Another interesting spring. May was cold this year until the second half of it and spring was half over. Last year we apparently had 13″ of snow in May. I honestly do not remember it. Lots of the last two years I do not remember. Heavy narcotics and the drugs that went with the surgery have created some memory issues. At least I assume that is what it is, since I am a bit young for the alternative.
We did do some planting in late April. We had a couple of warm days near the end and Phoebe and I got cabbages planted in the yard here. About 40 of them. Half Early Jersey Wakefield which are a nice and sweet fresh eating cabbage, and the other half Copenhagen Market for making kraut later in the year. All the kraut I made the kids ate up. I would open a jar to put on sausages or pork, and the kids would empty it into bowls and just eat it with forks. Goes kind of quick when eaten that way.
Had been planning for a few years to tear out the strawberry bed, dump in a bunch of compost, and reset plants. I pulled out over 400 dead strawberry crowns, and 250 live plants. I reset 80 of the younger plants and gave the rest away. I need to top dress the bed with composted manure as well at some point this year. Probably after we are done harvesting.
Looked pretty good when it was done.
Then we got three weeks of cold weather. Frustrating. I had planted some beans here at the house I am pretty sure I am going to have to replant due to likely rotting underground in the cold wet weather. But the weather was fine for fishing, and the crappies were biting. Claire has caught the largest crappie so far this year, at 13 inches.
Two weekends ago it was suddenly warm. We went from 50 degree days and 30 degree nights to 80s and 50s respectively. I put in two full days at the Ness farm, first with Claire and Nell on Saturday, then just me and Nell on Sunday. Henry came over and helped with watering once we had all of the planting completed. 6 kinds of corn, 3 types of squash, long season storage cabbages, beets, sunflowers, 300 storage onions, 200 sweet onions, and likely a few other things I am not remembering at the moment.
This last Saturday I finished the bulk of the planting here in our yard. Discovered a small toad hunkered down where I was planting Mandan Red beans.
Took a side photo to show how the bean was about the size of his head.
When I made a hole in the ground by pushing my finger into the soil, the toad immediately decided he got that spot instead of the seed, which was kind of cute too.
Sunday, Frank and I got the bulk of the Minnetonka garden in. Worked all day, with a break for lunch, until our bodies gave out in the evening.
Nell and I came back Memorial Day morning, and I set the last of the tomatoes in the ground, weeded and planted the bean trellis, and the garden is done. 105 tomatoes in that one, 40 pepper plants, 5 basil (for the people who live there, not us, we have 40 just here at the house) and 36 feet of bean trellis planted.
Afterwards, went home, washed up, took an hour nap, and then headed down to my sister Rachel’s for the afternoon and evening. Will be back at it again this weekend. Weed remediation will have to start immediately as the heat and recent rains have them growing everywhere in great profusion. Onward and upward! The season commences.
