2nd week of May 2007

Warm temperatures abound and so do the outdoor tasks that need to be accomplished now that we have beautiful weather. I realize that my list of jobs is far greater than what I can accomplish on my own so I have enlisted some help for the summer. Shanelle Miller from just down the road will help as my summer "apprentice" on her day off and several evenings. I am excited to have her and she is excited to learn and has started on the reading list I made. Shanelle Some of the goals Shanelle listed were to get her hands dirty (easily accomplished!), learn the names of plants/weeds (she hopes she knows as much as my 8 year old daughter Elizabeth by the end of the summer) and avoid poison ivy and snakes (a cute little garter snake greeted us in the strawberry patch last week). Here she is shown with some of the rewards for her labor, a weekly bouquet and produce. Other friends have offered to help in the gardens and I'll be sure to make use of these offers. This morning our good friends, the Miller family, came for a potato planting party and almost 50 pounds of potatoes were in the ground lickety split. If anyone else wants to get a hands-on garden education, please give us a call!

Some crops going in this week were a new batch of strawberry plants in addition to the potatoes. As usual, the desire to experiment with various varieties meant we overlooked the Honeyoe berry plants used by scores of Amish families in the area and chose Earliglow (Olin's favorite for taste), Cavendish (a mid-season choice), Sparkle (a late season juicy berry) and Tribute (an everbearing). Kiersten & Simeon planting potatoes For some of the potatoes I splurged and ordered organic seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine. I'm looking forward to tasting the Rosegolds (red skin, yellow flesh), King Harry (hairy leaves that repel potato bugs), Butte russets and Swedish Peanut fingerlings. Other tasks this week include putting my 300 or so tomato plants into bigger pots and keeping everything labeled well so folks buying plants don't get too many surprises.

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