Busy without the Bees

I’ve been too busy at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden (and with my other non-gardening life) to write for three whole weeks.   My, how time flies.   However, it also indicates that we’ve had a lot going on.   I would say that we've been busy little bees, but I've seen very few of them around . . . .

Water.  Water remains our biggest obstacle.  The downspout strainer clogged AGAIN.  Despite a nice rain at the end of May, we only had 200 gallons and they were gone in a blink.  John found transporting my ladder to be too much of a hassle, so Barb and I walked down the alley with her ladder to the SACG so that I could clear the strainer again.   Until the tank refilled on May 31, Barb also loaned us water from the Block Watch tank across the street. With Friday night’s rain, our tank was full to the brim again, so I turned off the diverter.  However, the other tank still only has 150 gallons in it, which makes me think that something is wrong with the diverter . . . . .  The garden next door – Kimball Farms Community Garden – is making due with three of our old rain barrels and they fill like clockwork now (after a few spits and starts), although I hope they do something soon about covering them (to keep mosquitoes from invading).

Seedlings.. It seems that it’s almost impossible these days to give seedlings away.  I always grow enough for everyone, but hardly anyone wants any of my seedlings.  I can cope, because I can find room for the non-tomato ones in the food pantry plots.  Strader’s Nursery has been exceedingly generous to GCGC this year and donated thousands of tomato and flower seedlings and hundreds of pepper, melon, lettuce, cabbage and cucumber seedlings.   I put some of the melon seedlings in the kids’ melon plot and Stan made use of many of the rest.   I also spent quite a bit of time one Saturday planting donated annuals (and a few transplanted perennials from my yard) into the flower beds.  Our daisies have started their seasonal die-back and the annuals will give us a tiny bit of color until other flowers bloom.

Kids.  Four of our kids’ raised beds have been taken by groups of neighborhood kids.  Some boys (and one of their fathers) came on the last Wednesday in May to plant in a bed.  Sadly, they haven’t returned to harvest or water.  Their lettuce is crowding their carrots and beets . . . .    When the girls assigned to the fifth bed didn’t return for weeks and weeks (after cleaning it out and helping around the Garden), I finally relented to turning it into a melon plot so that all of the kids can share cantaloupe and watermelon.

Donations.  With my non-gardening issues prevailing on my time in May, we were a little tardy in taking advantage of some important donations.  The City donated some premium top soil from Kurtz Brothers, but we had to pick it up ourselves.  No one would volunteer to do that, although I had volunteers to help unload. Then, Franklin Park Conservatory donated some compost (which we never have enough of).  So, I took a day off work (when my sister drove my father from OSUMC to my hometown), rented a truck and picked up the compost from the Conservatory.  Barb helped me to unload it while Frank mowed the two block watch lots.  After a brief lunch, I then went to pick up the top soil from Kurtz Brothers in Groveport and Amy helped me to unload it (which was much heavier than the compost) and sweep out the truck.  It was very hot.  Even though she was on vacation with her family in the nation’s capitol, Cathy helped us by letting me hose out the truck before returning it. 

I then rushed back to the SACG because a nice lady, Brenda, had stopped by as I was leaving the prior Saturday, for help in learning to grow food.  I told her I’d show her some things if she met me at 6 on Wednesday.  I got there 10 minutes before she did.  I showed her some things and used our abundant pepper donation to give her some practice.  Then, she went to work hoeing out Tony’s old overgrown plot (where Stan also decided to put his excess squash plants.  She came back the following Saturday and told me that she’d like to have a plot with a friend.  So, Wednesday, she was back to start putting in her work equity by staining our new picnic table (with help from the neighborhood girls).  However, neither she nor her friend returned on Saturday to complete the project or perform other work . . . . . . sigh.

