Gardening, June 14

Well, another wonderful day in the garden done. I got a second row in all in one fell swoop -- with a lot of help from my delightful partner.

I had done it as a series of pits for the first row, but it was clear to me that it wasn't going to be ideal. It's far easier in a series of pits -- and there's plenty of payoff, because you can stop every so often and plant some more green babies and you can stop much more quickly when you're exhausted and still call it "done.

But there are 'walls" between pits where the soil wasn't amended. I could tell where this year, but it's going to be tricky next year. The more I thought about that, the clearer it was that I should put my back to it and do one long trench for the second row.

I went at it for about fours hours this afternoon, with brief breaks while Rod and Jack were at Chess club.. By the time Rod and Jack got home, I was completely whipped, but I was close to done. I had dug almost the whole trench by myself and was almost ready to start with the amendments.

Rod came out to see how I was doing, and made all the appropriate oohs and ahhs -- and then he took a good look at me and offered to finish up for me, because I was clearly exhausted.

(I felt like I was moving through fudge -- my muscles were simply not willing to make the effort any more. At that point it's less about productivity and more about determination.)

I gratefully accepted and so Rod knocked out the last little bit that needed to be dug deeper, and then he turned the soil as I added amendments -- which involved a fair amount of digging to add the sand back in.

We got the trench to within a few inches of the top, while we discussed what we might grow in it, but in the end, we called it quite until tomorrow when I'll fill the last of the trench and then plant.

Rod could have kept going, but I was no longer able to stay upright to super...er, um -- keep him company, and we had to get dinner on the table before he had to leave for the hospital for an overnight procedure.

Besides...I had been planning to put the Three Sisters garden in that area, but while he was digging Rod reminded me that the squash would take over a HUGE amount of the garden, so we had discussed putting that outside the fence.

I could pot in peppers, but I am told that one should not put nightshades together, and the potatoes and the tomatoes are already nearby. Are eggplants nightshae? i think they are. I seem to be planting mainly nightshades this year.

But I can hardly put the cabbages or peas or beans in ... at least until we solve *this* problem.

(Yes, he *is* inside the garden fence. With the gate closed.)
Tricksy rabbit...but my goodness, he is pretty.

Now...back to Watership Down, where someone else can do the heroics for a while.

Night all.