May 16, 2017
I transplanted cauliflower yesterday, and this morning the four that I had left in the row had fallen over, but the eight I had moved were upright. Crazy huh? Usually the ones you move tend to fall over because you disturb the roots. The turkey is back, he might have knocked them over, but he doesn't usually disturb the plants. Up and down the aisle he goes scratching the grass hay or straw into piles, leaving the bare earth exposed..
It's disappointing to walk into a messy garden in the morning, but at least I can see where the mulch is getting thin. Turkeys also eat pill bugs and sow bugs, slugs and ants, so in that regard we're allies..
May 17, 2017
The poppies didn't even bother to open their flowers yesterday. It was windy, rainy and cold so why cast your pollen to the wind if no pollinators are about. I'm with them. If it's too cold for the pollinators, it's too cold for me. I spent the better part of my gardening time sitting in the door frame of the greenhouse, watching the wind toss the branches around..
I don't like kneeling in the windy cold rain so that eliminates planting and weeding. I'm left with gathering mulch and spreading it around, or trimming the bushes, trees and vines that abound. (I sound like Al Sharpton). I did a little of both and discovered that if I sprinkle a handful of straw on top of the weed piles that I've left behind, they blend right in with the rest of the mulch in the garden, and the worms that have accumulated under them can keep on feeding..
May 18, 2017
Woke up this morning at five am to the " whoop, whoop, whoop" of the neighbors wind turbine. It's nice to have a frost alert so close to home. I put an occilating sprinkler on in the garden and the only damage I encountered was a corn stalk that I had broken off with the hose. It was a light frost so I may not have needed to do anything. I also planted a third patch of corn. The soil has warmed up so I didn't have to use the plastic sheet again. I've gotten tired of plastic in the garden. That sheet has been glareing back at me since March 20th..
Time to go. I'm ready to remove the plastic from the mounds too. The zucchini leaves are large enough to shade the plastic so I took it off and tucked straw right up around the plants. I did the tomatoes too. Cucumbers and pumpkins tomorrow. The melon probably need to stay covered until they start vining..