 Crime.  Crime has continued to be a problem.  Much of our mulch was stolen again, even though we had it inside our locked gates.  The thieves have been damaging the fence in Stan’s plot to get it.  It hasn’t helped that he unwisely cut back the raspberries back to the fence on the inside of the fence.  The thieves stomped down the brambles and then bent down the fence.  Surprisingly, they did not step on a single one of Stan’s plants.  They also attacked our shed and tried to pry of the latch (without much luck the first time).  Although initially unsuccessful, they damaged the wood and broke one of the window-type latches.  I knew they’d be back and they were – just five days later.  This time, they broke the latch (but not the combination lock).  I expected that they would steal all of our tools and watering cans.  Instead, they took our gardening gloves and seeds – ALL OF OUR SEEDS  - - and the container they were stored in (which has SACG written on it).  So much for fall planting . . . . . and new gardeners . . . .  They also mysteriously left us a box of trash.  I’m too creeped out by this to inspect what is inside.   I had to drop everything, check out the damage, buy and install a new latch and, because we hadn’t initially found the old lock, bought a new lock, too.   Sigh. 

Bugs.  The squash bugs are back.  I knew that I planted my squash too early, but I couldn’t help myself and wait until now to start planting.

Poison Ivy.  For the first time in my memory, I have a nasty case of poison ivy.  I pulled some near my patio and at the Garden’s front gate.  Then, I carelessly carried it in my uncovered arms to the compost bins.   It is very unsightly.  After a few days, I finally tried a remedy that I should have implemented the first day because it reduced the swelling and itching almost immediately:  Off label-use of Preparation H.  Think about it.  It’s supposed to reduce the swelling and itchiness of another itchy tissue and does the same for poison ivy and bug bites.    Just sayin’ . . .

Soil Improvement.  The beginning of the month saw another very informational presentation at a GCGC meeting by Dr. Darrah from CLC Labs.   I could write a full article just on what he covered during that presentation, but I’m a little pressed for time.  He wanted to cover how much of what to apply to your soil and when to apply it. 

He’s not the biggest fan of organic gardening, simply because it’s too expensive and complicated.  There are perfectly natural minerals which perform the same task with far less weight and cost.  For instance, to improve the nitrogen in the soil, you could apply urea or blood meal, but it would take 20 times as much of those materials as the mineral ammonium sulfate (which, unlike the others, won’t attract wild life to your garden).  It’s the efficacy of the organic ingredients which makes them more expensive because it takes a lot more of an organic substitute to achieve the result just a tiny bit of the mineral can achieve.  Also, the organic materials still need to break down into a mineral form before they can be used by your plants.   However, when it comes to lawn care, you are far less likely to burn your grass using organic materials because they are absorbed slower.  For phosphorus, he recommends turf soil starter fertilizer, bone meal,  or poultry manure.  For postasium, he recommends sulfate of potash or green sand.

 He also noted that vegetation compost (like leaf mold) has less nutrition for plants than manure compost.  I’ve noted before that he has warned about using too much compost or sifted compost in your garden because, when the soil becomes water-logged like this morning, it will suffocate the plant roots without air pockets to get oxygen.  He likes to leave twigs and such in his compost to give roots breathing room.  Other than pine bark compost, most vegetative composts are alkaline and you will need to acidify your soil in order to obtain a favorable pH.    (Thank you Donley Complete Tree Care for giving us pine bark wood chips this year to protect the pH of our soil!)

He explained that the limestone soils which are common in this area want to remain alkaline.  Most soils will go acidic over time as rain washes away calcium and magnesium.

Upcoming Projects. Well, when it stops raining every day (or between rain drops), we will need to put on a second coat of stain onto the picnic table.  We will also repaint the shed (to cover the damage caused by the thieves) and to make it look a little brighter after five years of wear.  We’ll also try to finally mulch the flower beds, clear out the spent daisies and put in the rest of the basil. 

Since John dropped out this morning, we have two beds available.  Brenda indicated an interest in one and Stan’s sister, Linda, in the other.  However, I want this matter settled once and for all this weekend so that I can compost my extra tomato seedlings and reclaim my patio.  If those plots aren’t claimed and cleaned out, I’ll turn them into food pantry plots and fill them with tomatoes, squash and peppers.  So there.

Busy without the Bees

I’ve been too busy at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden (and with my other non-gardening life) to write for three whole weeks.   My, how time flies.   However, it also indicates that we’ve had a lot going on.   I would say that we've been busy little bees, but I've seen very few of them around . . . .

