In the Garden: April 2009 Archives

Sorry, Blue Witch. I know you were trying to get people to plant lettuce, but the first seed that went into my newly refurbished raised veggie bed was spinach, closely followed by Long Island Mammoth Dill.

I had intended to start my planting on Saturday afternoon, but I was overcome by a bad case of couch slothism. The day passed, and as it did, a storm front moved in. I was kicking myself around for having missed the perfect opportunity to get those seeds planted. It rained all Sunday, and was still raining this morning.

I came home from exercise and made my bed, watered the houseplants, started a load of laundry and completed assorted other chores. As I puttered around I realized that some of the clouds had parted, and we were getting SUN! I grabbed my gardening bucket and the seed packets, and made a bee line for the veggie boxes. I was planting the second row when DH drove up. "WHAT are YOU doing home??" "We were rained out."

I looked around me, and wondered where he had been working that they had missed out on this wonderful sunny day.

The clouds have come and gone several times today. We may get a few more storms tonight, which won't hurt those seeds at all, but they will be confused. We're going to go from the 40s to 80 on Friday!

So, Blue Witch, I'm going to start looking for lettuce seeds, but I'll hold off on the planting for a while.

It isn't often that my sisters and I are able to get together, but today is one of those rare days. My Second Sister has been invited to preach at My-Sister-The-Nurse's country church. Since Frankie is up visiting with Elegante Mother, we plan to all meet at church this morning, and then go to lunch. I've heard my SS give the children's sermon in her own church, where she is Director of Christian Education, but I've never heard her give the main sermon of the morning. I'm looking forward to hearing what she's chosen as her message for the day.

Dear Husband has decided to accompany me. It's less than a month until it's time for the Arr!! to go into the water, so usually he would be busy sanding and varnishing, but we're having a rainy day, perhaps the first since Spring officially started.

I had intended to get my spinach planted yesterday and didn't. :-( I KNEW it was going to be good weather for those seeds to germinate and simply didn't get out there. We had my favorite landscaper and his crew visit and they renovated the raised veggie boxes for me. I'd been having a terrible time with weeds in those two boxes. When DH cobbled them together for me, he didn't sink them into the ground, or line the bottom of the box with landscaping fabric, so weeds licked their little lips and slipped under the edge to the choice dirt, and thrived! The guys removed a tree that had grown out over the boxes, and then emptied out all the soil in the boxes and lined them. They replaced the dirt with fresh soil mixed with compost, so I should be good to go! This year I hope to plant spinach, dill, romaine and tomatoes. IF I can find a pickle cucumber bush, I might plant one, and I might plant a zucchini, just one! That's about the extent of my energy for veggies this year.

So....I'm going to order some veggie and Iris catalogs and be on my way to church. I hope all of you are having a warm, sunny Spring Day!