THE GARDEN REPORT - May 28, 2010

Yesterday was another very hot day. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was burning up the small winter-sown seedlings that I planted out. We have been trying to protect the young veggies from the woodchuck. Even though I have a collection of fencing, he (she ?) has managed to nibble quite a few peas. My parsnips and a few broccoli have also been nibbled. I planted the cucumber seeds that I have been gifted. I worked on digging up roots from the been bed. I dragged some scrap lumber and framed it into a nice neat bed. I put on a good supply of compost and raked it. The bed is now ready for planting bush beans.

Yesterday I picked our first ripe strawberry.

This morning the corn was up, short fat grasslike leaves, which was a surprise because there was no sign of it last evening.

A few pink peonies are also in bloom.

This morning I side-dressed the garlic with compost. I also side-dressed the young collards and the chard. I have made a significant dent in the compost pile- but we still have so much left.

I carried so many shovelfuls of compost to place around tomato and potato plants.

Walt noticed a fat toad sitting on some compost. I am happy to see it. They are beneficial to the garden, eating insects, grubs, slugs, worms, and other invertebrates. An adult toad can eat 1000 insects in one night. When I was young, we had toads. Then when I returned to the same garden 30 years later, there were no toads. Then two years ago they returned. That was when I started mulching some vegetable plants with a layer of straw. They must have like the coolness under the straw. I have placed some broken pottery in the vegetable garden for a toad home. I hope that we will have more.