Water.  Water remains our biggest obstacle.  The downspout strainer clogged AGAIN.  Despite a nice rain at the end of May, we only had 200 gallons and they were gone in a blink.  John found transporting my ladder to be too much of a hassle, so Barb and I walked down the alley with her ladder to the SACG so that I could clear the strainer again.   Until the tank refilled on May 31, Barb also loaned us water from the Block Watch tank across the street. With Friday night’s rain, our tank was full to the brim again, so I turned off the diverter.  However, the other tank still only has 150 gallons in it, which makes me think that something is wrong with the diverter . . . . .  The garden next door – Kimball Farms Community Garden – is making due with three of our old rain barrels and they fill like clockwork now (after a few spits and starts), although I hope they do something soon about covering them (to keep mosquitoes from invading).

Seedlings.. It seems that it’s almost impossible these days to give seedlings away.  I always grow enough for everyone, but hardly anyone wants any of my seedlings.  I can cope, because I can find room for the non-tomato ones in the food pantry plots.  Strader’s Nursery has been exceedingly generous to GCGC this year and donated thousands of tomato and flower seedlings and hundreds of pepper, melon, lettuce, cabbage and cucumber seedlings.   I put some of the melon seedlings in the kids’ melon plot and Stan made use of many of the rest.   I also spent quite a bit of time one Saturday planting donated annuals (and a few transplanted perennials from my yard) into the flower beds.  Our daisies have started their seasonal die-back and the annuals will give us a tiny bit of color until other flowers bloom.

Kids.  Four of our kids’ raised beds have been taken by groups of neighborhood kids.  Some boys (and one of their fathers) came on the last Wednesday in May to plant in a bed.  Sadly, they haven’t returned to harvest or water.  Their lettuce is crowding their carrots and beets . . . .    When the girls assigned to the fifth bed didn’t return for weeks and weeks (after cleaning it out and helping around the Garden), I finally relented to turning it into a melon plot so that all of the kids can share cantaloupe and watermelon.

Donations.  With my non-gardening issues prevailing on my time in May, we were a little tardy in taking advantage of some important donations.  The City donated some premium top soil from Kurtz Brothers, but we had to pick it up ourselves.  No one would volunteer to do that, although I had volunteers to help unload. Then, Franklin Park Conservatory donated some compost (which we never have enough of).  So, I took a day off work (when my sister drove my father from OSUMC to my hometown), rented a truck and picked up the compost from the Conservatory.  Barb helped me to unload it while Frank mowed the two block watch lots.  After a brief lunch, I then went to pick up the top soil from Kurtz Brothers in Groveport and Amy helped me to unload it (which was much heavier than the compost) and sweep out the truck.  It was very hot.  Even though she was on vacation with her family in the nation’s capitol, Cathy helped us by letting me hose out the truck before returning it. 

I then rushed back to the SACG because a nice lady, Brenda, had stopped by as I was leaving the prior Saturday, for help in learning to grow food.  I told her I’d show her some things if she met me at 6 on Wednesday.  I got there 10 minutes before she did.  I showed her some things and used our abundant pepper donation to give her some practice.  Then, she went to work hoeing out Tony’s old overgrown plot (where Stan also decided to put his excess squash plants.  She came back the following Saturday and told me that she’d like to have a plot with a friend.  So, Wednesday, she was back to start putting in her work equity by staining our new picnic table (with help from the neighborhood girls).  However, neither she nor her friend returned on Saturday to complete the project or perform other work . . . . . . sigh.

 Crime.  Crime has continued to be a problem.  Much of our mulch was stolen again, even though we had it inside our locked gates.  The thieves have been damaging the fence in Stan’s plot to get it.  It hasn’t helped that he unwisely cut back the raspberries back to the fence on the inside of the fence.  The thieves stomped down the brambles and then bent down the fence.  Surprisingly, they did not step on a single one of Stan’s plants.  They also attacked our shed and tried to pry of the latch (without much luck the first time).  Although initially unsuccessful, they damaged the wood and broke one of the window-type latches.  I knew they’d be back and they were – just five days later.  This time, they broke the latch (but not the combination lock).  I expected that they would steal all of our tools and watering cans.  Instead, they took our gardening gloves and seeds – ALL OF OUR SEEDS  - - and the container they were stored in (which has SACG written on it).  So much for fall planting . . . . . and new gardeners . . . .  They also mysteriously left us a box of trash.  I’m too creeped out by this to inspect what is inside.   I had to drop everything, check out the damage, buy and install a new latch and, because we hadn’t initially found the old lock, bought a new lock, too.   Sigh. 

