Treats from the garden

We are in gorgeous stretch of June weather here at Henbogle, with blue skies and temps in the high 70s- to low 80s. Much as I love the sun, I tend to get crispy so I headed for the garden as soon as Dan left for school (his last day).

Our corn crop hadn't germinated very well, and we had more seed potatoes so we elected to plant the potatoes in the corn patch. I carefully turned over the soil, attempting to save the few corn seedlings just for fun. I planted the taters, a mix of Carola, Rose Finn Apple, and Austrian Crescent. Then I did a little weeding in amidst the shallots, which are growing great guns, and the broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I finished off with a good dose of liquid fish emulsion fertilizer, then moved on to the salad bed.

The bed badly needed weeding and thinning, and with the promise of fresh salad for dinner tonight, I was happy to oblige. The spinach has already begun to bolt, but the Easter egg radishes, lettuce and arugula are doing great. I thinned enough for two big salads, and there will be more to thin soon. I finished off with a good watering, as the raised beds are not so good at moisture retention. I need to remember this fall to add some vermiculite to aid with that, and just give up on spinach planted in the raised beds unless it is planted in early April.

My next task was to write up plant labels. Dan gave me some nice labels for the garden, and I made up labels for as many of my plants as I could. I still need to make up the labels for the new woody shrubs, but all the herbaceous perennials are done. This makes it so much easier to weed in the spring, at least until Dan and I are familiar with the new plants. We've had more than one weed-related plant loss in the past, so I'm hoping the labels will end that tragedy.

More puttering, then lunch and blogging, and this afternoon, edging some garden beds and a quick trip to LL Bean to return some shoes. Sigh, I'm struggling still with a bad case of plantar fasciitis and am trying to find a pair of low boots for gardening and yard work. As it is now, I'm limping badly by the end of the day, and want to start my summer ritual of daily long walks. If only I could wear Birkenstocks all the time....