Weekend planting

We have had a definite break in the rain. Friday we had grey skies and got a trace of rain. Yesterday was lovely. Today and this week are supposed to be great.

I decided to get some herbs from the Pflaum Family at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. They have been so helpful with my gardening these last few years. They've answered my questions, and best, most happiest of all, the seedlings they sell are totally reliable and only $2 or 3/$5 for pots that are about 2"x2" with several seedlings in each clump. I've made mistakes in the past, killed something I liked, and was able to go back and get some more.

Yesterday, I grabbed a flat and started shopping. I decided to get 3 different varieties of slicing tomatoes, rosemary, basil, lemon basil, lemon thyme, catnip, Italian parsley, spinach, salad mix, pole beans, sweet peas and probably something I'm missing.

I planted everything I bought plus tomatoes, peppers, and some squash. The garden is really filling out. The seedlings help me visualize how the garden will look over time. I can't quite tell if things are too close together. I'm planting double wide rows of peppers and they seem a bit dense. I've staggered the tomatoes into two rows  with some closer and some further from the arbor. I plan on putting twine woven on the arbor uprights to  support the tomatoes.

I bought pole beans. I really like fresh green beans and I really like to watch them grow. They climb so fast. They are next to cucumbers and zucchini. I've set them on the east side of the arbor about a foot from the base. I'm going to run twine from the plants to the top of the arbor.

I'm going to move the last of the seedlings to the greenhouse or maybe outside because the greenhouse is getting really hot during the day. When I was moving things around yesterday, I noticed the spinach seedlings in my apartment were bolting. They're only 2" tall! I'm going to take them outside and shade all of the spinach with a tight weave nylon window screen so they are mostly shaded. I should have put them in sooner. I didn't get any spinach last year - it bolted right away. My book says this is caused by days that are too sunny too long. Wish me luck.

I'm going to try to spend all day outside reading and planting the last of the seedlings and a few more seeds. Everything should be done. All I'll need to do after is water, weed, and maybe thin. Oh, and eat too. The peas should be producing pretty quick.

Tropical Minnesota...

...is not just the name of the tanning salon on Main Street in Hopkins where I still have credits for 60 minutes of tanning from 4 years ago.

Our heat index is expected to be over 100F for most of the week. My spinach bolted within a week of going in the ground - I didn't get any harvest. I hope this weather will help the peppers. Lots of watering this week.

I "installed" 4' plastic fencing around my plot to keep Alexi (Valentina said he cut my plants) from getting at my plants and to burn off my frustration. The birds are loving it. They know that they can land on my beds and nothing can get at them, not even the people-critters. Happy little birds.

I'm knitting like a knitting fool. Knitty's Winter 2008 Dead Fish Hat pattern. I finished one last week and I'm nearly done with #2.  Pictures to come.

1:30am and some really strange thunder has finally started after 1/2 hour of lightning. It's gonna be weird. I'd love to open the windows, but I've finally gotten the humidity in my apartment under 75%, so I've got to stay buttoned up.

They call this a shelf cloud

Second day of 95F+ = severe storms = no need to water

Can you hear the music from Jaws?
Danger approaches.

The weather man on the 5pm news is very excited. Tornado warning: There are "take cover immediately" warnings for places to the west. Also 2" hail. The rest of us are in a severe thunderstorm warning which means rain and wind is coming and tornadoes may follow that.

My afternoon plan was to hang out by the garden with a beverage and a book, but I got side-tracked. I'll watch the storm from my sofa.

It's not all about snow here.

What a day

I went shopping this morning as planned. I picked up some peas and soybeans at the garden store. I went to the hardware store. The temp raised 10 degrees in an hour and humidity was ridiculous. I took a nap.

When I made it to the garden, there was no one there. I measured and built the top portion of the arbor-thing I've been working on for the big climbing veg. I thought I was being clever, but I had some problems. It sounds easy. In my head it sounded easy, but the uprights kept twisting out of true. A neighbor saw me struggling and came to help. Then another. Both speak English well, but they kept talking to each other in Chinese and I was kind of left out. She spoke the best English, but even standing next to her, she couldn't always hear me speak - double hearing aids.  It got a little ridiculous.  By this time, I'd been in the direct sun for a few hours in 85F+ temps. I was getting a little heat-stroke-y: shaky, nauseous, headache.

We were going three different directions for a while. More neighbors came out, so a peanut gallery ensued.  There was a constant chatter in Chinese about the next step in building, but it did not include me. The wind came up, I felt sick, and no one was listening to me. Eventually everything that was to be upright, resembled vertical. Stakes were planted and tied to the verticals. I just wanted to get on with my life,
BUT
first one, then another neighbor and another came by pointing and made comments in Chinese and English mixed together. Collectively, the nay-sayerss were that the arbor is to tall, "unequal" (crooked), leaning, and that I was a fool for trying to build it on a windy day (it wasn't windy when I started).

As I tried to explain, getting more and more pissed off, Mr Hu came into my garden plot, grabbed an upright and started to rock it to show me how the wind would blow it over (loosening the dirt and rocking the stakes.) He started arguing with another neighbor (in Chinese) about how bad or good the structure was. Occasionally, someone would shoot me a quick translation, then jump into the argument in Chinese. Eight people arguing in Chinese getting louder and louder, trying to talk over each other, not a soul paying any attention to me. Yelling, arguing, and gesturing. I don't speak Chinese in the slightest, but I know the words for yes, no, good, bad, tie, cut, measure, and of course, I recognized my own name.

I lost it.

Speaking basic English "You must stop pulling on that Hu. I know it is not straight. It is OK" turned  into  "You are making me angry! Listen to me! You are really pissing me off! Everyone! Stop talking! No more 'bad Jennifer, no Jennifer, bad Jennifer.' STOP. HU! Stop pulling on that! It's not finished! Stop pulling on it! Leave it!" Zhenfang was laughing at me. I don't think she got it. I pantomimed covering my mouth and pointed at Hu and then at anyone I could make eye contact with.

I was completely soaked in sweat. My head was throbbing. I was pissed. I'd added crossbars to keep the whole thing from torquing. Everything was good enough for me to leave it. I packed up, came inside, rehydrated, and fell asleep in the air conditioning.

Two hours later, I went outside. Hu was there. He told me he thought the arbor was OK. (I think they started to understand how frustrated I was after I left.) Everyone else from the afternoon building saga were gone. I intended to get the planting in, but I spent my time truing up the arbor. Then it was too dark to plant.

Zhenfang came out to water her garden then went home. She came outside again, told me to stop because the sky was black (night). I finished what I was doing (she helped) and put away my tools. She handed me a bottle of water and threw an arm over my shoulder.
"You're a good friend," I said. We came in together.

I peeled off the gross clothes to get in the shower, but there was a knock at the door. It had to be Zhenfang. She brought me food - sweet potato mash and rice steamed in banana leaves. I love her!

The shower commenced and I hung all the wet, gross stuff to dry out. Oversized t-shirt, comfy shorts. Cat asleep on my lap.

I booted my computer so I could share these deep, deep thoughts, but Norton Security didn't work. A very nice man online fixed it remotely (LOVE)

Now, here I am.

The wind picked up. Thunder. Little flashes. I might have sunburn on my face. Rain - it would have been perfect if I'd planted today. The TV is beeping and flashing tornado warnings. Well shit.

I'm going to bed with my dinner, my cat and a puzzle book.

so there

Ooo... it's 1:01a, so it's a new day.

so there