Bugs.  The squash bugs are back.  I knew that I planted my squash too early, but I couldn’t help myself and wait until now to start planting.

Poison Ivy.  For the first time in my memory, I have a nasty case of poison ivy.  I pulled some near my patio and at the Garden’s front gate.  Then, I carelessly carried it in my uncovered arms to the compost bins.   It is very unsightly.  After a few days, I finally tried a remedy that I should have implemented the first day because it reduced the swelling and itching almost immediately:  Off label-use of Preparation H.  Think about it.  It’s supposed to reduce the swelling and itchiness of another itchy tissue and does the same for poison ivy and bug bites.    Just sayin’ . . .

Soil Improvement.  The beginning of the month saw another very informational presentation at a GCGC meeting by Dr. Darrah from CLC Labs.   I could write a full article just on what he covered during that presentation, but I’m a little pressed for time.  He wanted to cover how much of what to apply to your soil and when to apply it. 

He’s not the biggest fan of organic gardening, simply because it’s too expensive and complicated.  There are perfectly natural minerals which perform the same task with far less weight and cost.  For instance, to improve the nitrogen in the soil, you could apply urea or blood meal, but it would take 20 times as much of those materials as the mineral ammonium sulfate (which, unlike the others, won’t attract wild life to your garden).  It’s the efficacy of the organic ingredients which makes them more expensive because it takes a lot more of an organic substitute to achieve the result just a tiny bit of the mineral can achieve.  Also, the organic materials still need to break down into a mineral form before they can be used by your plants.   However, when it comes to lawn care, you are far less likely to burn your grass using organic materials because they are absorbed slower.  For phosphorus, he recommends turf soil starter fertilizer, bone meal,  or poultry manure.  For postasium, he recommends sulfate of potash or green sand.

 He also noted that vegetation compost (like leaf mold) has less nutrition for plants than manure compost.  I’ve noted before that he has warned about using too much compost or sifted compost in your garden because, when the soil becomes water-logged like this morning, it will suffocate the plant roots without air pockets to get oxygen.  He likes to leave twigs and such in his compost to give roots breathing room.  Other than pine bark compost, most vegetative composts are alkaline and you will need to acidify your soil in order to obtain a favorable pH.    (Thank you Donley Complete Tree Care for giving us pine bark wood chips this year to protect the pH of our soil!)

He explained that the limestone soils which are common in this area want to remain alkaline.  Most soils will go acidic over time as rain washes away calcium and magnesium.

Upcoming Projects. Well, when it stops raining every day (or between rain drops), we will need to put on a second coat of stain onto the picnic table.  We will also repaint the shed (to cover the damage caused by the thieves) and to make it look a little brighter after five years of wear.  We’ll also try to finally mulch the flower beds, clear out the spent daisies and put in the rest of the basil. 

Since John dropped out this morning, we have two beds available.  Brenda indicated an interest in one and Stan’s sister, Linda, in the other.  However, I want this matter settled once and for all this weekend so that I can compost my extra tomato seedlings and reclaim my patio.  If those plots aren’t claimed and cleaned out, I’ll turn them into food pantry plots and fill them with tomatoes, squash and peppers.  So there.

Rush to Plant

The crazy weather this month (with hot weather at the beginning of the month and cool weather at the end) has delayed the summer planting until this weekend at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.    We’ve even got a wait list for plots based on the lovely Spring weather we have experienced spontaneous volunteers showing up to help.

Wednesday was a busy day. Susan’s friend, Mary, had dropped off a few boxes of seedlings she had started: bush pickle cucumbers, summer squash and giant sunflowers.  On Thursday, Strader’s Garden Centers donated scores of flats of lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli to GCGC.  So, I drove over and picked up some flats for the SACG.

Robert Seed from Keep Columbus Beautiful called to report that he had a Bexley High School senior who needed to complete his community service (before graduating) and was at the SACG.  I put them to work  keeping Columbus beautiful weeding along the alley until I arrived.   His father was there to help him (to do the work, not the hours).  While his father helped Mari amend the soil in her plot and to plant, the student mowed the grass in our lot and in the next door Block Watch lot.  (Like me, Frank  -- who usually mows that lot every week -- has been otherwise engaged with a hospitalized parent).  We then went to plant summer squash and cucumbers into the neighbor plot.  So, the SACG will look neat -- and beautiful --  for the Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, I invited them to return to help anytime the spirit moved them.

