Garden Update  2010 4

Now with actual gardening! I want it to be known I worked like a hired man this weekend and I am looking forward to going back to my job so that I may get some rest! Three  heavy bags of manure, two trips to the dirt store  to manually dig dirt (note Minnie Van is called mini for a reason) , six wheel barrows full to the brim of said manually dug dirt, and then I turned over/tilled the whole damn thing twice and did this epic task all by myself.  I took a lot of showers this weekend - not because "Oh, a shower now would be so refreshing" but because I was continually covered with dirt.

I really, really want a tiller. I suck at tilling but thank you baby Jesus for the pitch fork because my work would have been much harder and even lower in quality without it. I checked Criagslist hoping to score a cheap, used tiller but even used there is no such thing as a cheap tiller - You can hire a  chap cheap to bring his tiller and till for you though and I wish I had known that then. Bygones.

After the added dirt and manure and turning I put frankenhose down. Not fun, but this year I had the benefit of last year to guide me through it, I did have to replace the timer, everything else made it through the season but it. This year I did not DIY the tie downs because I used all my coat hangers last year and I wish I had known about the  $4.75-for-75 pins  then because I could have spared a lot of much needed coat hangers! I also sprung for the more expensive but reusable  green tie down pins for the rubber mulch.

the return of frankenhose! please note the uncredited performance of blood, sweat and tears as well.

tidy, note green pins, $ but worth it.

I also decided to finally put the beans in the ground. I think it was getting to be time for them to be moved to their forever home. I didn't plant the luffas because they seem to small yet and they can stay in the nursery for now. I want to point out that I had spent the last few days "hardening" the plants in the nursery by leaving them outside during the day to get them used to the new environment.

yes, I know they are too close together. They aren't all going to make it.

The plants from Burpee will arrive this week and I'll get them in the ground then. I'm expecting four kinds of tomatoes and three peppers. I'll probably sweeten the pot with some locally bought tomatoes as well. After I finished the farm, I turned to the flower gardening. My seeds haven't magically turned into flowers and I have serious doubts about whether they will at all, so I bought some insurance in the form of some store bought bedding plants to brighten the front steps.

store bought flowers  but $3 DIY flower pots

I haven't mentioned the raspberry bushes because for the last four months they looked like a bunch of dead twigs and I thought the plants were finished. But then really, over night they went from dead twigs to

this

And even better?

covered with them!