Somebody Doesn't Want Me to Get My Garlic Planted

My goal for this week by friday was to build 2 planters, fill one with soil and plant my garlic. I picked up the boards last saturday. I then cut and assembled the sides on sunday. There they sat until yesterday. I took them outside and stained them in the morning, let them dry all day and then returned them to the garage so they would not get wet with dew. This afternoon I put the sides and ends together into a planter and put them in place. I filled one with soil and commenced planting garlic. 3 kinds were to be planted(Oregon Blue, Ischeium Red and California White), 2 rows of each 16 rows deep for a total of 96 bulbs next year. I was about half done with the first variety when the rain came pouring down. I was going to finish all 3 varieties but quit after finishing the first variety due to the tremendous amount of hail.

The new soon to be garlic bed


















My poor carrots


The neighbors roof.

Happy Thanksgiving

I sit here today having a different Thanksgiving and remembering traditions and Thanksgivings past. My wife's brothers wife took a promotion at work and had to work today so our recent tradition of TG down in Concord will be put on hold. Her brother decided he didn't want to travel up so it'll just be myself and my wife plus our young adult children and her brother that lives here in town. This is the second holiday season since my mom passed on and my wife's mom's been in a home for 3 holiday seasons. I remember the TG's from years passed when 10-20 people would come to my mom's. Time, marriages, and children growing up have changed those old traditions. I still hold on to some traditions that bring the old memories back and tie the new with the old. On the table today is my dad's old turkey salt and pepper shakers plus his silverware ( he passed on when I was 9) and my mom's holiday china plus the turkey serving ware myself and my wife purchased for her when we were first married. We will be starting a new tradition of eating many fresh vegetables fresh picked out of the garden and prepared to the table. There's carrots, radishes, banana squash, kale, and broccolli. Though the traditions of TG football at the local elementary school and huge groups of people are on hold for now it's still a day to celebrate all that's good in the company of what family is available.



Picked for the table


The potatoes didn't make it. Maybe Christmas.


Kale and carrots.


A sunflower


Broccolli


The old man's shakers from the 50s


Mom's soup turine


Drake. He attends all holidays at our house.

The Garden Shame Continues but the Citrus Produces

I still have not gotten around to pulling the myriad of weeds now infiltrating my garden. The planters are not done, however they are in process and will have garlic planted in them by friday. I have been enjoying a few hunts of the waterfowl variety and some delicious organic broccolli and lettuce from my garden. The carrots look like I'll be able to start harvestibng them by Thanksgiving for dinner. The potatoes are another story though. They have not flowered nor starting dying away. The wonderful idea of a bowl of roasted purple, yellow and white potatoes for Thanksgiving is not going to happen. My lemon tree though is quite full of those little yellow buggers. The orange tree at the previous foreclosure has many oranges also. Since the house sold recently and today I met the couple who will be renting it I guess they will enjoy the fruits of my deep watering and fertilizing not me.

The "Hall" project that has been gobbling up my gardening time if finally finished.




Part of my soon to be bountiful lemon harvest



Planters sides that need stained and attached together then filled for the garlic.


The oranges that I coddled that will be eaten by another.


A Euryops

My Garden Shame

I haven't had much time to post nor do any work in the garden. Working on the hall project as well as responding to fire calls has kept me pretty busy. I need to build my planter beds to get my garlic planted but first I need to do some maintenance in the garden to erase my sloth and shame. Normally everyone likes to post pictures of their beautiful garden and result of hard work. I'm going to post some pictures of the poor condition of my garden resulting from other priorities.

Weeding that needs done.


Weeding plus needing to replant snap peas where they did not germinate.


I need to pick some snails after dark.







My peppers have almost had it with the cool nights. Hoping a few more will turn red before I pull them.



Some fungus? on my cauliflower



Luckily my son pulled the tomatoes or they would still be in these pots.



Crab grass blanketing my newer garden area.



A couple good ones. A late sunflower.



Broccolli starting to head out.



A brief moment watching a grey squirrel that lives in my pine tree accompanied by the dogs.



That's it. I think I'm going to go pull snails and crush them.