Rainy Days Don't Keep Us Down

All our rain left us with a huge mud puddle all along the way to the coop. Thank goodness for Wellies! This year we knew it would need a solution- a well drained path. So Mike dug some more dirt (to the delight of the girls who quickly lapped up the worms and frequently got in the way) and we laid down some gravel. Voila- one path completed. Look to the right for a grey gravel path and not to be left out we included a photo of the front yard herb garden.

Out next project was a more permanent fence to keep those sneaky chickens away from the garden. They kept kicking out the shells and we knew when the veggies started they would decimate them. So up went a fence.


Last week Mike went out of town and Nicole put the eight week old chicks outside. Another gate keeps the little chickens in the back part of the yard and the older girls get the side yard. They are both arms full at night when they want to love and preen with the humans. Check out the partridge penedesenca in a pear tree (no kidding).

Most of the time the young chickens hide in the raspberry bushes. Why do they call them bushes when they are really canes? In any case, they are turning ripe and giving a lovely snack while we work in the yard. And there is always work: no one ever talks about the endless weed pulling and slug hunting. The hazelnut shells have deterred many slugs but not all so Mike has captured several with cans of beer. Nicole opted for sluggo (organic of course). The few strawberries that have managed to turn red despite our endless cloudy rainy weather have been spared slug death. Not so lucky- cucumbers and okra.

Since the cucumbers are getting replanted anyway and as Father's day approaches it was time to get tomatoes in the ground and think about trellises. After much research and several "failed" experiments in past years we think this just may be the winner. It's rebar hammered into the ground about 2 feet and twine. We connected the rebar with 3/4" plastic plumbing elbows. The cucumbers are in a tepee shape, melons in a ladder, and tomatoes got the full cage grid. Parr lumber was very kind to assist us in cutting the rebar to size (it was the only place in town that has a cutting option on site) and we saved some money buying 20' lengths and dividing them into 8 and 4 foot lengths for out 8x4' beds.

The garden is slow going in general this year. Late planting and a late start to summer weather has made it a challenge but it did make growing celery outside from seed a success. Rumor has it that celery is notoriously difficult to grow so I am very proud we were able to have about 20 seeds germinate and begin to grow. We even were able to harvest 20 heads of garlic this weekend! Is there a dance that has the opposite effect of a snow-dance? Come-on its time for movies in the back yard and to fire up the bbq!!!!