Sunday, July 15, 2007

Rain, Rain, Come Our Way

Well, despite the last week of much cloudiness and off and on rain clouds, all the rain we got was a scant .6 inch. My tomatoes look pitiful. Still, the cooler weather has allowed some of the new seeds I planted for fall to sprout. But there has not been enough rain to get all of the seeds to sprout. I don't seen any cilantro or carrots yet.

The high tunnel crops look best. Hannah's Choice melons are flowering and vining; the basil is ready to cut; some of the hot peppers are fruiting; the okra and eggplant are flowering and getting tall; the dill is making seed for next year; the Italian parsley is ready to cut, and so is the Forellynschuss lettuce. Happily I saw a couple of bees among the mints and melons.

Spent some time squashing potato bugs today; I'll have to get the Dipel out and spray. It's only been a week since I hoed, but the weeds are all over the place again. This weekend for sure I'll go to the farmers market with Green Arrow shell peas, Genovese Basil, Italian Parsley, Copenhagen Market Cabbage, Endive, and Forellynschuss lettuce. I'll see if I can sell any of my green garlic.

My rhubarb is pathetic. I just don't know what the matter is. It is yellow; the leaves are bug eaten, and the stems on many plants are weak and thin. I can only think it needs water since I have religiously weeded and added compost to it. Maybe it will be stronger next year. I am starting to get summer squash and zucchini, and hopefully will have some ready to pick to take to market by Friday. The Boston Pickling cukes are starting to vine and I wrapped some of the longer stems around the support twine I have set up. The Moon and Stars, Charentais, and Green Nutmeg melons are doing well under the light Agribon cover despite the cool nights, and my Big Moon and New England Pie pumpkins are starting to cover the ground. The Mandan Bride flour corn and sunflowers are looking good (despite the deer bothering them and my pole beans). I cannot wait to get a well put in the field!

The road work seems to be coming along. The crews start as soon as it is light enough for them to see. We were told that they would be dynamiting around the 9th, but we never heard any more about it.

The bear came back and demolished our bird feeders. It bent the metal pole the feeders were on like a plastic straw. Tom is going to go to town tomorrow and get some more feeders as the birds are all looking for their seeds.

Yesterday was Lara's 24th birthday. I can't believe she is that old already. We had a bar-be-que and I took her to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at Phillips. She had a good day. I bought her several scented room sprays and her room is Scent City, let me tell you. But she is happy with them and that is all that matters.

Well, I'm kind of tired -- think I'm fighting off a summer bug of some sort, so I'll talk to you later.

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