Planting Tomatoes

For years, I have pushed the tomato-planting season using  things to keep them warm in mid April.  The past several years I've gotten a poor harvest.  So this year, I decided to wait until the nighttime low temps were above 50F.  Tomatoes don't like temps under 50F and can die at 45F.  So I watched the 10 day forecast after the average last frost date of April 21 (around here).  There was one night at the end of April under 50F so I waitedMay 1st, the 10 day forecast said none under 50F, so I planted 4 next to the house (well, its warmer there).

Then the 10 day forecast said there would be 1 night below 50F so I waited until after that to plant the tomatoes in the far garden.  Just a couple days, may as well wait.  When that cool night was passed, I looked at the 10 day forecast again, and AGAIN there was a 40's F night in 2 days.  So I waited again.

Now there are 41/42F nights forecast for Sunday and Monday night!  So now I have to wait til Tuesday to plant the rest of the tomatoes (and peppers and cucumbers and other warm weather crops).  This is really setting the season back a bit.

It has not been this low in the nights that I can recall at this late date.  It's global warming.  Yes, you read that right.  Global warming means that, as the Earth heats up, weather becomes more unsettled and random.  Eath heat sends the weather off in more random extremes.  So don't listen to some ideological or scientifically-illiterate politician tell you that global warming isn't true just becuae YOUR local weather has been cooler.  Global warming does not mean "local warming all the time every day". 

Speaking of good forecasting, yesterday, The Weather Channel website hourly forecast said "local thinderstorms about 9:15 pm tonight.  At 9:15 pm I heard a first distant thunder! 

I'll wait 2 more days to plant the rest of the tomatoes, but I will sure check the forecast to decide if I need to cover them for a little more warmth!!!

This year, I really want to try the "wait til its warm" planting idea. 

I DID get a lot of weeding around the flowerbeds done today. A third.  If that doesn't sound like much, it was a space 25' x 8 feet, among existing flowers.  You have to walk very carefully among them to weed.

A Surprise Visitor

Poor pictures, but the best I could get from through a window and far away.  I was in the house and saw a huge bird swoop into the backyard.  I intially thought it was a turkey due to the large body size. 

I assumed that if I opened the deck door for a clearer shot, it would fly away before I could get the camera to focus on it.  I was right about that.  When it DID finally fly away, the picture I got was so blurred it could have been anything from an elephant far away to a spider on the camera lens

But when it flew away, I could see it was obviously a vulture.   I couldn't imagine why a vulture would fly between and under trees.  There was nothing dead out there; I had been at that spot not long before.

The only thing I can think of is that the spot it landed was where a tree stump had been ground in January.  I had an old bag on corn gluten meal that had gotten damp and packed hard as dry brown sugar and I couldn't break it up well enough to use it in my lawn spreader.

So, thinking of what I could usefully do with it, I remembered that wood chips take a LOT of nitrogen from the soil.  Therefore, the fastest way to break down wood chips would be to put a LOT of nitrogen on them.  Corn gluten is very high in nitrogen...  So I had dumped the bag on the pile of wood chips and pounded it down into smaller clumps.  The rains have been dissolving it into the wood chips.

I know that vultures are said to hunt by sight, not smell, but there is a full leaf canopy overhead, and the vulture came in under the trees from downwind.  I think that it was attracted by some smell from a lot of nitrogen in one spot beginning to react with the older wood chips.

But it sure was strange...

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!

So,  I realized that I left some tools outside a few hours ago and went trotting out to put them away.  I forget the rule of never leaving anything on the steps (even the outside ones).  I had stacked some small wooden blocks on the lower deck steps.  I would have been ok, as they were sheltered by some pavers blocks I am used to being there, but one wood piece seems to have fallen over.

I stepped on the corner of it and lost my balance.  Normally, that would have been OK; I am a bit agile even when falling.  But there were those pavers and bricks stacked up.  My left wrist smacked the pavers.  My wrist is fine, (well there IS a nice linear bruise from the watch)  but my watch isn't.  Lost a pin!  The watch flops around.  So I taped it in place, LOL!  It won't win any fashion contests but it's OK until I get a replacement pin.

