You lose some, you win some.

Sad garden news... 

Something dug up my sage plants.  I say "something" and not "Stormy" because I am pretty sure I watched her well all day... and somehow the bed keeps getting dug up despite the fence around it.  It's a short fence, but as far as we know, Stormy doesn't know she can jump that high and always obeys fence boundaries.  I replanted them and hope they survive, and will not let Stormy out of my sight tomorrow. 

All 5 of the mexican gherkins fried to a crisp in the sun over the course of one day.  I also only have 1 left of each of the cuke and squash seedlings, but the list of which numbers corresponded to which varieties is somehow lost, so I wouldn't know which is which anyway.  I spent 3 weeks hardening these guys off, but I guess it wasn't enough. 

Looks like I'm planting a lot of seed directly in the ground tomorrow to try to catch up!  What grows, grows.  And if it doesn't, there's always seedlings at the local hardware store.  Maybe, just to be safe, I should just get a couple squash seedlings.


But on the bright side...

At least all the tomatoes are fantastic, the transplanted mint is having a field day in its new home, the basils and chard are looking stoic, and the strawberries and malabar spinach still appear vibrant.  These guys thought that 3 weeks was plenty of hardening-off time.  There should still be a lot to harvest.

I also repotted the extra tomato seedlings that were in the tiniest pots... sooooo many seedlings!  I have a big decision to make about the remaining garden space... how much do I want to give to squash (which never works for me), and how much do I want to give to tomatoes (I already planted 14)? 

Night of the Living Tomatoes

Yesterday wasn't as productive as I'd hoped, because Torin is teething and his tolerance of my other responsibilities was pretty nonexistent.

Before nightfall, all I had done was organize the seedlings by variety and decide on placement in the garden.

7 different flavors!  Plus baby and pup.  

Obviously I lined up every young living thing that is precious to me for this photo.

I was not deterred.

I had to develop an alternate plan, and ended up gardening in the dark for a few hours after he went to bed.  It was a frenzy of digging and flinging dirt and cupping roots with my bare hands.  Night gardening is very life-affirming... I had no thoughts beyond the dirt, the the plants, the hopes for bringing forth nutrition from the soil, and keeping an ear open for the baby monitor.  I haven't felt a zen quite like that in a while. 

The only downside to night gardening was the bugs.  I had to dig deep for the tomatoes, so I found several cutworms shining white and creepily in the moonlight.  At one point my zen was disturbed as I realized that my arms were completely covered past my elbows in ants because I'd disturbed a nest... but I just brushed them off and kept digging.


Much was accomplished!

The total seedlings planted for the night:

• 5 basil
• 2 sage
• 4 malabar spinach
• 13 tomatoes (9 in the ground, 3 in giant pots, 1 in a large pot for my grandpa)

Every tomato was planted up to its neck in the soil, so they have excellent potential for growing very large and robust root systems. 


The garden is almost done being prepped for summer.

When I woke this morning, it felt like a great surprise to have all that work done!  I still have to find spots for at least 2 more tomatoes and the rest of my herb/cuke/squash seedlings, but the bulk of the transplant effort is complete. 

Then I plant more seeds directly outside, and repot the leftover tomatoes.

Then I need to find new homes for all the excess tomato babies. 

Tomato Planting Day

Today is the start of tomato planting!!

I heard from someone who has had both great and horrible success with tomatoes over the years, and they say that if they plant any earlier than the end of April, they always have a bad time... there's always a cold snap, and then the plants become stunted.  It's already April 28th, and I checked the weather which forecasts no nights under 50 degrees (plus a couple of 90-degree days) for the next 10 days... it is time.


Yesterday's productivity means I'm ready for planting.

Yesterday I spent an hour weeding in the front yard, and an hour doing prep work in the backyard.  This is one thing I made...

First time trying a net in the garden.

Each of these beds are 5'x2'.  The left contains 2 tomato cages and is fully surrounded by a deceptively sturdy Vine-and-Veggie trellis net (5'x30' for the whole thing, $10 on amazon if you're curious), and it will hopefully hold dragon egg cucumbers and sour mexican gherkins.  The net will also keep Stormy from digging there!  The right has 2 tomato cages plus the rest of the net supported along the fence plus a wooden trellis that's been nailed to the fence since before we moved into the house, and it will hold 2 tomatoes.  The plants in front of the beds are volunteer chives.  I'll very likely have to add a few more nails to keep the net supported, but it's fine for now.

I'm off to place seedling pots on their new spots in the garden.  The thrill is giving me goosebumps! 

An Open Letter To My Oven Mitt

Dear Mr. Oven Mitt, 

I can take a hint.  I can tell when it's time for a relationship to end.

Our decade together meant so much to me... you were my first oven mitt, my only oven mitt.  We got together straight out of college, when I had no idea what I was doing.  Just a budding chef and her oven mitt... we certainly learned a lot together.  But lately whenever I reach for you, trying to touch in the way we used to touch, I get burned.  Have we just grown apart after all this time?  I used to be able to depend on you, but you keep letting me down.

Have I ever let you down?  No!  I have defended you against those who said you were looking a little rough around the edges, that you were letting yourself go, that I could do better.  I even stayed by your side when others said you weren't treating me well, weren't protecting me anymore... but over the last year, I've come to realize that they were right.  It's not how you look that bothers me, it's how we're no longer a team.  You've made it abundantly clear that I'm better off without you.  So I'm kicking you out.

So long, and thanks for all the lasagna. 

Good luck out there in the world, I hope you decompose quickly out on some rotting pile of garbage.  Your matching potholder will be joining you shortly... don't think that you can leave your crap behind at my house.

Up yours,
- Kendra

PS:  I already don't miss you.  I met some Swedish twins at Ikea the other day and brought the ladies home, and WHOA, let's just say that cooking has never been better. 

Exhausted after a few hours of baking...