Rainy Memorial Day

We can't fly our real flag today since it is raining, but at least I can fly a virtual flag here.

The rain doesn't bode well for the dinner we have planned today (requires a grill, natch), but it is good for the garden. The past week has been warm (sometimes hot), with clear skies. Lovely weather, but the long, slow soaking rain we are getting now is perfect.

The garden is really doing well; sometimes I sit on the back porch and just admire it. The potatoes are quite lush:

And just starting to flower:

According to what I have read, those flowers mean that potatoes are starting to form underground. I did manage to fill up the potato bed to the top of the frame as planned. Four coir bricks + compost, topped with about an inch of chopped leaves from last fall. Hope it works!

In the past week, I've managed to get the last of the tomatoes in the ground. I left a little space for the cherry peppers that come next:

The tomatoes that stayed in their pots longer are farther along than the ones I got in the ground as soon as frost danger was past, but they're starting to wake up and get growing after the warm weather this past week:

My sugar snap peas are starting to bear; I'll have some to eat soon! But I definitely need more than 13 pea plants next year. I'm thinking we'll get one good meal out of these.

Since the peas should be done soon, I set out the cantaloupe plants in front of the peas. I'm guessing the peas will be done by the time the cantaloupe vines reach the trellis.

That just leaves the corn to be planted. I wanted to do that today, but I'm not going to dig in all that mud. Unfortunately, we are supposed to have rain for two more days. I'm crossing my fingers that things will be dry enough by next weekend. And that I won't have to clear out too many weeds to make room for the corn.

What a difference

Last weekend, it was beautifully warm and sunny, so I spent quite a bit of time in the garden. Moved compost around, cleared a few weeds, planted some of the tomato and pepper plants I bought on Earth Day, and just generally admired things.

Since then, the temps have dropped and it has rained almost daily. Not that I'm complaining about the temperature drop; the weather has been cool, not cold, which is just fine for spring. And while the rain has made it much too soggy to do anymore planting, it has been great for the garden that is planted.

Last weekend, I was very excited to see potato plants just starting to peek through the soil:

And now, look! A growth explosion!

I added a little soil/compost mix around the plants, but I'm going to need a lot more in order to have soil up to the level of the top of the frame like I want. Trying to figure out where to get it all from.

Last weekend, I counted 13 pea plants up:

I still have all 13, with respectable growth:

I know I planted more than 13 seeds, but I think maybe I didn't cover them up enough. Several of them were showing above the soil after a couple of days, which I think may have been rather tempting to birds. We'll see how much I can harvest from 13 plants.

Last weekend, I planted some of the tomatoes and peppers:

Celebrity tomatoes on the right, Early Girl on the left, with one red and one orange bell pepper. Jalapeno peppers in front, along with an Arkansas Traveler tomato (just because I thought it would be interesting to try). They look just the same this weekend, so I won't make you look at a second picture. They won't do much of anything until it gets a little warmer.

I'm just as pleased as punch with my garden; I've been sitting on the back steps admiring it, wishing I could get out there and play. But working soggy soil is not a good idea, so I will possess my soul in patience and wait for better conditions. At least for a while.