A Gardener's Diary

[Monksdream]

May 18-There is so much to recall for the day. First, my biorhythm has turned to the active mode. I didn't nap in the afternoon. In fact, I didn't sit down much at all, except for the long ride on the 27 to Renfrow Hardware in Matthews.

After getting off the 11 I started in right away. The cat got fed with dry food and two little cans of Sheba that was on sale at the CVS at the Epicentre. She dusted the first one and wanted more, so I opened the other one. Then she decided to climb the greenhouse and walk on the rafter beam. One day it will happen. I'll end up replacing most of the plastic thanks to kitty cat claws.

The lettuce came next for Jerry, including 3 Green Syrian heads. The remaining heads are starting to bolt. There will be none left save for any Green Syrian heads by the weekend.

There was time before leaving for Jerry's apartment, so I put in 3 pepper plants. Some are looking sick. I know it's due to the coffee grounds in the compost. Too acidic, thus the need for a quick fix with hydrated lime and Epsom salt.

Back from Jerry's it was time for the bus ride to Renfrow Hardware. Matthews is a little town on Monroe Road. The bus turns left onto the main drag, John Street. The hardware store is a block from the bus stop. It's like anyone who grew up in a small town thinks of a hardware store. Wooden floors, that hardware store smell, the cluttered shelves. Before leaving with a bag of lime I pulled a shorty Coke from the drink box. In another era, grandfathers would take their grandchildren in the truck to the store to get a dope, the country nickname for a short Coke.

Back on the farm, I went about putting in pepper plants, preparing melon hills with the manure. I noticed zucchini hill #5 was showing recently emerged seedlings so I completed hill #6. In between I treated some plants with a solution of one teaspoon hydrated lime, one teaspoon Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) in a gallon jug of water. I figure it's better to start with weak solutions and then stop when I notice improvement.

At least one hill was sown with the melon seeds I bought for the season: Model, the Polish honeydew, Jenny Lind, the green fleshed cantaloupe, Charentais, Sugar Baby watermelon, and the curious Bradford watermelon. I finally opened the packet, which contained 14 seeds, white, instead of brown. What was even more surprising was someone had stamped each seed with a capital B. How did they do that?

One last note. I haven't written anything that I can recall about the Brown Turkey fig tree on the slope. It's put out fruit the second year after being transplanted twice last season.