Pissing in the Rain

[Oedipussy Rex]

   
Grrl approves.

[Oedipussy Rex]

So. Looks like the so-called "garden mix" is of lower quality than I thought. Even though I added compost to the soil, only the radishes are showing true leaves, and those only just popped up in the past week. It's a good thing that when I started my raised bed project I was looking to next year, considering any crops this year to be a bonus. So like a drone in a major corporation, no bonus for me. Looks like I'll be doing some heavy amending in the meantime.

Earning her bonus.
   

[Kersus]

How is the supervisor doing?

[rredmond]

That "bonus" is very easily earned apparently.

[rredmond]

More important question, did we ever try for the leeks again?

[Oedipussy Rex]

That "bonus" is very easily earned apparently.

When a corporation files for bankruptcy and the CEO still earns millions in bonus, I'd say "Yeah, bonuses are easily earned if you're high enough in the organisation."

Grrl has gotten very jumpy and nippy, as in she likes jumping on me and nipping. She has also taken to attacking the water bowl. I have no idea why.

Re: Leeks, I have some Large American Flag seeds which, according to the packet, "should be planted indoors 50 to 60 days before last frost," but "can also be planted directly." So we should be looking at mid-February, but considering how actual climate conditions change faster than the USDA zone map, who knows.

[Oedipussy Rex]

May have to change the title of the thread.

Neighbor's lawn guys mowed up 15 of those clear, 1 mil leaf bags with chopped leaves, then placed them on the curb between our driveways for yard waste pickup. Our municipality has yard waste pickup. The neighbor's lawn guys also placed a bunch fallen branches over there. Our municipality has large waste pickup: branches, appliances, construction scraps (personal amounts, they won't pickup professional work). There's a problem with the neighbor's lawn guys constantly putting stuff on the curb between our driveways: if it's bulk items (branches, leaf bags, etc.), it doesn't get picked up there. The truck uses a crane arm and claw to pick that up and there are tree branches that block the arm. This isn't an issue with normal solid waste pickup as the garbage truck has an arm that reaches straight out from the side of the truck to grab the garbage cans. So I see all this stuff as I'm taking out the garbage for pickup the next day and think, "More leaves. Great!" and haul the leaf bags into my backyard. Then I think, "Branches. Well, hell," then drag them across the road and pile them on the pile of fallen branches that neighbor has piled up.

Now, you might be thinking, "Why didn't the neighbor's lawn guys put all that stuff on the other side of the neighbor's driveway?" Because we live in a cove and the neighbor's lot is only about 20' wide at the street, 10 of that is the driveway, and the mailbox is on the other side. We have curbside mailboxes. You do not block curbside mailboxes.

Anyway. I now have twelve bags of chopped leaves that I'll be using for compost. Two were used to top off the 4' tall by ~4' "diameter" leaf mould bins I made with the leftover hardware mesh I used for the bottoms of the raised beds I built and the third was put in the third composting bin I have. So, "they" say you want your compost bins to be at least 3'x3'x3' to ensure that compost pile gets hot enough to kill any seeds and pathogens. Two of my (commercial) bins are definitely not 3'x3'x3'. 2.5'x2.5'x3' at best. One of which I'm using as the repository for kitchen scraps, adding a layer of leaves as necessary. The other I filled with leaves and have been urinating into at night, occasionally, when letting Grrl out, adding some more leaves when the ammonia smell becomes noticeable. The third (commercial) bin, on the other hand, is definitely at least 3'x3' at the base and at least 4' tall. No urinating into this one. So to provide nitrogen for this bin I'm now urinating into a gallon jug all day and pouring it over the leaves in the morning. So there you are. All that to get to "Pissing in a Jug."

[Oedipussy Rex]

So. Dropped some leek, pea, and radish seeds, as well as an "early" tomato variety, in the beds last week without checking the forecast. Temps had been in the mid- to upper-teens (60+ F) for a few days. What happens? Three days straight of freezing rain with below freezing temperatures that finally broke today. What can I expect in the upcoming week? Temperatures into the 20s (70F).

[Oedipussy Rex]

Day, let's see, 27 and 22, carry the 6..., let's call it day 55 of 30 days to full maturity and I get my first radish. That was a damned good radish. Round, firm, with a good crunch and that radish spiciness that I haven't gotten from a grocery stare radish in a long time. Yep, a mighty fine radish. I don't know that it's a good fifty-five day radish, but a good radish, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the peas are averaging about 6" tall; the leeks (and onions, for that matter) are these thin, green strands sticking up; what carrots have actually developed true leaves are barely 2" tall; I can't tell the difference between the beets and the bluebells that have started sprouting; and the lettuce-. Don't get me started on the lettuce.

You know, it's a sad day when one finally comes to accept that one is no better a gardener than Oliver Wendell Douglas. At least he had the fall-back of hanging out his shingle in Pixley.

[Oedipussy Rex]

Oh for the love of...

Now the radishes are bolting.