Gardening, one month in....

  

   

It has now been a full month since my last post, and my first comment is TIRED!  I have really taken the bit in my teeth on this gardening thing.  For the first few ventures out to dig and grub in the soil, I was worn out in a matter of minutes!  Thank goodness garden work is dictated by the weather and for once, that old spring "weather roller-caster" is on MY side.  I wear myself out for a day or two and then get to sit indoors and recover as it rains!  Gratefully, I am seeing progress in my endurance and am able to work longer and harder.

Progress report:

I have started quite a lot of seeds indoors and have diligently cared for them, hardened them off on the front stoop, and now quite a few of them have been planted out.  YEA!

I have dug out some of my perennials and potted them up for the church plant sale.... All of the day lilies that I had but didn't care for the colors.  So far, I have purchased only a few more to add to my Postbox Garden... but that's going to change soon ;-)  I still need to divide the day lilies across the front border, but now I'll have to wait until after they bloom in July....  AND I am adding more perennials to that border.  If I could only get rid of that Artemesia that snuck in.... grrrr.

Two sections of the home Kitchen Garden are dug, some of it is planted and some is waiting for the last frost date to pass.  This garden is for those things that are delicate and valuable to rabbits - as I can protect them here - things that I like to nip out and pick a hand full of for a meal, and the parsnips that can't be dug up until after a good frost.

Section 2 - DONE

Section 2 "under construction"

   

Cherries Forming!

Currants galore

 

























Now the good news is that the Gardens at Mt Hope have been tilled, and we have made two raised beds, have planted the potatoes, onions, carrot and turnip seedlings (the rabbits got all my beets while they were hardening off at home) and the tomato frame is built.  I have tomatoes ready to go out, as well as some pea seedlings ( the shell kind, the pea pods I keep at home).  I hope to get a good day out there this week.  The hard thing is that watering at Mt Hope is a challenge....  I need to take my little red wagon with me to tote gallons of water from the faucet...

Beds made!

Jim building raised beds at Mt Hope

My feeble attempt to plant potatoes -2 rows!

AND as if these gardens were not enough, I have to earn Volunteer hours for my Master Gardener Internship....  One lovely afternoon this week I got to work indoors and do craftsy things to prepare for the Garden Walk in July.  But today, I worked my backside off for 3 hours at a demonstration/educational garden at Petersen Farm, a city park here in McHenry.  The garden had been tilled earlier this spring, but the weeds were already back, so before we could plant, we had to hoe and dig again!  I ended up planting a dozen pea seedlings that I donated, as well as my left-over turnip seedlings.  Then I planted some Swiss Chard plants and put in a couple of rows of carrot seeds.

Petersen Farm Historical Garden

I am officially DONE IN!  .... for today, at least.....