The Floating House

Ever since we got up here, there seems to be nothing but rain. Well, rain and all that seems to follow. Crazy flashes of lightning, thunder that doesn’t seem to end, damaging tornadoes, and extreme flooding.  And they don’t seem to be letting off an time soon. Beautiful non the less. I’m not use to being able to see the entire electric flash shoot miles across the open sky or hear the roaring thunder as it echoes on and on through the surrounding land. It is a rush of fear, curiosity and happiness all grouped into one moment.

 We finally had the time, funding and an ideal location to plant our first garden. I have more bruises now from gardening than I ever had playing sports and what have you.  I am a bit clumsy, you see.

Last evening we spent the remainder of our long work day weeding out some of the pesky plants that are quickly finding a home around our precious plants.  One is even covered in thorns, which makes it extremely hard to pull out, even if you are reaching for the root.  Most of the excess weeds are actually pretty in sight and I feel bad pulling them to their death. The had a beautiful purple hue underneath the leaves, which make me think they wish so bad to blend in and be part of that garden. They would look so good next to a row of radishes, yet they don’t know when enough is enough and just begin to quickly take over. 

Besides that, here’s the run down of our progress:

We currently have eight tomato plants that are looking fairly good. I think they require a bit more water than we are giving them so hopefully we can figure out a better watering schedule for all of us. The ground is nearly all clay, which seems to have a different affect on each plant.

 We have two zucchini and two squash plants that have grown amazingly strong and large with a few babies already sprouting out. They are most impressive.

There is one lone artichoke plant that is standing its ground and making itself known to the eight pepper plants that loom around it. The peppers are, no doubt, covering the majority of the square footage yet they don’t seem to be doing as good as they probably could be. There are quite a few holes in the leaves, so I just need to research and find out about their lifestyle and physicalities and such…On a better note,  I think the local toad is taking on the position of resident farmer when we are at work. It is nice to have a helping hand through out the day to control the pests. I think he is getting use to us being around because he is allowing himself to come mingle more and more each day.

The remaining plot is set up with mostly herbs. I know we have one pepper plant that was put in by mistake and two eggplants that are content with their life amongst the herbs. The cilantro that we bought has quadrupled in size! We should be able to start pinching some of the leaves off so be prepared for the salsa of the year. The lavender was not doing good at all so we had to put one of the plants to rest. Hopefully the other lavender plant is able to get its root into the ground. The Rosemary is doing great, or so it seems, and we have some fresh mint just waiting to be planted.  

Oh, and the cantaloupe looks so healthy! They probably sprouted the quickest, especially coming from seed. The carrots were also from seed, and they are still extremely fragile and prone to getting grouped in with the weeds that are taking over. I am hoping we are able to recover and grow at least half of what we planted. 

( Let us know is you would like us to set aside some veggies for you! I know were are going to be smothered in tomatoes and peppers if everything goes well! )

The mosquitoes are getting really bad! I think I probably swat nearly thirty of them just during the short amount of time I was out there! More bug spray please!

Tagged: garden, Honeysuckle country, Nature, outside, toad, tomatoes