Water in the River

Loading up the needles into the wheelbarrow, handful by handful.

The garden, which is doing rather well thus far. I'm a little hesitant to say it is doing really well, though. Everything seems to be growing, but at some point in the day, each plant will slump over and take a nap for a bit before perking back up and resuming normal plant patterns. Every day this happens. To nearly every plant. I've tried to decipher their actions, but it gets me nowhere. Some are slumpy in the shade one day, slumpy in the sun the next. Some are sleepy if they don't get water everyday, some are sleepy if they get watered. But there is no rhyme or reason. Each plant does something different each day. One day, they like water, another day, it makes them drowsy. Personally, I think it has something to do with the "soil" they're planted in. I know herbs, especially, like sandier soil...well draining and all, but I planted everything directly in peanut mulch, which holds water like a camel (a blessing and a curse).

I'm quite vexed at my own laziness, really. I knew when we were putting the peanut mulch bed in that I should take some time to mix the mulch with sand from our yard, particularly for those herbs. But it took us far too long to get the mulch in by itself, much less adding wheelbarrows full of sand to the task. Not to mention the gaping holes it would have left in the yard!

But still, I feel as if I am drowning my herbs, even though I don't water them but once every day or so, more if it is particularly sunny, less if it is particularly cold (which is has been of late, so strange!) or rainy. I wonder if adding some sand to the top of the mulch, just in the herb section, will help at all. Or perhaps that would just filter the water into the mulch even faster and keep it there longer.

Either way, the plants are doing alright in general. A pepper plant that seemed doomed to fail seems to be getting along okay, although at times it is a big gimpy. The next day, though, it'll be soaking up sunlight, beaming greenness and health. I guess when it comes to this garden, I must quote Archy McNally, "One never knows, do one?"

In any case, the cucumbers are already beginning to bud a bit, which is exciting. I'm having a lovely showing of some seeds I planted. Trouble is, my daft little brain forgot what I planted, so that section if now full of mystery plants. Was it melons? Squash? Pumpkins? It was something with a big heart shaped leaf...so I'm thinking it might be in the gourd-y way, or melon-y. Not sure. We'll see. I hope it is melon - it seems to be doing so well!

My carrot seeds, which were starting to sprout in a few places, seem to have withered and gone away. I can no longer find any green sign of them growing. Oh, Sadness.

My garlic, on the other hand, seems to be taking off quite nicely. I think around 80% of the cloves I planted are starting to grow...we'll see if the others come around, or if I'll have 80 or below success rate with them.

The okra are coming along snappily. For the first few days, they looked downright bedraggled, but they seem to have bounced back and are hopefully now putting their energy into making those delicious little white-bead-filled pods of slimey wonder. Mmm... --Ooh, I just looked up some info on okra, and now I'm a little scared...one guy was telling how the plants grew 8-10 feet high?!?! Yikes! Well, hopefully, I'll have plenty of okra for fried okra, steamed okra, pickled okra (okay, now I'm sounding Bubba Gump-ish). And, ooh, I can plant them in June again for a Fall crop! Hooray! Okra, you either love them or you hate them, and I LOVE them.

I think it is funny that we have our garden between a road (well, a boat ramp, actually) and our front sidewalk in the front of our house. I worry a bit about people stealing veggies like they do our roses out front, but whaddya gonna do? Perhaps we'll hire Aiden to watch them - Grr... :) Anyway, around here, everyone has their garden in the front yard, I've noticed. Why? Because the back side of the house generally faces the water, and if the plants were back there, they'd get a nasty bit o' saltspray, which would kill them dead. So, in front of the house is the best place because the house blocks the majority of the sea spray, and the ground is less saturated with saltiness. I like the little quirks of this place, like gardens in front of houses. Or that people ride motorcycles wearing "Homosassa Reeboks" those big white fishing boots that every local wears. It makes me happy.

A close up of a cabbage plant. I've never grown cabbages before, and it is fascinating to see their weirdness growing. They really are strange looking as youngsters, far leggier than I ever thought a cabbage might be. Hopefully, their legginess will bloom into beautiful tastiness. And kraut!

Little guy pauses to look at Daddy.