June 02, 2019
My Weeping Water Wand is no engineering wonder, it's held together by duct tape and binder clips, but it's astoundingly adept at fullfilling my requirements. It's creation was the result of what was available from an old drip line. All I could find was a hose connecting T and some half inch tubing. This necessitated my putting a piece of tubing on each side of the hose connection instead of at the end. The genius of this addaption is that each piece of tubing curled a bit, allowing me the ability to curve it around a mound..
My original intent was to be able to water the corn when it was pollinating, which I can still do because the tubing straightens out when I need it to. I use it on other row crops too, so it's fully functional for every application. I knew that poking holes in the tubing would result in uneven water flow as they began clogging up, but I bring my cordless drill into the garden and drill new tiny holes wherever the line gets clogged. Another one of it's advantages is that I can't use the orbital sprinkler when the puppy is in the garden, but I can get away with the drip hose, unless the water pressure is high enough that it makes a hissing sound..
June 03, 2019
We are still eating asparagus every night, except on taco night and pizza night. They have been producing since early April so that's two whole months of picking. That's a lot of asparagus. Plant once, harvest for two months every year for twenty years. You can't beat that return on investment. I only planted seven crowns but both my boys planted twenty four this spring..
They are in for a long, joyful ride and I'm happy for them. They will have enough asparagus to share with their neighbors, and who knows what they'll get in return. The only disadvantage to growing asparagus is the amount of shade they throw in the late summer. This can be turned into a good thing if you plant lettuce on its east side to get afternoon shade..
June 04, 2019
I direct seeded some lettuce and spinach yesterday and covered the rows with boards. The boards keep the moisture in and the soil cool. It's been so warm that I'm sprinkling water on the boards periodically to keep evaporation cooling them. I flip the boards off in the evening to help keep the soil cool. Both rows are on the east side of the asparagus so they will be getting afternoon shade. I'm also prepared to use my shade cloth in case they need it. I still can't believe how effective the shade cloth was on my cabbage patch last year..
I brought six heads to frutition in August and they were not stressed. They were tender and crisp in spite of the heat. It was like learning how to use clear plastic in the spring to start everything early. Another tool in my tool belt. Actually, more like another toy..