Stan came by to mow the grass, but since it was ably accomplished, he stayed to turn compost in our western bin.  While we were there, we chatted with the high school volunteer about his future plans and upcoming Gap year.  Laconic Stan then waxed eloquently about the virtues of being a union plumber.  I have to agree that there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople.

As I was leaving, Kinte pulled up to mow our grass and wasn't too disappointed to see that it had already been accomplished.

On Friday, John helped me transport my ladder to the SACG to re-check and clean out

the downspout drains which had clogged with the extraordinary amount of tree pollen we’ve received this year.   Pastor Brown gave me a hard time (joking, of course).  Fortunately, there was still water in the west gutter to drain into the tank when I cleared the strainer.  I also brought three gallons of water with me to test the downspouts and ensure that they were emptying into the tank.  While I was up on the ladder, I also checked the volume in the west tank (which was only about 100 gallons).  Because there clearly was not enough water to sustain us over the long weekend (which will probably be the busiest planting time of the year), Barb agreed that we could take water from the Block Watch tank (which Rain Brothers filled this week) until it rains again and puts water in our tank.  Frank and Barb had also built a new platform for the Block Watch tank to increase the water pressure.

While we were there, John had been on vacation and was able to check on his plot,

where his tomatoes and peas had sprouted.   Neal stopped by later in the day to set up his hardware and to plant most of his plot.

Sadly, Tony and Kaci still hadn’t touched their plots since joining the SACG and they were both weedy jungle oases in a Garden of well tended and weeded plots.

When I arrived on Saturday, Sabrina and Rayna had already been there for at least an hour.  Someone had also stuffed our Free Little Library and even left pictures around the base of it and the nearby cherry tree.  I had filled the truck of my rental car and part of the back seat with trays of seedlings and came prepared with a 15-point to-do list.   I put trellises in my plot, the food pantry plot and the neighbor plot and planted tomatoes in all of those plots, transplanted my overabundance of mint to points around my sprouted zucchini and squash, pulled the spearmint growing up in the cat mint, weeded the southern flower bed, pulled a few weeds out of the center flower bed (and watered some of the sunflower seedlings that are growing up under the abundant daisies), set up a trellis for my pole beans, watered everything in my plot, planted peppers in my plot and the food pantry plot, planted 1-1/2 flats of lettuce in the food pantry plots,  re-organized the shed, and pruned a volunteer tree. 

I also helped some neighbor girls weed their bed and plant tomatoes, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers.   (They watered it themselves).    Of course, they immediately deserted me when I mentioned there were ripe strawberries in our strawberry patch.  They picked them all, took them home to wash and eat them and then came back to finish working in their bed.

Before she left, Sabrina watered the food pantry plot.  She had completely filled her plot and was contemplating whether she could handle more real estate with a baby on the way.    We also discussed the benefits of lemon balm and mint in deterring mosquitoes (which are apparently abundant at her new apartment).  Rayna was busy using our compost to improve the soil in her plot.  Like me, she has a tray of home-sprouted peppers for her plot.

Stan came by, rolled up our extra fence/trellis, improved the soil in his plot and planted some tomatoes and lettuce.

Lots of people stopped by on their way to the Asian Festival at nearby Franklin Park Conservatory.   One church group took a tour of the Garden and gave me a bottle of water and brown papper lunch bag (which they were distributing throughout the neighborhood).  I finally left after 5 (after harvesting some dill and lettuce from my plot).  It was a long day and I never got around to planting my pole beans or planting peppers in the food pantry plot . . . . . . There’s always Wednesday.

Next Saturday, I’ll be planting my eggplant and basil, planting cosmos and zinnias, and starting work on our herb garden.    Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the monsoon that is currently in Nebraska and Oklahoma finally makes it hear and fills our tanks (and our neighbor’s barrels).

Rush to Plant

The crazy weather this month (with hot weather at the beginning of the month and cool weather at the end) has delayed the summer planting until this weekend at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.    We’ve even got a wait list for plots based on the lovely Spring weather we have experienced spontaneous volunteers showing up to help.

