June 24, 2017
The third planting of cauliflower are ripening, and after each head is harvested, I'm spreading the leaves along the row of beans, on top of the dried lettuce leaves. They actually look better than the lettuce leaves because they are larger and make a more uniform cover. I'm getting picky with my mulch aesthetics now because the garden is getting crowded. All of a sudden there seems to be more to be done than I want to do. Overgrown pathways, bolted spring plants, weeds that have morphed into shrubs, vines coming out everywhere and new crops of weeds springing up everywhere..
I'm reminded that gardening, like life, isn't always about doing. Sometimes it's about being. If I can't sit and enjoy the plants, birds, insects, wind and interactions without feeling like I need to do something, I've lost my peacefulness. Without peace, there is no joy..
June 25, 2017
I found a squash bug on my zucchini plant today. Couldn't kill him. Looked too cool. He fell into the zucchini picking bowl and I let him ride in it over to the faucet where I dumped him out. I don't kill cucumber beetles anymore either. Weird huh? Every critter has a right to life this day..
They can die tonight or tomorrow and I don't care but they deserve the rest of this day. I'm constantly reminded of Jack Daniels last words " one last drink please" and equate it with " we have but this heartbeat ". Life is miraculous and each heartbeat can be our last. The closer we get to our own end, the more we are unwilling to end other creatures lives. Slugs in the garden seem to be an exception to my sympathy, yet their contribution to soil fertility probably is exceeded only by the earthworm..
June 26, 2017
The Perpetual Spinach in the greenhouse is pretty much just stems and seeds now so it's time to cut it back down to the ground. It's a biennial plant like Swiss chard and you get two years from one planting. It will overwinter in zone 7 so my greenhouse planting should have no problem. I'll put the side panels back up this fall and batten down the hatches for the winter. I've got a row planted outside also that I'll cut back down to the ground and maybe I'll be picking fall spinach..
I usually end up cutting the Swiss chard down more than once and it always overwinters. It's the first thing up in the spring garden and the local birds think it's for them. I can't garden without bird netting..
