Saturday, July 24, 2010

New Fence, New Pictures, and Canning!

So I thought I had only neglected to post on here for about a week, and then I noticed that it has been almost two weeks!  Yikes!  I apologize.  In my defense, it has been crazy busy here, and the busyness is still on-going.  I expect the non-garden related stuff to be over soon, but with all the produce that is growing out there, I know I will be plenty busy with garden stuff!

After my last post about flea beetles, I discovered that there were young rabbits still managing to make their way into the garden.  Talk about maddening!  This prompted me to get more fencing since the current fence is very old and rusty, and is not even two feet tall in some places anymore.  I just wanted enough to encompass the cabbage and beets at one end of the garden, since that is were the dining was occurring.  Well, Tom decided we should not only redo the ENTIRE fence, but make the garden space bigger while we were at it.

So we went out and bought 100ft of 28in garden fence, as well as new posts to put the fence on.  We then spent two days working on it last week and only got halfway around.  I had an out of town event that I had to leave for last Thursday, and was hoping that Tom could do more work on the fence while I was gone over the weekend.  Well I returned on Monday to find no progress was made, and the fence is still only halfway finished.  The good news is that there are no holes and the rabbits seem to be gone... for now.  And Tom was not sitting around twiddling his thumbs.  He had to pick up our charge for the week: Willow the dog.  Yep, we have been busy dog sitting this week.  A new experience for cat owners who are used to sleeping in, and not having to take walks everyday.  Oh yeah, did I mention my parents are cat sitting for us?  We had to transport them to their temporary home as well.  Like I said, it has been crazy busy around here!

But how is the garden doing?  That is a great question!  I am happy to report the plants are doing well despite all the hiccups and the fence that remains in limbo.  Turns out plants keep growing regardless of the busy lives of their human tenders.  Good thing, or most of us wouldn't have gardens!  To prove how well things are growing, I have attached an updated album at the bottom of this post with pictures from July 19th through the 23rd.  I was unable to get out there yesterday (July 22), because of severe thunderstorms and thought I wasn't going to get out there today due to more rain in the forecast.  However, the bulk of the rain held off until about an hour ago, so I was able to take a few photos.  I was disappointed to see that the severe weather caused one of the main branches coming off my large Mr. Stripey plant, to break.  It was still attached to the plant, just ripped, so I repositioned it gently with twine, and then added additional supports. I also put two more tomato spirals in place, (one for the 'broken' stem and one for another large stem), that I probably should have put out there a long time ago.  I had a few ripped branches that survived and kept growing on my tomato plants last year, so I figured I would try to salvage the stem and see if it survives too. Unfortunately, sometimes something bad has to happen before you get your butt in gear!   Lesson learned.

Last but not least!  With all the produce that is becoming ripe, especially the zucchinis, I have decided it is time to start canning.  The calendar is marked, and my assistant has been called!  Next Tuesday, my mom and I will begin canning.  I will try and take some photos of that to post for your enjoyment as well.  Wish us luck!
^---CLICK ME!!!!

1 comment:

  1. Sara, I just finished your most recent blog. Your garden is doing extremely well in spite of the horrendous weather. Although, the rain is a welcomed sight and probably responsible for lots of the growth accompanied by lots of humidity...ugh for us but yippee for the flora. I enjoy your colloquial approach to writing. You really have a flair for using words and having them fit nicely together. I'm wondering how you marked on your pictures. In addition to your captions I'm thinking the arrows came from a draw program. Is that correct? I noticed signs of the new fencing. I'm glad you managed to interrupt the feeding of your uninvited guests. They'll just have to find another place to free load.
    On another note, your kitties are adjusting as well as can be expected. They are gradually getting used to being around the g'parents. We are getting broken in one rub, pet, scratch, meow, at a time. Of course Zypher is in his own realm and is constantly wondering where his male bonder is. He is getting closer each day but I won't bet he'll get too close. Simon on the other hand loves being loved.
    He's an old trooper in manipulating his caregivers. He certainly knows how to get what he wants. I changed their bedding this morning. I decided not to hang anything on the clothes line. I just collected their sheets and placed them very carefully in the 'trash.' They both smiled and let me know they liked having new 'sheets.' At least I think that's why they were smiling. It may have been because I was done and leaving. I'm still trying to figure out those g'kitties. That's it for now.
    Have a fun day. It looks like more rain for the garden. Good luck with Mr. Stripey. You're doing an admirable job trying to repair his limbs.
    Love, DAD

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