gettin' there

one or two more days and the first round of major plantings will be done.

strawberries are coming along nicely with a few dozen already appreciated by me, the birdies, and a mystery critter probably related to a chipmunk (but i didn't get a good enough look at it to know for sure).

today was a rain day, ran a few errands and picked up the inter-library-loan of _the Rebel Farmer_ by Sepp Holzer. quick read.

it is much more of the history and various wrangles with regulators and people (including his father). i'm rather amazed the guy stuck with it through everything (Chernobyl being only one of those). i liked it better than the later work cited before (_Sepp Holzer's Permaculture_).

still i think the two books have gaps that are rather large if you are someone trying to figure out what he means by his descriptions of aquaculture and a few other things. they are only covered in passing (the second book is stronger on describing the various animals).

a real systematic description with more diagrams would help.

still, overall, and even if i think some of his ideas are a bit odd, i like his appreciation for plants and animals, diversity, trying things and generally just doing it, including being willing to help others (even in far off lands).

oh, and while at the library i was able to check out google earth engine which uses landsat images from 1980s to now to show how land uses have changed around the planet. the series of images of clearing the rainforest in South America reminded me of the growth of bacterial cultures on a petri dish. and the drying of the Aral Sea... wow...

songbird

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songbird
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Friday I planted Cannellini and black beans in one of my new boxes. Weeded 2 other boxes and looked at the old one with the garlic and onions. It is full of grass and I pulled up an onion and it was dripping wet. I decided that between the grass and the water they were not going to do much of anything more. So I pulled them all. They are not large but actually a good size, not so big that half of it goes to waste.

Yesterday morning I started getting weeds out from between the rows of rhubarb. Then it got hot. This morning I started again and made another dent into it. Then I started harvesting rhubarb. I got to 16 of my 25 plants today and I have a 16 inch wide colander full. Now to get it washed and figure out what to do with it. I have already made rhubarb jelly. Maybe I will make some rhubarb and orange jelly. I may see if some of my friends at the exercise pool want any.

The strawberries did not do much of anything this year. Too cold and too much rain. DH has almost finished filling another of the new boxes to put strawberries in. We won't have nearly as many as we have had in the past, but at least we will be able to get to them and they probably won't drown in a heavy rain.

Most of the tomatoes have survived. They are about a month behind what I usually do. Just looked and several of the plants have little green tomatoes on them.

The eggplant, peppers and cucumbers are doing ok, if I can keep the flea beetles off the eggplants. Will replant the zukes, cantaloupe, and watermelon.

I bought a "Pocket Hose" and used it last week. I love it. It is 50 feel long and I can pick it up and carry it every easily. 50 foot of regular hose is a real chore for me to move. Some people have reported that they did not last. Instructions say not to leave them in the hot sun or very cold weather. Right now mine is in the greenhouse but I think I will bring it inside. I decided to buy 2 more.

Guess I better get busy cutting up the rhubarb. I try to always cut the leaves off as I harvest and put them around the plants for mulch.

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The Cook

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