Friday, April 29, 2011

Digging Ditches

Yesterday evening, I said to a friend, "I feel like I've been digging ditches, oh wait, I have!"  And while I haven't exactly digging ditches, I've been preparing the high tunnel, finally, for planting.

While I've been waiting for the temperature to stabilize enough for my delicate tomatoes, peppers, melons, and eggplants; the weeds have been growing lush and tall.  There's been so much moisture (ie. rain!) that the ground under the high tunnel must be wet enough for great weed growth.  So I'm pulling  and digging up all the weeds I can and putting down four feet wide lengths of black plastic as part of my back saving weed control plan.  In a few years,  as I get the weeds eradicated from the high tunnels (ha ha), I plan to use more natural mulches, such as chopped leaves.

The chickens are happily (I imagine) laying lots of eggs.  I brought in 19 eggs yesterday. Free range eggs are very different from store-bought eggs.  The egg yolks are a richer yellow, the white stands up nicely, and the shells are much thicker.



Speaking of eggs, I hope to check the bees today and look for bee eggs.  If the queen is doing her job I should see what looks like a tiny grain of rice stuck into the bottom of each cell.  
Note:  I won't be checking bees today.  The forecast is 45-degrees and rainy.  Tomorrow's forecast is 65-degrees and sunny.  I don't want to chill the brood (forming bees).  I'll wait until tomorrow to check them.    

Back to gardening, I don't know who said this, but I love this quote:

How do you tell if a plant is a weed or a valuable plant?  
If it pulls easily out of the ground it's a valuable plant.

1 comment:

  1. Those eggs are gorgeous! We have been putting straw down in our garden the last few years to keep the weeds out.

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