05 June 2010

Dig Dig Dig

It's gardening time!

The last few days have been busy. I've ripped out about 10 square feet of evil hosta plants (terrible spreading things) that were choking the composter. Now on either side of the composter, I've planted a couple plants each of a sweet melon and squash. Fingers crossed the dog doesn't trample them!

Up the east fenceline, I planted canteloupe seedlings, watermelon seedlings, and 3 pumpkin seeds, hoping that at least ONE pumpkin grows. It would be nice to have a few for pies (which I totally don't eat, but it would be neat to make one from scratch, right?) and our own Jack O'Lanterns.

Up against the house there is a wild strawberry patch. We picked the first two ripe ones today and gobbled them up. Delicious! You should have seen Delilah's face when she tried it! Priceless.

In the same bed as the strawberries, I planted some "world's hottest" habanero pepper plants, and will plant a couple lettuce plants in front of those, so we can have fresh salad while we wait for the lettuce seeds to grow. I plan on planting lettuce seeds every 2 weeks or so, so we'll have lettuce all summer and fall. IF it doesn't get too hot, that is. I might have to make a shade cover for the lettuce.

Speaking of lettuce, I bought a 24" long window box planter at Walmart last night and filled it with a magic soil/compost blend and Delilah and I planted 3 rows of loose leaf lettuce into it. We planted Grand Rapids lettuce, Heirloom Red Lettuce (oak leaf), and Mesclun salad mix lettuces into the planter. We'll also be planting rows of mixed lettuce seeds in and among other plants. I MIGHT make a permanent lettuce bed up underneath the maple tree for shade, but we'll see how that goes.

I need to borrow a rototiller. I plan on planting a LOT of tomato plants this year, enough to can a bunch of stewed tomatoes, plus make salsa and tomato sauce. That means one bed dedicated to tomatoes. I have the room to do a 4' x 10' garden, which translates into 40 plants, if my math is correct. Or 20, if I give them 2 feet of space each. That is plenty. I want to plant romas (they're good for stewing), a few beefsteak, and some other variety that are good for sauces. And one or two cherry or grape for salads. mmmm tomatoes.

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