This is the warning on my sewing machine telling me to keep my fingers away from the needle.
Not really. This is the warning on the tractor implement we just bought for tilling the garden. We've always rented a tiller in the past, but now we can't rent one without renting the tractor to go along with it. That significantly increases the price of the rental. Since we already have a tractor, it made sense to purchase the tiller and forget about renting. It's nice for Mike because it will give him a lot more flexibility. When we rent a tiller, we have it for just 24 hours, including the time it takes to pick it up, clean it off, and return it. The soil in the garden is so wet right now that it will need to dry overnight and then be tilled again in the morning before it will be ready for planting. Owning the tiller will make that possible. Renting it would have meant it would have to be returned this evening. (Incidentally, we're not sure it will dry out enough even by tomorrow.)
Here's something you don't see nearly often enough:
Mike is especially happy that the tiller is made from good old American steel. So he's been happily tilling the garden today.
And I've been drawing up plans, working under the assumption that we will plant it tomorrow.
Every year I tell myself it will be a smaller garden than the year before. And every year I plant the entire space, which is 30 x 70 feet. I'm learning to leave more space to walk between things. I've learned not to plant so much zucchini. The top is always reserved for lettuce (red leaf, green leaf, and romaine) because it's in the shade in the morning. I always plant three rounds so that we have lettuce for the whole season. I plant the rounds about two weeks apart. Each year, I try something new. This year, I'm trying brussels sprouts (which I love). Actually, I tried brussels sprouts last year, but they didn't come up. It was so cold and wet last year, almost nothing came up.
This year, I'm planting lots and lots and lots of tomatoes, and lots and lots and lots of beets. In years past, I've had woefully bad luck with cucumbers. I'm hoping for a better year this year, but who knows? Also ready for planting are green beans, dill, two kinds of sweet corn, parsley, zinnias, sunflowers, poppies, straw flowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds. The cucumbers like the nasturtiums and the dill, and the tomatoes like the marigolds. The other flowers are for cutting. I like having color in the garden. Also, I don't think it's possible to have a proper vegetable garden without sunflowers.
Hopefully, things will dry out and we'll get all of it into the ground tomorrow. If not, it will have to wait another week, and that's starting to crowd out the growing season. It's warm and windy today, and Mike informs me that the soil is much better now that it's been tilled twice. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Not really. This is the warning on the tractor implement we just bought for tilling the garden. We've always rented a tiller in the past, but now we can't rent one without renting the tractor to go along with it. That significantly increases the price of the rental. Since we already have a tractor, it made sense to purchase the tiller and forget about renting. It's nice for Mike because it will give him a lot more flexibility. When we rent a tiller, we have it for just 24 hours, including the time it takes to pick it up, clean it off, and return it. The soil in the garden is so wet right now that it will need to dry overnight and then be tilled again in the morning before it will be ready for planting. Owning the tiller will make that possible. Renting it would have meant it would have to be returned this evening. (Incidentally, we're not sure it will dry out enough even by tomorrow.)
Here's something you don't see nearly often enough:
Mike is especially happy that the tiller is made from good old American steel. So he's been happily tilling the garden today.
And I've been drawing up plans, working under the assumption that we will plant it tomorrow.
Every year I tell myself it will be a smaller garden than the year before. And every year I plant the entire space, which is 30 x 70 feet. I'm learning to leave more space to walk between things. I've learned not to plant so much zucchini. The top is always reserved for lettuce (red leaf, green leaf, and romaine) because it's in the shade in the morning. I always plant three rounds so that we have lettuce for the whole season. I plant the rounds about two weeks apart. Each year, I try something new. This year, I'm trying brussels sprouts (which I love). Actually, I tried brussels sprouts last year, but they didn't come up. It was so cold and wet last year, almost nothing came up.
This year, I'm planting lots and lots and lots of tomatoes, and lots and lots and lots of beets. In years past, I've had woefully bad luck with cucumbers. I'm hoping for a better year this year, but who knows? Also ready for planting are green beans, dill, two kinds of sweet corn, parsley, zinnias, sunflowers, poppies, straw flowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds. The cucumbers like the nasturtiums and the dill, and the tomatoes like the marigolds. The other flowers are for cutting. I like having color in the garden. Also, I don't think it's possible to have a proper vegetable garden without sunflowers.
Hopefully, things will dry out and we'll get all of it into the ground tomorrow. If not, it will have to wait another week, and that's starting to crowd out the growing season. It's warm and windy today, and Mike informs me that the soil is much better now that it's been tilled twice. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
4 comments:
Sounds like an amazing garden! That's a pretty scary warning sticker!
Warnings warnings warnings! I noticed that there is even a warning on the package of TP that I just bought! lol
That sounds like an incredible garden! Way too much for me - I have an anti-gardening gene!!! Enjoy it!
Lucky you, to have a garden t his size. When I loved into my house, I had a 20x20 foot garden, but as the years passed, all the trees have grown so much there is no longer enough sunlight o grow veggies. I remember one year when i found all these little caterpillars on my parsley plants. I checked my bug book, and found out that they were swallowtail butterfly caterpillers, so I left them there to grow. They nibbled my parsley down to nubbins, but it grew back after they left, and I had lovely butterflies all summer long!
I am very impressed with the size and organization of your veggie garden. Mine is much smaller and since I rotated things this year and left more room for glad bulbs it's getting a little chummy at the far end! I carpet my garden to keep the weeds down and it works great plus provides walking/crawling space.
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