Good Morning All. It's clear here and 53°, headed for the mid-80's today. Upper 70's tomorrow before the predicted rain Monday night and then 90° on Tuesday. Obviously a warm rain Monday night.
Either the new medication that the doctor prescribed Wednesday really worked, Or I finally kicked the pneumonia for good on my own. I have felt great since Thursday. Breathing great and no more tired lethargic feeling. Joyously spent six hours in the garden yesterday making up for lost time. Things are really looking good considering that I got off to a late start this season. About two weeks ago, I planted onions, lettuce, spinach and cabbage. Yesterday I planted 54 tomato plants and did some general maintenance including getting some of the wet weather pathways in place. Today I am getting another 48 tomato plants and a dozen bell pepper plants in. Tomorrow morning I plan to plant the green bean row and a few squash mounds.
A nice start. Shadow is from the train shed which will give some relief during the summer months.
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The pieces of siding on the left are temporary platforms to stand on while planting and prepping. They distribute my weight and I don't leave compressed footprints to deal with later. I use 36" wide beds separated by walkways, which are 2" x 8" salvaged planks resting on a bed of grass clippings.
On the right side (east) is a double row of tomatoes that I set out yesterday.
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Immediately left are the three rows of onions. If onions can be 4" apart in rows, why can't the rows be 4" apart???
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Onions are harvested near the end of May, and I will cover that area with more grass clippings and move the pathway boards over as the tomato plants will be bigger and I need more room to walk by. In this bed, you can see the red and green lettuce side by side to the left.
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Further to the north is a single row of spinach going about halfway to the far end. These will be gone by the end of May also due to the heat. I just pick these as needed between now and then. Some spinach gets blanched and frozen for later use. The far end of that row will be planted with Bell Peppers later today.
To the left of the lettuce/spinach row is a partial row with six cabbage plants on the near end and 12 broccoli plants after that. Like the onion/tomato gig on the other side, I will move the currently completed pathway over to the right to allow more maneuvering room around early June. The cabbage/broccoli will be out of there by the third week in June, again heat induced.
Close-up of cabbage.
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The plan is to plant more tomato plants on the north end of this row in a single file. Next to the cabbage row will be some scattered squash plants ans maybe sweet potatoes.
Further west where the temporary siding boards are, will be another row of tomatoes and finally on the west border will be the green bean row.
Given my practice of crop rotation, next spring, all beds will shift left (west). I hope also to add a row of English Peas which needed to be planted prior to February 15 in order to mature before the heat. I do not grow potatoes, soil is too alkaline; corn, takes too much room for the return; carrots and melons, soil isn't sandy enough, cucumbers and okra, just don't eat enough; and a few others. There's other stuff I will plant in the future but the ground is too rough this year for many tiny seeds. That will improve in the future.
Stay tuned. For those who don't know me well from the past, organic gardening is my second passion and gives me not only high quality produce, but much needed exercise.
Thanks for all of the likes regarding the critters yesterday;
Guy, Patrick, OB Ken, Moermusic, Sherrel, Joe, Troy, Dave (PV), Hughie, IB Ken, Louis, Tom, Tom O, Smudge.
No train shed time yesterday, see above! None really planned for today.
An engine picture for you. A pair of GP38-2's that ATSF acquired from the TP&W merger in 1983. They were a part of a group of 11 and were the only EMD engines that Santa Fe owned that did not have dynamic brakes. I use them for local switching runs when I don't use the CF7's.
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Jaz -
I know that this was directed at
Patrick, but it hits home with me. When I was put out to pasture a few years before retirement, they replaced me with five younger people. Two actually had some other duties that I didn't have, and before I left they consolidated two of the positions into one. I just did special project managing and then nothing for 18 months before finally getting bored and leaving.
Joe - It is quite a menagerie around here sometimes. You might recall the wild pigs a few weeks ago, the mountain lion from the mid-teens and turkeys, bobcats, deer and of course the vultures.
George - Interesting toys from Lockheed-Martin.
Iron Horseman - I am in complete agreement with the "close enough" philosophy. While I don't disdain "rivet-counters", I would never be able to run a train myself if I was one. Everybody is in this hobby for their own reasons. I respect them all.
Terry - Thanks for the update on
Jerome.
If you're wondering, today is World Party Day. Have a great day and go to the church of your choice.
otherwise USPS, here I come.