Wednesday was a busy day. Susan’s friend, Mary, had dropped off a few boxes of seedlings she had started: bush pickle cucumbers, summer squash and giant sunflowers.  On Thursday, Strader’s Garden Centers donated scores of flats of lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli to GCGC.  So, I drove over and picked up some flats for the SACG.

Robert Seed from Keep Columbus Beautiful called to report that he had a Bexley High School senior who needed to complete his community service (before graduating) and was at the SACG.  I put them to work  keeping Columbus beautiful weeding along the alley until I arrived.   His father was there to help him (to do the work, not the hours).  While his father helped Mari amend the soil in her plot and to plant, the student mowed the grass in our lot and in the next door Block Watch lot.  (Like me, Frank  -- who usually mows that lot every week -- has been otherwise engaged with a hospitalized parent).  We then went to plant summer squash and cucumbers into the neighbor plot.  So, the SACG will look neat -- and beautiful --  for the Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, I invited them to return to help anytime the spirit moved them.

Stan came by to mow the grass, but since it was ably accomplished, he stayed to turn compost in our western bin.  While we were there, we chatted with the high school volunteer about his future plans and upcoming Gap year.  Laconic Stan then waxed eloquently about the virtues of being a union plumber.  I have to agree that there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople.

As I was leaving, Kinte pulled up to mow our grass and wasn't too disappointed to see that it had already been accomplished.

On Friday, John helped me transport my ladder to the SACG to re-check and clean out

the downspout drains which had clogged with the extraordinary amount of tree pollen we’ve received this year.   Pastor Brown gave me a hard time (joking, of course).  Fortunately, there was still water in the west gutter to drain into the tank when I cleared the strainer.  I also brought three gallons of water with me to test the downspouts and ensure that they were emptying into the tank.  While I was up on the ladder, I also checked the volume in the west tank (which was only about 100 gallons).  Because there clearly was not enough water to sustain us over the long weekend (which will probably be the busiest planting time of the year), Barb agreed that we could take water from the Block Watch tank (which Rain Brothers filled this week) until it rains again and puts water in our tank.  Frank and Barb had also built a new platform for the Block Watch tank to increase the water pressure.

While we were there, John had been on vacation and was able to check on his plot,

where his tomatoes and peas had sprouted.   Neal stopped by later in the day to set up his hardware and to plant most of his plot.

Sadly, Tony and Kaci still hadn’t touched their plots since joining the SACG and they were both weedy jungle oases in a Garden of well tended and weeded plots.

When I arrived on Saturday, Sabrina and Rayna had already been there for at least an hour.  Someone had also stuffed our Free Little Library and even left pictures around the base of it and the nearby cherry tree.  I had filled the truck of my rental car and part of the back seat with trays of seedlings and came prepared with a 15-point to-do list.   I put trellises in my plot, the food pantry plot and the neighbor plot and planted tomatoes in all of those plots, transplanted my overabundance of mint to points around my sprouted zucchini and squash, pulled the spearmint growing up in the cat mint, weeded the southern flower bed, pulled a few weeds out of the center flower bed (and watered some of the sunflower seedlings that are growing up under the abundant daisies), set up a trellis for my pole beans, watered everything in my plot, planted peppers in my plot and the food pantry plot, planted 1-1/2 flats of lettuce in the food pantry plots,  re-organized the shed, and pruned a volunteer tree. 

I also helped some neighbor girls weed their bed and plant tomatoes, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers.   (They watered it themselves).    Of course, they immediately deserted me when I mentioned there were ripe strawberries in our strawberry patch.  They picked them all, took them home to wash and eat them and then came back to finish working in their bed.

Before she left, Sabrina watered the food pantry plot.  She had completely filled her plot and was contemplating whether she could handle more real estate with a baby on the way.    We also discussed the benefits of lemon balm and mint in deterring mosquitoes (which are apparently abundant at her new apartment).  Rayna was busy using our compost to improve the soil in her plot.  Like me, she has a tray of home-sprouted peppers for her plot.

Stan came by, rolled up our extra fence/trellis, improved the soil in his plot and planted some tomatoes and lettuce.

Lots of people stopped by on their way to the Asian Festival at nearby Franklin Park Conservatory.   One church group took a tour of the Garden and gave me a bottle of water and brown papper lunch bag (which they were distributing throughout the neighborhood).  I finally left after 5 (after harvesting some dill and lettuce from my plot).  It was a long day and I never got around to planting my pole beans or planting peppers in the food pantry plot . . . . . . There’s always Wednesday.

