~SUSTAINABLE LIVING FOR CHALLENGING TIMES

[sumisu]

GARDEN UPDATE - 04 18 2017

So the day started off cool at 45*F [7*2C], but the persistently cold east wind from the Atlantic Ocean, made the day feel much cooler. Friend Pasquale Paola called early to take me in his truck to Agway Inc for garden supplies. I wanted a strong reliable guy to load and unload the truck; I did assist in the unloading. I bought a lot of enriching mulch and worm castings for my raised beds.



The sunny morning turned to mostly cloudy as I planted potatoes in a raised bed. I first added dehydrated cow manure, blood meal, and bone meal. I watered it and then added a thick layer of straw and will add more layers as the potatoes grow. This is a You Tube approach and I wanted to experiment with it. I will have a few other places to grow potatoes in the traditional way of placing potatoes in a trench and adding soil as the potato eyes turn to stems and grow. I keep my fingers crossed, I do much better growing other vegetables.



The cinder-block bases of four water barrels were not even due to sinking into the ground, so I called friend Pasquale, and he returned with a patio/paver base called Tube Sand and it worked well; better yet, when I did this arduous task, the skies cleared and the sun was beating on my back to keep me warmer.



My allergies kicked in again with the blossoms appearing on the trees. I was at the Boston Marathon yesterday and began sneezing; the latter signifies my true beginning of spring! But it does not last long.



Tomorrow I will be transplanting a lot of pepper and tomato seedlings in larger cups. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Sunrise was at 5:58AM and it set at 7:30PM. The dismal horror of short-light winter days are again on the back-burner until late autumn.

Thanks for reading!