It's the Middle of May So You Know Where We Are

We're in the garden, of course. That's not us above; those are some turkey vultures that were hanging around in the garden this morning. We've often seen them circling above, but they've never landed this close before. They are usually very wary birds. They disappeared once we went out and got to work.

Mr. Ferdzy has invested in a drip irrigation system and he is testing it out. He made an idle comment that he might guest-post about it once it has been in long enough to get an idea of how it works. I will probably hold him to that. One less post for me to do!

And there he is again. Work, work, work. I've decided he is like the Energizer Bunny. I, on the other hand am definitely Flopsy.

Most of the potatoes are now planted. And yes, we are planning to dig 2 more beds there. Because we are keeping up so well with the ones we already have, ha ha.

More planted potatoes, along with garlic, and in the next bed still too tiny to see, carrots and onions.

The peas that we planted in March (March!!!) came up nicely then decided that had probably been a mistake. Fortunately they are tough and they can take it. They hunkered down and sat there until last week, when they decided it was probably safe to start growing again. They have tripled in size since then and will be climbing the trellises shortly.

Last years' new wet beds are a discouraging mess of weeds. Not in any way unexpected. We think it will take at least 3 or 4 years to get them into good condition. The afternoon was spent weeding one, and dumping composted manure on it. We'll add a little of the sandy topsoil from the higher parts of the garden, then plant it with celeriac and celery.

And, no kidding, we planted our peppers. We will keep them under the hoophouse for a week or 2 as needed, but there is no frost forecast for the next 2 weeks and then we are past the expected last frost date. They were getting large, floppy and starting to want to form blossoms so it is great to get them out of our plant room, leaving more room for the tomatoes.

So there it is; not much cooking going on. This is a difficult time of year anyway. Potatoes and other stored things getting sprouty, new things just starting to grow. We'll be picking some asparagus this week with a bit of luck and maybe some rhubarb too. Spinach still going strong, in fact it is going to seed. Lettuce is up and starting to look a bit leafy. Lots of things to look forward to!