Next Saturday, I’ll be planting my eggplant and basil, planting cosmos and zinnias, and starting work on our herb garden.    Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the monsoon that is currently in Nebraska and Oklahoma finally makes it hear and fills our tanks (and our neighbor’s barrels).

If Gardening Were a County Song

I sent an email tonight that I want to write a county song titled: Into Every Life Some

Rain Must Fall, But Why Can't it Fall Into My Rain Barrel?   The gutters keep clogging with the freakish amount of tree pollen we’ve received this year and, despite receiving more than 2.5 inches of rain in the past 10 days, very little of it is making it into our rain tanks. Sigh.  Then, Frank and I have been stretched thin by family emergencies and my travelling garden shed (i.e., my dirty Jetta) being severely damaged by another driver.  Through all of this, however, our May flowers look spectacular as ever.

Our pretty chives with evil bindweed

On Monday, we received 1.5 inches of rain.  What joy. What bliss.   We need not water for a week.  However, none of it (or at least very little) made it into our rain cisterns. 

On Wednesday, our new WEP volunteers did not show up.   Barb came to supervise in case they did.  It turns out that she used to work in the hospital wing where my father is staying for the next two weeks, and so she gave me the scoop.   She was weeding away .

On Friday, Barb and Frank put tree frames around our sweet cherry trees across the

street in the Block Watch lot  Cathy took me in her SUV to Straders to exchange our new Montmorency cherry tree (which never leafed out).  Apparently, this was a common problem with their Montmorency cherry trees this year.  There was only one left that had leafed out and we took it back to the SACG to put in the hole that had already been dug.  Like me, Cathy is hosting her mother this week too.

Melinda emailed me that afternoon that she and her son Daniel spent quite a bit of time fixing our rain flow problem.  They tested and unclogged and felt the water was properly flowing from the third floor gutter to the second floor gutters and unclogged the downspout screens.  I was so relieved.  Melinda and her Vineyard pals were planning to finish filling their raised bed garden next door today.  They also created a number of baby pool gardens, too.

On Saturday, I was pretty much alone at the Garden.  I weeded, planted tomatoes, and checked the gutters. The flexible downspout to feed the rain barrels had fallen down and so I put it back.  The tanks still sounded empty, but what do I know?  I planted celebrity, amish, roma and Ohio Belgian tomatoes in my plot and the food pantry plot.   I noticed that Kaci and Tony still hadn’t weeded their plots and their weeds were getting pretty high (and therefore, the weed roots are getting pretty deep).   I left extra tomatoes for the gardeners to plant in their own plots.

Neal stopped by to figure out what he was going to buy at  Dill’s.  When I arrived this morning, I saw that he had spent Friday digging out what has to the be largest stone every excavated at the SACG.  He has what used to be my plot in 2009 and 2010.  That stone was so large that Dwayne and I gave up on it and let it be.  Not Neal.  He thought that he could turn it into a makeshift bench.  Barb suggested that he paint his name on it.  I laughed really hard when I saw it and I really needed a laugh after this week. 

We decided that it wasn’t going to rain until the evening.  I went to Ohio Mulch to buy some Com-till for my own house.  I was only able to piddle around for about an hour before it began pouring down rain.  Poor Neal!

Neal also brought a number of gardening tools, like garden rakes, forks and hoes) which had been donated by Kim Yee.   Our shed is now pretty much overflowing with tools.  I need to organize them better.

I returned this evening when I saw a rain storm heading for the Garden.  I waited for two hours and the storm never came.  It just drizzled and made me look like a drowned rat.    I spent my time weeding, planting leeks (that Neal had picked up), planting some zinnias and cosmos in the front bed and transplanting volunteer sunflowers.   However, I was able to confirm that water is draining from the third floor downspout and is running over the gutter just above the big tank (instead of into the downspout and into the tank).  Sigh.    Luckily, it is supposed to rain again in a week, but this will be a giant weekend for planting. I have beans, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, flowers and peas that demand to be watered.   Grrrr. 

Oh well, at least I have lots of fresh flowers in my plot, my yard, my house and my

father’s hospital room.

