I can use a little humor. How about you? It's a necessity for sanity.
The Tomato Garden
An older man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato
garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son,
Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.
Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I will not be able to plant
my tomato garden this year. I am just getting too old to be digging up a
garden plot. I know if you were here, my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.
Love,
Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son...
Dear Dad,
Do not dig up that garden. That is where I buried the bodies.
Love,
Vinnie
At 4 the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son...
Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That is the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you,
Vinnie
7/23/2007
7/21/2007
Request to Praying Believers
My immediate family is going through a difficult time right now. Please pray for a healthy resolution, clear thoughts and guidance from God, peace and healing. I won't go into details. It would take too long. Thank you.
7/07/2007
Saturday
If my family wasn't sending off my sister next weekend, I'd go to this workshop. P Allen Smith will have a container workshop in Egg Harbor, NJ, on July 14. Spending a few hours "playing" in the dirt under the tutelage of a successful garden designer would be fun. If I'd had more advance notice, I might have made it part of a beach weekend. Bummer.
What I saw yesterday while weeding in my plot reinforced yesterday's entry. It's dry. It dried quickly after recent rain. Most things are doing well, but I will have to increase my hand-watering. The tomato plants that have red plastic under them are doing the best. Penn State research showed that colored plastics affect plant growth. Red is good for tomatoes and strawberries. I don't plan to use a lot of plastics as I guess they are not organic. And some shred. This year, it will be useful due to the lack of moisture. The straw has proven inadequate, and no more compost is available. Here's a little history of plasticulture.
I added some herbs to my porch containers: pennyroyal, fennel, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, a scented geranium, and I think that's all. My porch smells wonderful.
This is the color of the sage I bought:
What I saw yesterday while weeding in my plot reinforced yesterday's entry. It's dry. It dried quickly after recent rain. Most things are doing well, but I will have to increase my hand-watering. The tomato plants that have red plastic under them are doing the best. Penn State research showed that colored plastics affect plant growth. Red is good for tomatoes and strawberries. I don't plan to use a lot of plastics as I guess they are not organic. And some shred. This year, it will be useful due to the lack of moisture. The straw has proven inadequate, and no more compost is available. Here's a little history of plasticulture.
I added some herbs to my porch containers: pennyroyal, fennel, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, a scented geranium, and I think that's all. My porch smells wonderful.
This is the color of the sage I bought:
7/05/2007
Growth
One of the gardeners has been providing aerial photographs of the community garden plots. I've put them in past entries. In this entry, I have put all three to show the progression.
This one was in 2006.
(It was post-gardening season, I believe, but not yet winter.)
This is June 10, 2007.
This is July 1, 2007. If one goes about one-half way up the photo, from the left, my plot is the one with the red spots.
Greenery is not the only fluctuation in the photos. Last year, especially with June floods in the mid-Atlantic, the soil was wetter. This year's photos show light soil; we've have much less rain.
My garden's not as green as some of the others. I spent more time working on the soil this year. And I'm solo. Many of the other plot-renters are couples. I don't plant numerous plants of any one kind. I intend to add as I keep this plot. Were I to add too much at once, I would be overwhelmed. It will look much greener in a few days, after the rain from July 4.
This year I added cutting flowers: mixed colors of nasturtiums, asters and larkspur in addition to the sunflowers and lisianthus I planted in previous years. Woodring's Flower Shop, a short walk from my home, has a Bellefonte shop and a greenhouse. That's where I got the newest seeds from. I also bought something elsewhere, seeds for lagurus, or "bunny tail"; no germination in over a month. Still, my spinach finally came up long after I planted seeds. I think the dry conditions have contributed to this, but that's just my opinion.
This one was in 2006.
(It was post-gardening season, I believe, but not yet winter.)
This is June 10, 2007.
This is July 1, 2007. If one goes about one-half way up the photo, from the left, my plot is the one with the red spots.
Greenery is not the only fluctuation in the photos. Last year, especially with June floods in the mid-Atlantic, the soil was wetter. This year's photos show light soil; we've have much less rain.
My garden's not as green as some of the others. I spent more time working on the soil this year. And I'm solo. Many of the other plot-renters are couples. I don't plant numerous plants of any one kind. I intend to add as I keep this plot. Were I to add too much at once, I would be overwhelmed. It will look much greener in a few days, after the rain from July 4.
This year I added cutting flowers: mixed colors of nasturtiums, asters and larkspur in addition to the sunflowers and lisianthus I planted in previous years. Woodring's Flower Shop, a short walk from my home, has a Bellefonte shop and a greenhouse. That's where I got the newest seeds from. I also bought something elsewhere, seeds for lagurus, or "bunny tail"; no germination in over a month. Still, my spinach finally came up long after I planted seeds. I think the dry conditions have contributed to this, but that's just my opinion.
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