Whoohoo! Rain! Today is our third day of rain. For the most part it was a nice gentle rain. We have over 2.5 inches which is great but it is about to stop. I'm sure the plants are really happy for the water. The temperatures on the other hand dropped 40F (22C) in two days. On Saturday we had a high of 91F (33C). Yesterday it was 51F (11C). The sweet potatoes aren't too happy, but I think they will recover when the weather gets better.
The last couple of days has brought in something else. A small but hungry groundhog. At first he was just eating the weeds in the grass. I was good with that. But he has taken a liking to some of the new plants in the perennial bed. Namely the rudbeckia and gaillardia. So I've covered them with some bird netting. It isn't the prettiest for a spot near my front door, but I need them to get established before the wildlife munches on them. These plants were transplanted out as little seedlings just over a month ago. And just so you know, my vegetable garden is well fortified. It has a good three foot fence and in most spots it has hardware cloth that goes down a foot. Groundhogs around here are nothing new.
With all the rain, getting out to the garden and getting things done has been a challenge. I harvested and preserved greens both Sunday and Monday. I picked during breaks in the rain. One of the beds I picked was supposed to get corn and squash planted yesterday. I hadn't even gotten the bed totally cleared. I picked the spinach, but hadn't pulled and composted the plants yet.
So in one nice break I got out to clear that bed out. It is the uppermost bed. Though as you can see it still has greens in it. Those are self seeded Deer Tongue lettuce. I'll probably have to pick them before planting (rescheduled for tomorrow), but I may be able to leave some in to grow full size. The corn and squash don't need all the space immediately. But as you can see from the beds on the left I plant my corn in a grid and if the lettuce plants are in the wrong spot they will need to go.
While I was cleaning up I got under the Asian greens row cover (lower most bed) and cleaned up the waste from the bok choy and tatsoi I picked the other day. It just got left there because the rain had started again. That bed will be sown in corn and squash too. But I'll wait another week for that one.
Why do pests have to be so cute??? Adorable. Hope he keeps to your weeds! Send him over to do mine next k?
ReplyDeleteGroundhogs. Are they as bad as foxes?! Thank Goodness we don't get them here. I'm with you on the "the grid has to be just right" thing. If something is in the wrong place I shift it.
ReplyDeleteWell they eat the plants. They can be a terrible pest in the garden. Usually less of a problem for the landscaping plants. This is the first time I've noticed those getting eaten, but it is also the first time I've grown rudbeckia outside the garden fence.
DeleteWe so needed all the rain - and what a good soaking it was. It didn't make my transplanting out the tomatoes any easier, though - at least I didn't have to water them in ;)
ReplyDeleteI would never say "rain rain go away" - we never get enough! we certainly rarely get that much, and if we do - nothing for weeks afterwards!
ReplyDeletenow groundhogs are something I definitely don't have to deal with down here :-)
We had a huge groundhog problem when I volunteered at a food pantry garden. They ate hundreds of cabbages. Not the whole cabbage, but just enough to ruin it. We got cool weather here too, but warm weather is returning tomorrow. I still need to plant sweet potatoes.
ReplyDeleteHi Daphne, Our weather has been up and down too. We did get some rain but needed it and will get more on Friday. Your garden is great. Thankful we don't have a problem with groundhogs. At least yet! Nancy
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ReplyDeleteThank goodness we don't have groundhogs here, the wood rats are enough of a problem. I think our chances of rain have fallen to virtually zero for the summer, as is normal. I just increased the timing on my irrigation system because were finally getting more sun and warmer temperatures. Groundhogs are cute, definitely more cute than rats.
ReplyDeleteWe got about 2 inches of rain so I can finally finish planting the raised beds. The tomatoes I planted Sunday are OK but looking a little unhappy from the cold nights.Fortunately we have fencing so no ground hogs and no snapping turtles this year, but the baby bunnies are out and about, looking for Farmer McGregor's garden gate, which better be kept closed.
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