Mother Nature Must Not Like Me

I've decided that Mother Nature doesn't like me very much--she keeps raining on my gardening parade!

I've been waiting for two dry days in a row in order to till, but only got a one-day reprieve. So I tilled anyway, knowing full well I was also compacting some of the dirt as I walked behind the tiller. The dirt is pretty clumpy in spots, and I'm clearly going to have to till again.

I only got a little over half of the garden tilled before I ran out of energy and my hands were sore. I planned to till the next day, but--you guessed it--Mother Nature wept. Again. And again.

Today was dry and cool, but it looks like it could possibly rain. I'm surprised we haven't floated away like Noah in his ark. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that later in the week it dries up and the temperature climbs into the 60's.

C'mon, Mother Nature--cooperate a little, will ya? I have crops to plant!

Settling for Seedlings

The ground is still wet and spongy, so I haven't been able to do any planting the last few days. I have searched the house and garage from top to bottom for my leftover heirloom seeds from last year to start, but can't find them. Good thing my life doesn't depend upon it.

I was so frustrated, I finally went to Menard's and purchased some Burpee organic seeds to plant. I started Beefmaster tomatoes (my favorite--I love the rich, meaty tomatoes best for BLTs and just eating off the vine) as well as California Wonder and China Giant peppers. In the herb category, I planted parsley, (no sage--rarely use it), rosemary, thyme, more sweet basil, and oregano. I already have dill in the garden (although it hasn't come up yet), so the only herb I'm really missing at this point that I'd like to have is cilantro for salsas and salads. I started all these today and put them on the plant warmer and under the plant grow light, so hopefully in a few days I'll see some shoots peeking above the soil!

Meanwhile, Mother Nature's grow-juice (read: rain) has resulted in some very healthy veggies: the tomatoes have greened up and have a lot of growth; the zucchini are taking off. Yes, all 12 zucchini plants are doing well, so if anyone needs zucchini...well, I'll have plenty to provide to others as well as plenty to freeze and use! The picture at right shows one of the plants with a stray robin's egg next to it, perfectly positioned by nature to show scale.

So far, the bunnies have stayed out of the garden, even though I have not yet put up the rest of the garden fence. They like to play in the front yard down by the retention pond. The cattails make perfect cover for their bunny hide-and-seek games. David and I watched them last night cavorting around, hopping straight up in the air at times, running into each other, playing leap-bunny, and generally having fun. As long as they stay in the front yard, we will not have to reduce them to bunny stew.

OK, I was just kidding about the stew.

The Lady of Shallot (with Apologies to Tennyson)

Since the ground was too wet to plant today because of the rain yesterday and this morning, I decided to see whether the rain had resulted in any plant growth in the garden. The beans I had recently planted had perked up, and lo and behold, the zucchini plants--all 12 of them--are starting to look like zucchini plants now! It won't be long now and I'll have to break out the zucchini recipes. My favorite is Zucchini Chocolate Sheet Cake; close behind is Cagley Casserole...a zucchini casserole recipe given to me by a former neighbor, now deceased, named Mrs. Cagley. She was my gardening buddy, always bringing me shallots, rhubarb, and asparagus from her garden, while I provided her with zucchini, lettuce, and tomatoes from mine. She was a wonderful neighbor, and always had helpful gardening tips at hand to help out.

The shallots (planted in her honor) and onion sets, both yellow and white, are sending their shoots up through the grass clippings now. It will be a while before they will be ready to harvest, but I'm delighted they are doing so well so quickly! I'm not entirely certain what to cook with shallots (other than just to use shallots as onion replacements for a slightly different flavor), but I'll do some recipe searches before harvest.

What I'm most pleased about, however, are the tomato plants which, after being inexcusably neglected, have rallied! The new leaves on top are a deep verdigris, and all but the two smallest plants have at least two small tomatoes a piece. A couple of the plants even have additional blossoms, so provided that I keep them well watered, they should produce well for me this season.

