Day 22

Things are looking awesome after coming back from Drummond Island. For that matter, I'm doing awesome too. Drummond Island was beautiful, the work fun and educational, and the company jocular and cheery. It was a whirlwind afternoon in the garden, because shortly after arriving it began to DOWNPOUR! Sheets of rain pelted the garden and greenhouse, and within 45 minutes .4" of rain had come down. All the plants outdoors are established enough to withstand the downpour, and aside from a general plant sigh, nothing looks damaged. Luckily I escaped to the greenhouse mostly dry with a wheelbarrow of soil and compost, and spent the duration of the rain transplanting peppers into larger pots. They are looking very happy already, with little fruit on some plants and flowers on the rest, and I'm sure their roots will appreciate a little more space and nutrients. Hooray rain!

Day 19

Woh the rain! Between last night and today a grand total 1.6" fell, bringing the three day total to 2". With all the rain, I didn't spend too much time in the garden today. Just a little weeding and greenhouse puttering. Late this afternoon I am getting picked up to go on a three day plant survey on Drummond Island, on the east side of the UP. I am thankful to have some help with watering in the greenhouse and checking up on everything while I am gone, so we'll see what three days and some rain will bring!

Day 18

The rain did the garden some good yesterday! It was nice to be able to walk into the garden barefoot and come out muddy. This morning I took a tour of the UMBS Biotron lab with some visiting researchers, and in turn I got to give a tour of the garden. After the tour I planted some pickling cucumbers along the fence on the SE side. Hopefully I can train some of them up the fence while letting a second row trail into the garden. Just thinking about cucumbers is making me salivate! Around lunch Christina is coming in from Alpena, so I will probably take the afternoon off. Also looks like rain again this evening. With how sandy the soil is it will be gladly welcomed.

Day 17

After raising six acres of produce in Wisconsin three years ago, this half acre garden at the Biostation is starting to feel like it is pretty well under control. Today I did some more fiddling around in the morning, planted a bed, worked on my garden borders, and around eleven the Ethnobotany class showed up for a whirlwind visit to help out and check on the progress of the garden. They planted a small triangle bed by the medicine wheel, watered the three sisters mounds, and helped me re-seed a couple rows of beans. Then they were off for their own farm tour to Blackbird Gardens in Petoskey where Matt worked for a couple of years. In the afternoon it rained .4" which was much needed, and I spent my time catching up on the blog and garden map. Check it out!

Day 16

Today was a bit of an organization day. I spent the morning removing the sod from the last bit of garden to prep it for beds and planting. While the ethnobotany class did a decent job turning over the sod, I am worried that if I don't remove the roots we are going to have a big grassy spot again. Also, I spent some time tidying up the entrance to the garden and planting some sunflowers. Once we get the gate up I think it will provide a nice affect when coming into the garden. Today was really pleasant weather to be working in, and I am happy for it. After dinner I organized a garden party (only Jim and Kat showed up) and we finished tilling up the last section of the garden I was working on in the morning. Tomorrow I will hopefully plant some potatoes with Kat that she brought me, as well as some cucumbers and maybe even tomatoes!

Day 15

Oh! Yesterday was the two week point for the garden! It's amazing how fast things are growing. Purslane is coming up thickly in some beds, while others are practically weed free. The green onions have all just about poked through their mounds, and beans are developing lush green leaves. Yum!!! I weeded the worst of the beds today as well as re-seeded some of the greens that did not germinate evenly. Also I planted two rows of pole beans that I will help stake up as they shoot skyward. Things are looking good!

Day 14

A good day to plant seeds in the ground. Today I planted a number of beds in the garden with an assortment of plants. I am experimenting with alternating rows of root and leaf vegetables, and also inserting rows of bush beans to help fix nitrogen and provide some shade for the cooler weather plants. Also I am being more careful in my actual planting techniques to try and get better germination results than I had from the first couple of beds I planted a week ago.