two Cherokee Purple, a couple of beefsteaks, half a dozen unique varieties that Sarah gifted me, and a cherry tomato called Blue Boar Berries. I don’t usually plant cherry tomatoes, but Elysian grew these last year and gave me a plant. I loved them so much that I put one in again this year.

I went heavy on the paste tomatoes because this is a tomato sauce year. Last year, I did salsa, and we still have plenty. We’re getting low on sauce, though.

The weather has been perfect lately—not too hot, with intermittent rain showers—and it looks like it will continue for at least another week. The strawberries are looking fabulous:

The peas are up and the potatoes also look great. I still need to put up the bamboo teepee and plant the pole beans, and I also have to put in the cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli. I will plant all of those today if we get a break in the rain. The cucumbers and melons are going to spend a few more days in the warm greenhouse as they are a bit on the small side yet.

The husband is going to run the track loader through the old herb/veggie garden here by the house this weekend. That whole space is terribly overgrown. I am going to take out a few plants I want to save, but then that area will be dug up and covered with a billboard tarp for the summer. If all goes according to plan, I will be able to start over next spring with new beds (on level ground) and new plants. I don’t mind having the vegetable garden on the other property, but it would be nice to have herbs closer to the house to use when I’m cooking.

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The Juki 1541 is supposed to show up today. Let’s hope.

After lunch yesterday, I worked on the scrappy log cabin quilt that is destined for the craft co-op sale. I finished the half-dozen blocks that Robin started for me last week, then began laying out blocks in groups of four to sew together. This project has spanned almost a year, and the blocks from the beginning have completely different fabrics in them than the more recent blocks, so I’m trying to mix things up as I go.

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary. (Where does the time go?) I think we’re going to have date night tomorrow to celebrate.