I know that this seems all lighthearted, but I was actually THIS close to breaking my wrist, knocking out a tooth, breaking my ankle, or putting out an eye (I found myself staring at a paver corner real up close and personal).  And my ankle is sore.  I COULD have broken it but it feels better already.  Still sore though.  I'm lucky on stuff like that.

But I've removed all the stuff on the deck stair.  If you have stuff on any stairs, do the same.  You really don't want to look at the hard corner of a paver stone from an inch away...

Soil Improvement Time!

I finally got the car onto the trailer to visit the local nursery a couple of days ago.  I wanted a LOT of good compost.  Around here, that is "Leaf Gro".  The nursery sells it in bulk with a front-loader into a trailer or pickup bed.  I got almost a cubic yard for $28.  That's about the same as $60 worth in bags at the big box store and I doubt their stuff is the same quality.

So I covered the trailer , drove it home and into the back yard, and uncovered it.  Lovely stuff (see yesterday's picture).  The first use was to add to the soil bulk in the small tomato bed against the house.

Here's the BEFORE picture.  Half-filled with soil (the old falling-down raingutters drained in there, washing soil out).   There were lots of grasses spreading by runners too.  I turned over all the soil with my leverage fork.  That's a really cool tool (more below). 

I filled it with 3 wheelbarrows of Leaf Gro and hardly made a dent in the trailer-load..    

Then I turned the soil deeply with the leverage fork to mix them.  It doesn't look as nice and dark on top, but the compost is now deep in the root zone where it should be.  I left space for 2" of bark mulch.  And I will say that the newly-sharpened shovel really went right down deep with little foot pressure.  And when hard clumps of old dirt came up, it easily cut through them.  Good tools are wonderful!

The red hose you see, BTW, normally sits on the top of the back board and runs along the fence all the way to the back yard where the rest of the veggie garden is.  It sure beats unlooping 100' of hose back near the house everytime I need to water the main garden.

The leverage fork is amazing.  You put a foot in the center and push down.  Then you push the handle back and down.  The horizontal bar provides bending leverage (hence the name) and this thing is solid steel providing great strength.  I use it to turn hard soil when a regular garden fork is too weak.  The only limitation is the depth.  It only goes down 8" because of the leverage bar.  But 8" is pretty good for most crops.  And if you use it to break up the hard soil BEFORE you add better soil, it is great too.

After using the leverage fork to break up the hard soil is when I added the Leaf Gro compost (a local product, I think) to the bed.  At that point, I could use the regular shovel to turn and mix the soil and chop up large dry chunks.  And pick out grass-runner roots.  

Since this bed is right up against the house, it is warmer there.  I'll plant some of the tomatoes there Monday and show the finished job then.  The weather forecast says the nightly lows will be above 50 after today for the rest of the season.

Tomatoes are actually tropical (sub-tropical?) vines and do NOT like temps below 50.  I've been using warming tricks for years, but this year I decided to just wait on the weather.  Between the serious amount of fresh compost and the delay in planting, and the additional sunlight from having a few trees removed, I am hoping for an outstanding tomato season (and other crops).

Trailer Time!

A front loader bucket of Leaf Pro, about 25 cubic feet.  $30 where the same in bags at the local big box store cost about $60.

The before pic for the early tomato bed.  It's close to the house, so it stays warmer.

I started to add the Leaf Pro,  The box was only half full of soil (the falling down raingutters last year dumped tons of water and washed soil out).  The raingutters have been replaced.  So I decided to fill it with half compost. 

I dug the soil deeply, then added the compost and dug that deeply.  Then I added more and dug it deeply again.  It is one of the 2 sunniest spots left in the yard.  The soil has been left alone a few years.  With the bed being half compost, if I can't grow heirloom tomatoes there this year, I will have to give up here and consider a community garden spot.

Cleaning Garden Tools, Part 3

The rules say to sharpen the cutting edges of shovels and such with a file.  But I have a grinding wheel which is just as good and faster, LOL!  We're not talking about fine cutlery here.

