Finally

I got my tomatoes into the ground last Thursday and Friday, about 2 to

3 weeks later than usual. One of them was not happy so replaced it. It is still so wet that I can't get my melons and squashes into the ground without leaving footprints that are at least 1" deep. DH tilled that part of the garden about a week ago and it is still soggy. I may try putting down some cardboard to work from and see what happens.

I think the area where I plan to put my eggplant, peppers and cukes is workable. It has not been tilled in a couple of years so is not so soft that you sink when you try to walk on it.

Most of out fruit trees are full. Hope we can get to them before the critters do. Of course that does mean that I will be very busy canning, freezing, drying and making jams and jellies in addition to eating them.

The asparagus is slowing down now. Rhubarb is doing well. Need to pick some soon and maybe make a pie. I've already done jelly, custard cake and just cooked with sugar. Maybe I will freeze some until I get another inspiration.

cardboard may be too easily damaged once it gets damp, but if you can find some thin plywood or a wide board to move around that does help.

sometimes we joke about tying on a life-line...

in areas where i know i'll be putting in formal rows i'll spread down some wood chips before walking on the soil so that helps keep it from sticking to things. cardboard is ok too if i plan on leaving it down, but then i like to cover that with something else to keep it from getting moved about if we get a heavy storm/winds.

i'm envious of anyone who has fruit trees. i hope you get a great pile of fruit out of all of them.

or energy! that's a lot of effort to keep up with when you have plenty other things to do. i'm glad to hear things are progressing well for you down there. :)

songbird