Summer is Officially Declared

Two days went by without frost on the neighbors' roof tops so I declared it time to plant.

The potatoes had been languishing in a mesh bag in the garage, fully sprouted and anxious to get a-growing. When I declared it planting day, I got out the barrels (you have to be inventive in a tiny garden) and set them out where they will spend the summer.

The the potatoes were carefully cut into chunks with sprouts on them and placed into the barrels with a layer of dirt to cover them.

As they develop stems and leaves, I'll comtimue to add more dirt  until the top of the barrel is reached and then the leaves will eventually wither and I'll know it's time to harvest.

I had a few left over after filling the barrels and a crazy thought came to me--why not plant them right in the garden? Yes, that tiny little garden with very little waste space. 

There was a small patch  to the right of the shed where I had some left-over sod rotting upside-down, and since the sod was now composted into one of the beds the space was free. This is how it looked before some serious digging took place and the potatoes were planted.

 

Knowing that rabbits have no problem getting into raised beds and not wanting to provide lettuce for their salads,  I cadged the old window screen off the rain barrel (keeps out mosquitoes in the hot season) and hope this confuses the little rodents.

About that patch neatly removed from one corner of the screen--can't recall what I used that for but nothing gets wasted

The lattice screen hiding the clothes line is filling in nicely with greenery,and the planters are in early planting stages.

A couple more trips to the nursery will provide the colors  I have in mind and when they're ready, I'll cajole some muscle into setting them in the best place to show off  their blooms..

After that it will be maintenance---water, water, water and when the ground is soft, weed, weed, weed.

With lots of pauses on the deck to read another chapter of the current book.