Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Weekend update

So, after posting the last post it was too late to post my weekend update. I was going to do it yesterday but it was a way long day too. So, better late then never, rigth?


More signs of spring, this is in the tree garden before leaving for sisters weekend






This is a picture I took of my sad daffadill the morning I left for sisters weekend. Glad I got to spend some warm time in Vegas! It was snowing when I got back. But, by the weekend it was nice again.





I had a great weekend. I worked some on Friday to make up for sisters weekend, but then stopped at the store for more garden supplies, put the peas into soak and get some prep work in.



Saturday I did lots of digging and spreading, and planning. Then I went to watch Sarah do the splash and dash. And to watch her kids since Carl had another race scheduled that day (this was a last minute thing for Sarah). Carl was battling the flu so he was there in body which was good because Sarah needed someone to count laps and it would've been dificult with Max and Noah. The kids were super fun and cute! Noah didn't want Sarah to take off at first, but we hit it off while she warmed up and were good to go for the remainder of the afternoon. We played with the knights/army men I brought, Noah rode his bike, we drew the the chalk on the sidewalk, and Noah played in the dirt with his truck.



Sarah told me that she wasn't feeling that well, and her warm up tired her out. That didn't really slow her down though.





Noah watching his mom swim way fast. Then he wanted to make an "angry" face for the camera. Too bad he didn't hold still longer for my silly phone camera.






I tried to take a picture of Max while we watched her swim, but since I couldn't set him down on the wet tile, I tried to do it while I held him, but he wanted to grab the camera.









Sarah did a really good job! She looked great. And for feeling bad she did a great job. Here are the results:



If you click on it you can see Sarah won the women's. If you look closer you can see she came in first. That means she beat everyone. That means she was 30 seconds faster then the boys. Quote from Sarah " Good, I like it when I beat the boys."




Max was so good. He was in a good mood and just really happy to be outside. The same can be said for me!


Too bad Carl wasn't feeling well because it was a beautiful!







Noah playing with his truck after the race.












Picture of the winners.










I stopped to get some more cow poop and peat moss for the garden and got the peas and lettuce planted. I was going to do the carrots, but one of the packets said to wait until no more frosts. And since it was going to snow, I figured why risk it. I've since rethought that and wished I just got the seeds in the ground.



It was funny how this project took me longer then I thought. First I needed to rake things out and get out the grass and big rocks. Then I remembered I wanted to burry the soaker hoses but first I had to turn them on and make sure they had no big holes. Then I had to get them where I wanted. Wich made me realize I needed to clean out and get the strawberries in order before putting the hose down. Then I had to get the unwieldy hose where it should be and bury it. But then I remembered to put on the soil additives (ie poop, etc). I don't know why but the cow poop this year is really, really stinky. And since I didn't put it on until After I had burried the hose, its not deep so the garden is pretty stinky. I sure hope that wears off soon!


They were out of innoculent but had this organic stuff that does similar things, but I forgot to put it in so I put it into the holes that I droped the peas in. It will be interesting to see how that works. Anyways I feel I got a good start on things.


Then it was onto the next project. Strawberry bed. So I used the $25 coupon from Gurneys and the 2 for one specials and I ended up with 50 plants. I thought with shipping I had until mid April before they arrived but they got here before I left for sisters weekend. They are kind of whimpy plants and so I won't be able to get fruit off them this year. None-the-less they are waiting to be planted and I didn't yet have a place for them.


So I measured and dug. And put in the edging. Then I turned over the dirt and Kate helped. That went a lot quicker. Thanks Kate! Unfortunately I think I saw lots of morning glory evil bindweed plant in there. Pulled out what I could, but since its such a notorious weed I haven't decided quite whate to do since I need to use the soil. I'm going to use plenty of poop and peat moss for the raised bed but I don't want to deal with an infestation in my new strawberry bed! (I haven't put the boards up, just laid them out to help stick to the right demensions).



The other project I completed is buying a shop light and setting it up for a grow light. I got the fixture for less then the two bulbs. The guy helping me picked out bulbs particulary for plants which made them more expensive, but I figured it works ok. The only problem is that I thought they would put out some heat and it doesn't which would be helpful in my cold house. The fixture came with two little chains so I put a rope and connected them so I could hang it from a chair with the plants underneath. Now I've got two flats growing under there. It makes me smile :)
I also had to get another basket out to organize my seeds better. Now they aren't spread all over the living room which is great and I will be able to see what remains to be planted easier. I still need to get some Japanese Eggplant seeds and some marigold seeds but I think I've got plenty of other seeds.
It was so pretty Saturday. I got just a little sunburned, but nothing bad. I had some wierd muscles sore from digging and planting, etc. The wind blew in and was cold. I was sad to see this Sunday night
However, it made the mountains pretty.

4 comments:

Smart Helm said...

R ur seeds OK?

Man woman... u go girl! I'm way impressed with your garden.

Are u going to do this much when we live together in a house? I'll help!

Emily Nice said...

Hey Mel, I plan to have a garden wherever I live. Its great to have help as I keep adding to my garden and get behind on the weeding a such. So, if you get fired and move to Utah we could have an amazing garden with all your favorites (I'd even let you plant swiss chard if you promised to eat it... blach!)

helmhq said...

WOW how much work you got done. It's been so cold and with Grandma sick I haven't even started. I did get some of the soil amendments bought and ready with Aaron's help. It was just too cold to have him help me put it on the gardens.

Sarah Jarvis said...

Wow. I am glad you got lots done Saturday afternoon still. It sounds like so much fun (and work) and good exercise, too. Thanks for taking some pictures. I might have to steal them. Hehe. I for sure will see you next week when James is here. Yeah.