My biggest concern right now is getting the rest of the garden planted! I know I sound like a broken record, but please, Mother Nature, may we have a couple of days without rain? Pretty please?

Spring Is Here (I Think . . . )

I am tired of playing hide and seek with Spring; I am ready to get my hands dirty, break up clods of slightly damp soil and breathe in the pleasant, earthy aroma. I want to pull weeds, plant seeds, and watch my food grow.

Of course, I have to decide where to plant the garden and actually till the plot before all the fun begins.

My fiance and I moved into a house last fall, and we have a 2-acre lot. The problem is in deciding where to locate the garden. Much of the yard is off-limits because it is either a retaining pond where cattails have taken over, or it is too-wet land that runs along and near the creek on the side of our property. But that still leaves a good amount of space for a garden.

It doesn't help that it has been raining a lot lately, which has kept me from breaking the tiller out. In fact, David got the tiller out this evening in anticipation of my using it tomorrow, since it is supposed to be a beautiful day. But suddenly, it looks like we may have a storm this evening, so the tiller is under porch cover, just in case.

Don't get me wrong--all gardeners appreciate the rain. After all, the recent rains have certainly brought beauty out of hiding; the jonquils are blooming and the trees are blossoming. Rain early on helps set the stage for a good farming season. It nourishes the grass and the microbes and other soil critters that are important for soil health.

But would a few days' break hurt? Just so I can get my garden started? Pleeeeaaaaaase?

How far are YOU in your gardening endeavors?

Something Strange is A-Foot

We've had some stiff summer winds lately, but I'm pretty sure an object like this one--which is heavy--doesn't just blow into a garden. Plus, our yard is fenced in. And the neighbors, who seem to be mature, upright citizens who keep their lawns well manicured by paying outrageous sums to landscaping companies, don't seem the type to just toss a shoe over the fence. We also haven't had any visitors who have lost a size 9 1/2 B sandal (and wouldn't they notice that before they left if they had?).

I have seen bunnies near my garden, and they dash away at the smallest sign that I might actually look in their direction. Could they have, perhaps, dragged the shoe in? Did a prancing deer leap over my fence, dislodging a shoe that it had its hoof tangled in? Did Mother Nature come walking through the garden, leaving a shoe behind like Cinderella, hoping for a princely sky god to find her and return the shoe so they could live happily ever after? And if so, wouldn't she wear a much larger, more practical gardening shoe?

If this is your shoe, would you please come claim it?

It's Spring...No, It's Winter...No, It's Spring...No, It's Winter...

Dear Mother Nature,

I know "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature," but really--who's fooling whom? Haven't you read the The Old Farmer's Almanac, which says that April 17 is the last frost date for the Springfield, Illinois area and April 22 for the Chicago, Illinois area? Please--give our poor little peas and beans and other early spring crops a break!

Early this morning, my Forecastfox widget alerted me with a big, ugly red stop sign that we had a severe weather alert for Decatur, Illinois. According to Accuweather.com, a

...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 8 AM CDT TUESDAY...

HIGH PRESSURE FROM CANADA WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN ILLINOIS BY TUESDAY MORNING...WHICH WILL PRODUCE A DECREASE IN CLOUD COVER AND WINDS OVER CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THESE CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW THE FREEZING MARK AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES FOR TUESDAY MORNING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

A FREEZE WARNING MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE IMMINENT OR HIGHLY LIKELY. THESE CONDITIONS COULD KILL SENSITIVE VEGETATION WHICH SHOULD BE COVERED OR BROUGHT INSIDE.

Argh! I have been so good at getting seedlings started, getting plants in the ground, taking care of them, and now this! A gardener's nightmare.

I dug through my old fabric and old sheets and scrounged as many scraps and old linens as possible to cover the beans and peas. I draped them over the fences to try to keep out the worst of the weather, but we're also supposed to have freezing rain, so I'm not sure how effective they'll be. I may have to start all over. I also covered up the few tulips I had sprouting in a nearby mess of branches and leaves.

C'mon, Mother Nature, give a poor eco-friendly girl a break! Bring on Spring!