Also, I received a correction from an earlier post.  John was not the only SACG gardener to make mint juleps for the Kentucky Derby with mint from our Garden.  Amy sent me a picture of her cocktail as well.  With the Belmont coming  up, I’ll need to research what the state cocktail of New York is.  . . . .

If Gardening Were a County Song

I sent an email tonight that I want to write a county song titled: Into Every Life Some

Rain Must Fall, But Why Can't it Fall Into My Rain Barrel?   The gutters keep clogging with the freakish amount of tree pollen we’ve received this year and, despite receiving more than 2.5 inches of rain in the past 10 days, very little of it is making it into our rain tanks. Sigh.  Then, Frank and I have been stretched thin by family emergencies and my travelling garden shed (i.e., my dirty Jetta) being severely damaged by another driver.  Through all of this, however, our May flowers look spectacular as ever.

Our pretty chives with evil bindweed

On Monday, we received 1.5 inches of rain.  What joy. What bliss.   We need not water for a week.  However, none of it (or at least very little) made it into our rain cisterns. 

On Wednesday, our new WEP volunteers did not show up.   Barb came to supervise in case they did.  It turns out that she used to work in the hospital wing where my father is staying for the next two weeks, and so she gave me the scoop.   She was weeding away .

On Friday, Barb and Frank put tree frames around our sweet cherry trees across the

street in the Block Watch lot  Cathy took me in her SUV to Straders to exchange our new Montmorency cherry tree (which never leafed out).  Apparently, this was a common problem with their Montmorency cherry trees this year.  There was only one left that had leafed out and we took it back to the SACG to put in the hole that had already been dug.  Like me, Cathy is hosting her mother this week too.

Melinda emailed me that afternoon that she and her son Daniel spent quite a bit of time fixing our rain flow problem.  They tested and unclogged and felt the water was properly flowing from the third floor gutter to the second floor gutters and unclogged the downspout screens.  I was so relieved.  Melinda and her Vineyard pals were planning to finish filling their raised bed garden next door today.  They also created a number of baby pool gardens, too.

On Saturday, I was pretty much alone at the Garden.  I weeded, planted tomatoes, and checked the gutters. The flexible downspout to feed the rain barrels had fallen down and so I put it back.  The tanks still sounded empty, but what do I know?  I planted celebrity, amish, roma and Ohio Belgian tomatoes in my plot and the food pantry plot.   I noticed that Kaci and Tony still hadn’t weeded their plots and their weeds were getting pretty high (and therefore, the weed roots are getting pretty deep).   I left extra tomatoes for the gardeners to plant in their own plots.

Neal stopped by to figure out what he was going to buy at  Dill’s.  When I arrived this morning, I saw that he had spent Friday digging out what has to the be largest stone every excavated at the SACG.  He has what used to be my plot in 2009 and 2010.  That stone was so large that Dwayne and I gave up on it and let it be.  Not Neal.  He thought that he could turn it into a makeshift bench.  Barb suggested that he paint his name on it.  I laughed really hard when I saw it and I really needed a laugh after this week. 

We decided that it wasn’t going to rain until the evening.  I went to Ohio Mulch to buy some Com-till for my own house.  I was only able to piddle around for about an hour before it began pouring down rain.  Poor Neal!

Neal also brought a number of gardening tools, like garden rakes, forks and hoes) which had been donated by Kim Yee.   Our shed is now pretty much overflowing with tools.  I need to organize them better.

I returned this evening when I saw a rain storm heading for the Garden.  I waited for two hours and the storm never came.  It just drizzled and made me look like a drowned rat.    I spent my time weeding, planting leeks (that Neal had picked up), planting some zinnias and cosmos in the front bed and transplanting volunteer sunflowers.   However, I was able to confirm that water is draining from the third floor downspout and is running over the gutter just above the big tank (instead of into the downspout and into the tank).  Sigh.    Luckily, it is supposed to rain again in a week, but this will be a giant weekend for planting. I have beans, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, flowers and peas that demand to be watered.   Grrrr. 

Oh well, at least I have lots of fresh flowers in my plot, my yard, my house and my

father’s hospital room.

Also, I received a correction from an earlier post.  John was not the only SACG gardener to make mint juleps for the Kentucky Derby with mint from our Garden.  Amy sent me a picture of her cocktail as well.  With the Belmont coming  up, I’ll need to research what the state cocktail of New York is.  . . . .