Garden Update

Well, things have been going pretty well in the garden so far. Two weeks ago I planted half of my tomatoes and some lima beans. Last week I planted just about everything else. I hope to get the rest of it planted Saturday.

When I went out yesterday to check things I saw that most of my first row of lima beans have come up. I was very pleased to see that. If I can get my irrigation out I'm sure it won't be long until the others follow suit.

So far we have about 50 tomato plants, a dozen squash plants, half a dozen zucchini, a long row of blackeye peas, a long row of purple hull peas, a long row of green beans, 2 long rows of lima beans, a hill of watermelons, a dozen jalapeno peppers, 3 red bell peppers, 3 poblano peppers, 3 yellow bell peppers, 3 green bell peppers, 3 purple bell peppers, 3 mild banana peppers, 2 dill plants, one basil plant, and one cabbage plant (that belongs to my niece.) Oh yeah, and three short rows of corn.

Still to be planted are two rows of lima beans (one will get planted next week) three or 4 rows of corn, cucumbers, and several hills of cantaloupes, water melons, and maybe even a hill of honeydew if I can find it. I also have some sweet potatoes to see if I can sprout. I may do some of them too.

It still sounds like a lot, but not so much really. I will probably plant the rest of the corn, one row of lima beans, and one hill of cantaloupe on Saturday. If I can find it I'll probably do a hill of honeydew too.

This year I selected 4 main varieties of tomato. I have a dozen Better Boy plants, because that has been my family's favorite for years. I have also planted a dozen Roma tomatoes for canning and salsa. There is also dozen Celebrity for eating, canning and salsa. Finally, I got a dozen Cherokee Purple for juice. I also added a grape tomato and another "tommytoe" variety. And my friend Terry gave me another variety that I have divided into three plants. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of that one.

Saturday's work in the garden will also be spent getting my irrigation sorted - or at least planned. Every year you have to chase leaks, and I'll have to take some time to find out what hoses are working, which ones can be repaired, and which ones need to be trashed. Then I can figure out what else I need. I also need to put down some lime and fertilizer. It probably wouldn't hurt to get the tomato stakes in the ground too.

So far the weeds haven't shown up yet, but when they do, I have a handy new pointy hoe to take care of them, thanks to my girlfriend's mom! As much work as gardening is, for some reason I really enjoy it.

Well, that's all for the farm report tonight! I'll try to get you caught up this weekend.