So, being careful to generally match the grinding angle to the original  beveled angles, I set about the crude sharpening.  You are only making an edge on one side (chisel, not knife).  LOOK at those sparks, LOL!  I had the handle of the spade resting on the floor, so the grinding angle stayed very consistent.  A light pass back and forth did a wonderful job.

I gave the scuffle-hoes special attention.  They work with back-and-forth cutting strokes just below ground level (sort of like using a mop).  The front edge cuts under weeds on the push stroke, the back edge cuts on the pull stroke.

Then it was time to oil all the metal.  I've read about that bucket of sand with a quart of motor oil poured in, but I'm not going to mess with that.  It feels like pouring oil into the flowerbeds.  The oil on the tools has to get worn off somewhere, right?

So I took another piece of an old undershirt and simply wiped the tools with it dipped in motor oil.  Then I wiped the surfaces of excess oil with a another cloth.

The post-hole digger at the top of the picture WILL get file work.  The curves are tricky for the grinder.

Fish Loyalty

Fresh water tropical aquarium fish are generally small and only live a couple/few years.   I have a 30 gallon tank, so there are about 2 dozen small fish in it (mostly tiger barbs, cherry barbs, and serpa tetra).  So it is no great surprise to me to see a dead one every so often.  Yesterday, I noticed that the male dwarf gourami of my pair had died and was lying in a corner of the aquarium.  I knew I would have to get it out soon but I was a bit busy.

What surprised me was that the female was within a couple of inches of the dead male each time I passed by.  I glanced at the spot each time I passed for a couple of hours and she was always right there!  So I just watched her.

It's not like I always saw them swimming around together, and I certainly never noticed them trying to build a nest or mate.  I'm also not inclined to ascribe complex emotions to a fish.  But she was staying between him and the other fish in the tank.  I think she sensed something was wrong with him and may have even been guarding him.

Pretty impressive for a "just a fish".

Cleaning Garden Tools, Part 2

Part 2 of the garden tool maintenance was to protect the wood handles.  Most of my garden tools are old enough that the cheap wood finish is long since gone.  So I was dealing with bare wood.  I had thought I needed to paint them with wood sealant, but I have read that boiled linseed oil is a better choice.  No, you don't have to go boiling linseed oil yourself; you can buy it that way at the hardware store.  It will say "boiled" on the can. 

The directions said you could dilute it with up to 50% paint thinner for better penetration, so I did that.  I'll repeat the process using undiluted boiled linseed oil tomorrow after the diluted application dries.

I found that a piece of old cotton undershirt was a good applicator.  And, though I wasn't worried about the linseed oil (its made from flax seed), the paint thinner can be a skin irritant so I wore latex gloves.

Since the gloves were immediately wet and I didn't feel like taking them on and off, I don't have pictures of the actual application.  Fortunately, rubbing a wood pole with a wet cloth is a reasonably obvious process.  ;)

So I'll show a couple of "after" pictures.  Give the linseed oil 24 hours to dry.  The wet rag can self-combust if wadded up and thrown away, so I spread it out outside on a cinder block.  Same with the latex gloves, "just in case".

Note that the wood on some of the tools is much darker than on others.  The more old unfinished wood, the more of the linseed oil was absorbed, so the darker it is.   I assume that if you see the tools of an old gardener and they are deep brown smooth wood, they have been lovingly-maintained.  Mine will never look like that, but I'll try to do this each year from now on.

These ones were all purchased about the same time, so the degree of darkness probably shows which ones I've used the most (wearing off the original finish).  Well, it could also reflect the quality of the original factory finish...

Since the undiluted 2nd application has nothing new involved, just consider that done tomorrow.  Friday, sharpening and oiling...

Cleaning Garden Tools, Part 1

Because we were forecast to have several days of drizzly rain, I thought of what I could usefully do in the house.  One thought was to move the stereo cabinet over to the TV and use the speakers to improve the TV sound quality (a cheap home theater).  The second was to do maintenance on my garden tools.  The garden tools seemed more timely.  Mainly, because I've never really done that before.

