Bright Ideas

When we turned over the last page on the calendar, we asked ourselves that very question. Wasn’t it just April? Time goes so quickly. School dismissed for summer and the grade school children are running free; older students have jobs in the country or in town.

Gardeners ran the risk of frost damage so long. It briefly fell to 29 degrees Memorial Day morning. Tomatoes were delayed, while fruit trees and bushes were left susceptible to early morning lows. Did your plants, trees and bushes survive?

Brice did weather readings at the old Eagle building from ‘85 until after we sold the business in 2014. Then the Weather Service installed a “new and improved” system for reading highs and lows inside our house. A new rain gauge was also installed, but it requires a trip outside.

Every time we or he attend a public function, he is asked rain amounts, and in early spring or late fall inquiries are always about low temperatures. “Did it freeze?” they ask. All adults are interested in the weather.

So far we have experienced one reading of 29, another of 30, and one of 31 degrees, several of 32.2 and 32.4. Will it stay warm now? How early settlers would have appreciated these readings to guide them in planting. What if they had forecasts? Who would have predicted the dry ‘20s or “Dirty 30s?” If they had only known.

Our garlic came up early; Brice planted it last fall. We had our seed potatoes and onion starts ready to plant, then seeds, early seeds like lettuce, radishes, and more. Tomato and pepper plants went out later; watermelons and pumpkins need warm ground, and require a longer growing season. Tomatoes prefer less wind, although they were sheltered somewhat by plastic bags around the wire tomato cages.

The grandsons wanted a section of garden for watermelons and pumpkins. They want corn and other crops. When will they plant everything and Granddad can just supervise? That’s a few years away.

Our well housing was repaired at ground level; now we can water when needed. Early frequent, small showers disappeared but the well can take care of the garden now. Brice fertilized the garden and tilled everything under, adding some “home grown” vegetable compost.

At the end of the growing season, how will our garden have grown? I’m not so interested in, “silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row.” Tell me about the garlic crop, radishes, green beans, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and carrots. Then the apples, both kinds.