Feeling a bit overwhelmed in a rather sudden way. Just so much to do, and worried about having enough good weather and my body holding together long enough to get it all done in the next couple of weeks. The big thing right now is getting everything into the ground. For my own yard, I am down to just a few things: A planting of corn, basil, some beans, and peppers. For the Minnetonka garden, All of the tomatoes, peppers, basil and beans. The hard part though was the potatoes that had to get in there, and they are all in. For the Red Wing garden, have to get in tons of beans, and more corn. At the Ness farm, I have to get nearly everything in there still. That is a big garden too. Weather and schedules have conspired against me spending more time there. This weekend needs to be mostly about getting things done there. I will have the whole weekend there if I can handle it, and the family to help me on Saturday. Sunday I have to drop Patti and the kids off at David’s for them to work on getting things ready to move the chickens there, but from there I will head to the Ness’ to work on my own there until it is time to head to David’s for an evening cookout.
In my mind I know what I need to get done: 100 feet of potatoes, and then I am done with those until it is time to dig them up. Two plantings of corn, being an early flour corn, and sweet corn. Beds for transplanting onions and cabbages. I need to make beds and seed lettuce and beets. It is time to get the squash hills done too. This is my largest production area for squashes, and it is going to be a lot of hills.
At this time of day I have ordinarily been asleep for a few hours. The days wear me out pretty good, but tonight I have back and leg pain that got me up. Found an old script for painkillers. Only two pills were left and I took one of them. Really hoping the twinges subside. Last year my back took me out for most of the month of July and I never caught up with the weeding after that. Gardens still gave us a ton of food (several tons actually) but if I had kept ahead of the weeding they would have done better, looked better, and I would not have as many weed issues THIS year as they would not have gone to seed. The Red Wing garden is a good example of that. I tilled it all up a few weeks ago, but weeds were germinating thick already and I had to hoe the entire area I was going to plant again due to how much weed seed is in the soil now.
It is just physically hard on me. I am swimming over my lunch hour at work, doing butterfly workouts (it is the only swim stroke that really works your lower back) trying to do whatever I can to keep my lower back strong, but the worry is always there for me, especially when I am going through pain issues. When I have the pains shooting down my leg, I know the herniated disc is pressing on the nerve. All I can do really is keep going.
Haha! You should have seen my grdaen this summer Ashley. I fought those darn squash bugs for a long time but they eventually decimated my crop. It was ALL dead at the end. I’m going for easier stuff right now. Herbs, flowers and a few tomato plants (from the nursery!). Even if you don’t plant any more seeds, get out in the dirt a little. It’s good for your soul.