&^%*# Rabbits

I keep meaning to post about the rabbits...and more keeps happening. I wondered why I saw a rabbit in the garden a little while ago. What happened to my rabbit-proof fence? (You have to bury it far enough in the ground to keep the little so-and-sos from digging a hole underneath. Which I did, all along the bottom of the porch.)

Once the kale and kholrabi (K&K) were gone the rabbit didn't seem to be doing much damage, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to plant beans, peas, and more K&K until I got rid of it.

A week or so ago I saw it again, and chased it...and found the hole it had dug. Under the steps, it found a weak spot in the rabbit-proof fence. I dropped a concrete block over the hole and thought, OK, that'll hold it for a while.

Then I saw it again. I chased it and found...that the entire south fence is probably a weak spot. The rabbits can dig in from the next-door neighbors' driveway. Looks like I will have to extend the rabbit-proof fence all the way along this area if I want to keep them out. So frustrating!

I don't have time for this right now...and it looks like I've lost the two weakest tomato plants. Plus some onions. Who knew that rabbits like onions? (Or tomato plants, for that matter). I've tried some anti-rabbit juice that didn't work very well before. It sure stinks to me.

A shotgun would be too good for them.

Rabbits

Yes, they found a way in. So much for spring kale, peas, and kholrabi. I wasn't too hopeful anyway, because I think I planted these too late.

I went around sealing up some places where they might have gotten in, and I'm hoping for better luck in the fall.

Getting the plants in

It's been sort of hectic what with traveling and now an operation. But I managed to get the tomatoes planted---they were growing too big under the lights for their pots. Then we got a couple of days of cool, rainy weather. Most of the plants are doing fine, but a couple that were fragile to begin with may not make it. I may have to buy a couple of plants, since I don't have any more cherry tomatoes.

Oddly, while the tomatoes germinated quickly and grew fast, the cucumbers and zucchini have taken a lot longer. In fact, the zuccchini are only now germinating, and it must be a month since I planted them. I'm not sure I will even be able to use the plants I started, since they are so late. The cucumbers are a little better, but have been growing very slowly. I'll probably try to do more planting soon.

I've had to leave a lot of things undone this year. For example, I cleared the planter on the side of the hummingbird attracting plants (I saw one hummingbird there over the years) to plant herbs. It needs about a yard of soil, but it's just too much trouble right now to figure out how to fill it. So I'm going to plant annual herbs this year, and will try to get the soil over the winter, maybe in conjunction with putting in a raised bed (another project I want to do) where it is difficult to dig because of roots in the vegetable garden.

Sprouting Report

Tomatoes are coming up, although I've lost a few of the plants. Good thing I put three seeds in each pot. A couple of cucumbers or zucchini have germinated, too. Next weekend should be good for some preparation.

Seed Starting Stuff

So I started the tomato seeds two weeks ago...I wonder why the seed packages claim they take six to eight weeks. The seeds had germinated by the end of the first week, and are now growing under the lights. I expect to have plants ready to go by the middle of May without any problem.

Last year, I started the tomatoes in March, and had to replant a bunch of them...and even then they got too big.

Today, I started the cucumbers and zucchini. Unfortunately, the kale and kholrabi don't seem to be doing too well. Not much germination, although enough to provide some nice plants. But there is a big if---if it doesn't get hot too quickly for them. I think I should have planted the kale earlier.

Only about half the peas I planted germinated. Maybe it doesn't pay to use last year's seed for peas? It worked for tomatoes, though.

At least the onions and garlic seem to be doing well. As are the weeds. I'm going have to do something about the weeds before planting.

Spring Again

Time for a new post...I've completely neglected the blog over the winter and promise nothing this year.

Snowmaggedon is long gone, and last weekend gave me two perfect days for getting the garden in shape. I had done a few things over the winter...like pruning the blueberry bushes. (Should be done very year. I had never done it. There will be more next winter, I suppose). But mostly, I just left things.

So this weekend was a bit of a flurry of activity, although there was a lot less to clean up than last year. Or maybe I just did less. Anyway, I got things organized, and got the first planting in. This consists of:

1. half a row of kale (red and green)
2. half a row of kholrabi
3. Some peas (an experiment)
4. A row and some more of onions.

I planted the peas where some of my cucumbers will eventually go. I am not going to fight the cucumber blight any more. Instead, I am going to plant to put in a couple of plants every two months through July (when the beetles should be gone) and just let the early plants go. At least we should have cucumbers all season.

Thanksgiving---still picking!

What have I been doing over the past month? Not so much, except for cleaning up and getting everything ready for next year. All those lovely, huge plants are gone, for the most part, in the direction of our compost bin or in a paper bag for the city to compost. I've pulled a few weeds and put down some black fabric that I had to see if I can keep at least part of the flat area from being overrun with weeds in the spring.

The garlic is coming up, and there is still sage and parsley. Hence the title of this post, since sage is perfect for today's turkey and stuffing, and it's really nice to have lots of it just cut. It's also nice to get something---even so small---to use today.

We do have a few other things from the garden in our thanksgiving meal. Onions, for example. And garlic. And green tomato pickles.