I'm exhausted!

Got up at 6:45 a.m. so I could get an early start on the garden. The air is cool today, but the sun is hot. I think I overdid it. I feel like I have heat stroke or something. Anyway, first off, Rodney opened the corner compost bin and got rid of the bin. Now the compost is in the corner of the property, with rocks around one side of it--easier to turn, better aeration.

I planted a row of mustard greens in the raised bed. We put up another fence for the peas and I planted another row of Burpee peas this time. I also planted two rows of carrots in the raised bed. Rodney planted an area of Daikon radishes.

Michiko and Juna came today. They extended two rows of kale and Swiss chard. The original rows were planted with the peat pellets. The extension involved planting seeds. They also planted more bok choi. Then they filled 4 small containers and planted 4 seeds in each of cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe and butternut squash. While they did that, I resoaked some peat pellets which failed to germinate and planted them with more beans. Then I took 3 peat pellets with emerging beans and planted them up on the hillside.

Then we pruned Juna's Fiji apple tree. Finally, Juna and Michiko worked on removing the rocks and pebbles from the herb garden. Over the last few weeks my gardener has been transplanting the irises growing there to the north curbside of the house. Now I have all this space for herbs. However, the soil has to be amended first. Have to buy compost and more soil. Meanwhile, we are removing the rocks and pebbles and any errant roots.

Rush, rush, rush, plant, plant, plant!

I'm feeling that there just aren't enough hours in the morning. I got up at 6 a.m. this morning so I could have my breakfast and get some planting done. Rodney helped. He planted the peat pellets of bok choi and beans. The bok choi is in the raised bed. I helped get the bean plants planted in the hillside. Then he planted two rows of beets in the raised bed and a triangle of red radishes in garden #1.

Working in the raised bed, I planted spinach, lettuce and mache. We watered with Super Thrive and use fish emulsion on the seedlings. I am hoping to get a lot of planting done tomorrow. I have already arranged all the seed packets and am thinking about where everything should go. Hope I get a few gardeners to help tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm on my own!

The time is just getting away from me. You can only really plant in the morning, and I hate to get up so early. Anyway, I planted two long rows of corn on the hillside. It was very necessary. Especially since my beans in the peat pellets are ready to be transplanted into the soil. I'm just going to have to push a little, or a lot, and get the planting done.

I transplanted the yellow and red bell pepper seedlings I started a couple of weeks ago. I have more yellow than red. The red did not come up as well. Not to mention the purple bell peppers and the jalapenos that haven't germinated at all. What's up with that? I will have to try again.

I also started setting up the last of the soaker hoses. Up on the hill, the highest area, the soaker hoses were removed to make room for all the new soil. I have to reconnect the hoses. I am also setting up a fourth line. Where are all the hoses? I think we used the old hoses in the lower gardens. I hope I have enough to finish the hillside.

Hot, hot hot today!

Whew! It was hot today! I think close to 90 degrees. I transplanted my Beefsteak, Brandywine and Cherry tomatoes into Garden # 1. I have 7 tomato plants. Should be lots of tomatoes this year. Then I found another squash or zucchini in Garden #1. Must have been some seeds in the new compost mix I just got. I moved it over to the hillside.

When Ginger, Michiko and Juna arrived we really got to work. Michiko and Ginger planted all varieties of onions around the perimeter of the raised bed on the south side. We now have Walla Walla onions, White Lisbon green onions, red onions and yellow granex onions.

We also transplanted the Swiss Chard seedlings in the peat pellets. Then Juna and I set up the fence support for the snap peas. First we planted the peas in peat pellets, then I finished off the row with seeds. I probably should plant another row of peas.

Sunday and I'm working!

I don't often work in the garden on Sundays, but some things needed to be done. I transplanted the new zucchini and squash seedlings in the hillside garden. Some seeds were already directly put in the soil up there and some have sprouted. Therefore, I just transplanted where the seedlings hadn't taken. I also planted 3 more squash in lower gardens. Hope I get a lot of squash and zucchini this year.

I realized in looking through my seed box that there were a lot more vegetables to be started. So I planted 4 containers of eggplant (4 seeds in the 4 corners of each box) and 4 containers of broccoli with 4 seeds in each.

This week: transplant the tomato seedlings. Plant cauliflower, lettuce, mache, more peas, arugula, radishes and start thinking about more herbs. I already have chamomile and thyme seeds.

Plant, plant, plant!

It's Saturday! Rodney and I decided we better finish putting in the soaker drip system. We only had a loop around the 1st Garden. We started laying down the lines and finished Garden #1 in no time at all. Some new gardeners stopped by today--Juliana and Carl. Carl helped Rodney finish the soaker system in the raised bed while Juliana and I planted bokchoy and beans in the peat pellets I purchased.

All the little seedlings are starting to come up. I am going to be really busy the next couple of weeks, seeding, transplanting, watering, feeding etc. Still have to reconnect the soaker hose up on the hillside garden. Only the uppermost garden needs tending to. The other hillside gardens still have the soaker hoses hooked up.