The Tomato Seedlings, They…

Survived!

The thermometer has been reading a minimum of 49-50 F. Not bad for 35F nights. They’ll be hardened off, though, don’t you think?

I scored two loads of cardboard for more sheet mulching, one load from a friend who was happy to free up some real estate in her basement, and one, the larger load, via Freecycle. I think I have enough to cover the beds up front and half the entire front area.

I potted up the two sweet pepper plants from last year. I brought them inside last Fall to be houseplants,  until now. One is already growing flowers! I buried them in their new pots up to their bellies, so hopefully they’ll put on more roots and grow thicker stems. I put them out in the sun during the day but bring them inside for the night.

We’ve finally finished grading and preparing the backyard and sowed the grass seed this evening. I also cleaned up and limed and put compost on all the veg beds except for those that are planted (those in the hoop house and the garlic and rhubarb bed).

I wanted to get  this done before the rain that will be falling over the next couple of days. It might even snow on Saturday, can you believe it! At least it makes me feel good about sowing the (cold loving) fava beans so late (today, actually). It also makes me think that the hoop house is, after all, in its right place still. But I might have to bring the tomato seedlings in, in case that compost bin stops burning. I wish I had one of those gimmicks that tells me the temperature remotely, with an alarm on it…

I caught the 13th mouse in the trap in the basement. Luckily it had gone straight for the peanut butter, bypassing the seedlings.

My hands hurt at the end of the day, which is why I’m not blogging so much.  I have spent three days in a row shoveling and sifting wet soil and wet manure and wheelbarrowing them all over. The rest of my body no longer hurts, only my hands feel stiff and crampy.

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2 Comments

  1. 13th mouse! Good grief, you need to borrow a cat!

    Hurray for your seedlings! Such a relief, isn’t it. And hurray for the cardboard. It makes such wonderful mulch. I still have a bunch, but with planting season beginning, haven’t had time to do any mulching.

    Sounds like you’ve been working really hard, and your body is complaining about it. I can relate. Still, it’s such a comfort to have it done. I can’t wait for your summer photos, sharing the fruits of your hard labors.

  2. I got my comfrey from Coe’s Comfrey in North Carolina. No website, but you can email them and ask for a brochure – coescomfrey@yahoo.com. They are very helpful and my root crowns are very healthy. I would definitely recommend them and their comfrey.

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