I'm Walking Around The Garden With A Pack of Spinach Seeds

August 30, 2019

I'm walking around the garden with a pack of spinach seeds in my back pocket now, wondering where to plant them. I look at what's going to be coming out next to see if an open space will be available. The way the sun's arc is settling into the south has eliminated areas that will soon be getting more shade. The trees and bushes growing around the garden make an ever changing environment, and I've discovered, over the years, that some areas of past plantings now need to be abandoned..

This plays well into the "back to nature" movement because I don't weed or trim the areas that can't be planted with veggies. They get messy, but are home to important species of insects that provide a balance of nature to insure an ecological harmony. Besides, I'm getting too old for meticulous..

August 31, 2019

Disclaimer: This site is for entertainment purposes only. Do not invest time or money, for the purpose of profit or success, in what you read here. My gardening acumen is a work in progress, and for everything I learn, I discover something that I was wrong about. I transplanted broccoli in 103° heat the other day even though I knew it was a bad idea. I also knew that with enough shade and water they wouldn't die. What I didn't take into account was humidity..

I had to put the sprinkler on up wind of them to get them out of their funk. The artichokes wilted too. It's been a strange year for them. The spring harvest was half as much as usual and the plants didn't come back for a fall harvest. It's probably time to divide them..

September 01, 2019

These dog days of summer sure make this old gardener lethargic. I have a hard time even moving the sprinkler in this heat, and the weeds are getting ahead of me. The heat makes my eyes dry out quickly, which is something that happens when you get old. I will sit in the shade and close them for awhile and forget about what I was doing. I did get a double row of spinach planted before the seed packet in my back pocket got soaked with sweat, and the shade cloth came off my cauliflower transplants. They were a long time acclimating this year and I wonder how I could have done it without the cloth..

I set it up over a weed patch to try to motivate me, but it's not been successful yet. Even picking feels like a chore. I've realized that I enjoy starting and taking care of plants, nurturing them along the way, but once they reach maturity I lose interest in them. They become food, which is in a different category from the dependants that require my attention..