The Garden Goes In

I didn’t get the entire garden planted yesterday, but I got a chunk of it done. I started with the tomatoes. Every year, I try to cut down on the number of tomato plants and every year I end up with more than I planned. This year, I capped it at 18 plants. Most are paste tomatoes—Northern Ruby and Oregon Star—with three green varieties and a few others thrown in for fun. Sarah started one called Gargomel and I am eager to see how it does.

I move crops to a different part of the garden every year. It confuses the pests, not that I have a ton of pest pressure. I spotted a good-sized garter snake over by the peas, so we are off to a great start in the ecosystem this season. I tried to get a picture of it but it slithered underneath the plastic before I could take out my phone.

I also put in some of the squash. I am trying to be deliberate about where I plant things, so the butternut squash, Georgia Roasters, and buttercup squash—all things that want to travel—are in one area. The zucchini, cucumbers, and melons will be in another area. The cukes and melons also vine out, but not as much as the other varieties. We put a lot of aged chicken and pig manure in the garden this year and I am expecting everything to grow really well.

I am trying some new weed barriers this year. These are similar to the ones that commercial growers use. They are 3' wide with pre-cut holes. I wish I had bought more because now they are sold out on Amazon. I’ll get a picture after I get them planted. I have 100' of single-hole barrier, which is where I will plant the cabbages, and 100' feet of two-hole barrier, which is where the peppers and beans will go.

The husband planted all the apple trees. I need to stop with the apple trees. Susan put about two dozen of them in the sale (she grafts them) and I bought a Yellow Transparent. I have two Lodi trees, but I have always wanted a Yellow Transparent.

We also pulled out all the hoses, both regular hoses and soaker hoses, and I started laying them out.

There will be no garden work today because I have three appointments in town. I have an eyebrow wax at 9 am, I get my permanent crown put on at 10:30 am, and I have a haircut at 1 pm. I’m calling this a 25,000 mile tune-up day. It’s possible we may get some storms this afternoon, too. Today is also our 36th wedding anniversary. I think we will try to have date night this weekend to celebrate.

We got up to 83F yesterday, which felt hot to me. I don’t do well in the heat, which is why I like living in Montana. I work from about 6-10 am and then I give up. The husband and I put the shade cloth back on the greenhouse to cut down the heat in there, too.

Once the big garden is in, I will work on the herb garden. The war against weeds is never ending, rather like the war against dirt.