Karen's Garden Delights Journal
4th week of May 2011

1st Tomato We had several moments of sunshine between several evening storms boasting ominous thunder clouds this week. Some areas near us were pounded with 2-3 inches of rain while we were thankful to receive less than an inch. More plants are going in the ground and the weeds are also begging our attention. We are starting the long task of mulching rows with cardboard or newspaper covered with old hay. It takes time but looks so nice and keeps things under control for the summer. We also had several "firsts" this week. We are enjoying the first broccoli and here is our first tomato from a plant we started indoors in February. We moved the pot to the flowerbed a couple weeks ago and the kids kept a close eye on the ripening tomato. We carefully divided it into 6 slices (one of our boys is not a tomato fan) and each enjoyed the first taste of summer. My daughter and I discovered a second ripe tomato in one of the water walls but quietly shared it without informing the rest. The kids also kept their eye on the first strawberry as it turned from pink to red but unfortunately, the free range hens discovered it before we could savor it....

Asparagus We are still enjoying asparagus meals with both green and purple spears. I finally got around to weeding the purple asparagus bed so we can see what is coming. I need to work on weeding through some of the other perennial beds soon too. On the sunny days, the list of jobs is so long sometimes it is hard to know where to start. I was very glad to get pea fence up for the early batch of peas and next week the later peas will be ready for something to climb on. My pole beans germinated nicely under the low tunnels so they got their summer trellis also. My favorite trellises are the sturdy cattle panels but we have a limited supply. Most things will use the rolls of 4 foot chicken wire type fence. I also planted some long rows of Jade Beans plus more Rattlesnake Pole beans and yard long beans. I have plans for lacto-fermenting plenty of dilly beans this summer. I also got a start on planting Butternuts and other winter squash. I tried just a few goose gourds and others but am wondering if it is too late for them to fully mature by frost.

Barn Owl Our daughter and a friend discovered this barn owl during a walk by the stream. They heard a thud when the fellow attempted to fly out of his tree but due to a wing injury ended up on the ground. He hopped around and they helped him return to his tree. When he fell out a second time we brought him to the porch in a box and called a wildlife officer. Unfortunately, he died before they could come get him to try to rehabilitate him. Barn owls are an endangered species so they want to keep as many going as possible. It was amazing to see such a majestic creature up close and we were amazed at how lightweight his body was. We were sad that he didn't make it but perhaps there is a mate trying to hatch a brood somewhere.