Why Did the Worm Cross the Road

Bob Bauer

February 23, 2017 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 2 minutes

February 23, 2017

Why did the worm cross the road? Probably to keep from drowning. Whenever we have heavy rains I find worms and night crawlers in the driveway. Usually the night crawlers get picked up and returned to high ground because I don't want them to get eaten by the birds. I've done this since I was a little kid, before I was a gardener, so maybe I was destined to grow. Night crawlers come up in the garden at night and pull leaves, stems and debris back down their holes to chew them up below ground..

Many times they can't fit all of the debris completely underground and you will discover it sticking up from the soil like hairs on a wart. They also sometimes pull your transplants over and try to get them underground. They forget we're on the same team..

February 24, 2017

We've had a couple of sunny days and the melon and zucchini starts have greened right up. In fact the zucchini plants are so big I've had to move them to the center of the tray. I don't think I'll be able to keep from transplanting them for the whole 4 weeks that was expected. They might have to go out early, so I've put 3'x3' clear plastic sheets down on the mounds where they are going, to help warm the soil. If the ground is warm enough they will continue to grow because I'll have cold frames over them..

The warm soil also keeps the air in the cold frames from freezing at night. I should put a few rocks or water bottles on top of the water heater in case of a hard freeze. They will be all warmed up for me to put in the cold frames before bed..

February 25, 2017

I can't believe it's time to fish emulsion my lettuce and spinach transplants in the greenhouse. It's been three weeks since I planted them there, so they are ready for full strength. The first plantings of broccoli and cauliflower will get full strength next week. All my plantings are going to get fish emulsion every three weeks, so I got a month at a glance calendar to help me keep track..

I end up keeping track of other things as well because there are all these open spaces that need filling in. It may help me next year since this year is a transition from April 29th as a last frost date to March 15 th. Many mistakes may be made this year that I can avoid next year..

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