Time to Build Up my Readership….with More “Before and After” Weeding photos!

Pansies

Even though I am “over” the “flu, I am still dragging my ass around and sleeping inordinately and feeling queasy and energy-less. But everytime I get sick, I learn and relearn and RELEARN AND RELEARN this lesson: The World Did Not Come to An End When I Fell Behind In My Work/Chores.

And once you get to feeling better, the temptation is ENORMOUS to start stressing about Time Pressure even MORE than you did BEFORE you got sick, because NOW you are THREE WEEKS BEHIND !!!!!  ELEVENTY-ONE !!! But I swear to almighty GOD, THIS TIME I am going to LEARN the LESSON, that freaking out about time pressure and chores is Not Indictated. The thing to learn is to Relax and Do your Work and Enjoy It and Chill Out about time pressure and Try to Enjoy your life while you are Living It,  instead of feeling stressed all the time. Even when it comes to the Garden, what is the WORST thing that could happen if I didn’t get things planted in time? I would have to buy vegetables at the Farmer’s Market. Big Deal!

First thing after rising from my sofa, I weeded the beds I had already planted. And now…..(drum roll)……the before and after Weeding Photos!!

Broccoli Bed : BEFORE

Broccoli AFTER also MULCHED

Cabbage Bed : BEFORE

Cabbage Bed: AFTER also MULCHED!

The Cilantro Bed (or, as I really Should call it, the Nutgrass Bed) BEFORE!

The Cilantro Bed: AFTER

SEEDLINGS!

Perky young lettuce with sinister frond of Bermuda grass sneaking up on it

I actually had to WRITE actual COPY for publication this weekend, causing me to be a useless space case for three days while I attempted to FOCUS my MIND (which still doesn’t tend to happen naturally until the 8 hours before deadline.) During the time that I was sweating on the creative throne to give birth to my brain-children, I grew oblivious to the outer world, causing me to rush outside on Sunday afternoon and realize that not only had my seeds SPROUTED, but they had started to DIE of thirst and neglect as well.

Snow Peas sprout in the back, and arugula sprouts in the front

I frantically watered all my beds (Sunday was HOT) and all is well, no one died and all the wee seedlings recovered. Phew!

REMEMBER TO KEEP THOSE SEED BEDS DAMP!

SEE how the evil carrot seedlings group together?

OOPS! Time to Get A-Plantin’ Heh Heh

Red Wheelbarrow full of screened compost and bag of LADYBUG Fertilizer

You remember how I said that we were supposed to get MORE RAIN? Well, it hasn’t happened; even though that storm system circled back on us, and we have has 20% and 30% rain predictions every day for days and days. HARRUMPH.

Where was I?

Anyway, I sat on my front porch in my underwear, and it WASN’T HOT! It was only like 85˚. Really comfortable. And I made a list of what I want to plant this Fall:

Snow Peas

My collection of OLD SEEDS

Carrots

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Lettuces

Arugula

Spinach

Cabbages

Cilantro

Oregano

Dill

Italian Pasley

My Seedling Purchases from THE NATURAL GARDENER

Fennel

Beets

Catnip

Mint

Swiss Chard

Artichokes

THEN, the next day, I got my old seeds out of the icebox (I keep them in a Ziploc Bag in the potato drawer) and figured out that I HAD most everything  SEED NEED-WISE.  I only needed to buy 2 packages of carrot seeds and a package of cilantro seeds. But I still needed to buy all the transplants (cabbages, broccolis, cauliflowers, herbs). Also I want to buy a few potted geraniums to keep in the kitchen windowsill.

So I took a trip out to JOHN DROMGOOLE’S NATURAL GARDENER (Out in BFE!) (That means “Bum-Fuck Egypt“) to buy the three packages of seeds, and to see if they had their transplants in yet. AND THEY DID! I was quite surprised, because it seemed to me to be a little early. But WHATEVER, amirite? So I bought everything I needed that they HAD (they did not have Geraniums, or “Melody” spinach plants, or Russian Kale which I forgot to mention. Mmmm…Kale).

Then, all of a sudden, instead of feeling like “I am ahead of weeding schedule!” I am all like, “DOOD, I had better get planting, all of a sudden I am BEHINDHAND!”

(Heh heh. I said BEHIND HAND!!)

So now I am going to intersperse this post with PICTURES so I can SHOW all the PLANTING I did today! Here Goes! (Oh, and it suddenly occurs to me that this post isn’t very informative; forgive me, I am really tired! I will elucidate of planting all the various vegetables tomorrow….after I weed a bed and finish planting.)

The New Carrot Bed pictured with two loads of screened compost dumped on it

Three packages of carrot seeds: carrots must be planted thickly and then thinned drastically. Why not just plant fewer? Because they don't like to germinate unless they are in a crowd.

Compost all smoothed out, and carrot seeds scattered and watered in

Snow Peas planted along the fence in bottomless cups, arugula planted in the front. Of course you just have to take my word for it!

Broccoli plants and smoothing rake. If you ever tried to rake leaves with this kind of rake, it is not for that. It is for smoothing soil in garden beds.

Broccoli Bed with mounds of screened compost prior to smoothing

Broccoli plants all planted up!

Catnip and Oregano (Greek and Italian) planted in pots

Lettuce, both seeds and plants, all nicely planted

Cilantro seeds all planted in the (former) Chard Bed

Fennel and lettuce planted in cups for later, pictured with the cauliflower and cabbage seedlings that are going to have to wait for me to WEED a BED to put them in.