So I piled all the shovels, hoes, rakes, etc into the wheelbarrow and brought them all into the basement.  I brought everything that had unfinished wood handles, a blade, caked dirt, or rust (and that doesn't leave much - an aluminum soil rake, a plastic and aluminum leaf rake, and a big breaker bar).  Also, I'm leaving all the pruners for real sharpening "later".

There are 3 main things to do.  First clean all the tools of dirt and rust.  I know, we ALL clean the dirt off each time we are putting them away.  Right...  Second protect all the bare wood handles.  Third, sharpen all cutting edges and oil the metal.

So, today I cleaned all the tools.  I laid a few at a time on the workbench.

I was surprised to discover that a wire brush does not remove caked dirt very well.   A narrow metal putty knife works much better and is flexible enough to follow curves.  Below, I'm removing dirt from my poacher's shovel.

After all the dirt was scraped off, I took the wire brush to all the metal surfaces and then washed them with a wet rag.  And of course, dried them with another rag.

Tomorrow, protecting the bare wood...

A Small Dinner Party

"Ding-Dong"  Oh hello, thank you so much for coming!  For everyone's convenience, I have set the Einstein time-converter to 5:30 pm local time whenever you arrive and I think the Heisenberg stabilizer is on (but you can never really be sure about that).  It is so nice to meet you; please come in.  You are JUST on time.

The appetizer table is there on the right.  There are stuffed celeries, marinated mushrooms, several cheeses and crackers, and some lemony-dill cucumber slices. 

On the left, there are small glasses of various liqueurs (Pomegranate, Razzleberry, and Triple Sec), a pitcher of Bloody (well, V8) Marys, a pitcher of old-fashions, and bottled water (note the lime and lemon twists in the bowl there).  There is also green tea on the warmer and I have plenty steeping in the kitchen.  Choose a glass that suits your fancy.  It is seldom I get to put out all those odd glasses, so feel free to experiment.  Have some tea in a martini glass or liqueur in a teacup.  It's a relaxed event.

Dinner will start in about 30 minutes, so feel free to mingle, talk, toss cat treats or toys, etc.  It's OK to wander through the kitchen too.  I already have the herbed saffron rice and sauce and salad prepared, so I only have to saute the shrimp and asparagus.  I can even talk while doing that.

Please let me know if the music is too quiet.  I didn't want it to be too loud for talk or too quiet to enjoy.

Dear friends, dinner is SERVED... Now, who would like some wine?  And with THIS dish, it can be anything.  I have zinfandel and riesling, and Megan has brought an Australian wine!

For dessert, we have an assortment of Lindor chocolates and some Van Otis Swiss Fudge.  Plus Tina has brought a smoked Salmon Cheesecake!

There are also bowls of cat treats and toys for tossing to any of the Mews who venture out among us, and Iza is showing off her tummy and rolling skills...

[Oops, the smoked salmon cheesecake has been moved the the appetizer table]

Good Day Outside

I love days where I alternate yardwork and relaxation on the deck!

I decided that the Spring Peepers were done with courtship for the year and removed the landscape cloth over the top of the small pond (3'x5').  I had covered it one year with clear plastic to keep the Peepers away, but the airtight conditions produced a horrible-looking purple algae and I had to take the entire thing apart and clean it.  I lost the 3 goldfish in it too.  So I'm careful about that now.  The landscape cover allows air movement.  The new goldfish have been doing fine for several years since.

And, as I am lucky about some things, the take-apart of the algaed pond was good.  The roots of the potted pond plants had nearly filled the pond and I spent hours cutting them apart in cold water.  Now I know to lift all the pots each Springs and cut the roots back to the pot confines.  Time to do that again soon.

So, after hanging the landscape fabric up to dry (after blasting it with high pressure hose water to remove accumulated plant material), carrying the 4"x4"x8' post it was draped over back to the woodshed, and stacking all the bricks I had used to keep the edges down (those Peepers will find any loose spot to crawl into the pond and croak all night), I leaned on the deck rails and looked around the backyard.

I found the next project right at my elbow!  There is a large container pot (2' square) that I planted 5 oriental lilies in 4 or 5 years ago, and they are exploding with shoots.  I'll have to give the container a lot of fertilizer with so many plants, but the first priority was to make a support for them.  Last year, they flopped all over the edges.  I went and picked out 4 3' stakes from the garden shed and set about tying twine arounfd them at 2 heights.  I will make sure to brush the growing stems inside the twine "fence" each few days until they are all above the height and can't fall over over.

The lily container is set about 6' upwind from where I usually stand on the deck.  At peak bloom, the scent can be almost overwhelming (but very appreciated).  This Fall, I really need to cut the stems short, tip the whole container out and try to separate the individual plants.  If that doesn't work, I will have to use the digger knife (think of something between a steak knife and a pruning saw) and cut the soil cube into a 4x4 grid.  Then I'll plant 4 back in the container to grow again and the rest in the sunniest parts of the yard.

So then a rested on the deck and had a beer.

Then I decided that the grass was long enough and dry enough to mow.  I keep the mower at 3.5 ".  That's the healthiest height for my fescue turfgrass.  High grass means deeper roots, which means less watering.  And higher grass height shades out most weeds.  And, by the way, leave the grass clippings on your lawn where they fall (unless you mow them all into the middle of the lawn where they will smother a patch of grass).  In THAT case you have to make a final mowing pass to spread the clippings out a bit.

So after mowing the yard, I went back up onto the deck for more downtime and another beer.  Don't worry, that beer was 2 hours later.  And since I had the Mews in the house while I mowed (I have a horror of very unlikely accidents) I let them out again.  Marley was especially anxious.  I think he would like to live outside in nice weather.  Iza ran out next (I left the screen door open a cat-width).  Ayla came out and in and out and in briefly.

I wish I knew what scares Ayla about being outside these days lately.  She used to want to be outside (and up it trees).  She is twitchy outside all the time.  Well, interestingly, a hawk shot through the yard (first I've seem in years while I was watching the backyard from the deck.  Maybe she had a close call with one.  Whatever, I an willing to just give her attention in the relative safety of the deck when she is willing to come out.  I blame Iza and Marley a bit on this too,  They really do chase her like she is a squirrel when they are all outside.  But, on the other hand, Ayla runs for the fence top when she is out alone, so I'm not REALLY sure what she is thinking.

After the cats were out and running around (more on Marley later), I looked around more and thought "oh, I can put the rain gauge out again, no more freezing temperatures.  I couldn't find it.  I looked "everywhere".  Well, of course, not "everywhere" because I would have found it.  So then I looked in other places.  No luck.  I did the scanning search of the basement (looking every foot in sequence with an image of the item in mind,  No Luck.  I went out and searched the equipment shed.  I went and checked the garden shed.  I searched the basement 2 more times.

I did some more useful stuff and deliberately ignored the rain gauge.  You know how, when you stop thinking of the name of a person, it suddenly comes to you?  I suddenly had an image of the rain gauge sitting on the kitchen pantry floor along with other upright objects like the fire extinguisher, some thermoses, some bottle brushes, etc.  And there it was!  Memory is amazing.  It fails so badly and it works so well.

I decided that earned a 2nd beer and more time on the deck deciding what to do next.  Ans you know what I did?  I went out to remove that one small annoying fallen branch that has been intruding in my view of the backyard for weeks.  It looked reachable from the deck.  It wasn't.  So I found a stick I could break off into a hooked tip and started trying to pull it loose.  It wouldn't fall.   I felt a bit like a lab chimp trying to get a banana hanging from a string on the ceiling, LOL!

So I stopped and looked at the way the branch was hanging.  A 4" fork of the fallen branch was in the tree branch.  So I needed to LIFT the branch off the hook.  No sooner realized than done.

Wow, I'm smarter than a chimp.  LOL!

So I called the Mews inside.  They all ran in willingly.  Dinnertime always makes them respond to calling inside.  I gave them dinner (Wellness chicken, a favorite), I made my dinner (my rule, they eat before I do), and I played tossed treats and mousies while I ate.  Tonight's TV was Planet Earth.  I haven't watched that for a while.

It was a good day!