By Curt Swarm
Saturday, May 11: I planted the rest of our garden. Ginnie lets me do the gardening. I had double-tilled the garden (tilled in both directions) on Saturday, April 27, and put in tomato plants (one cherry, four Early Girls, and four Beef Eaters) and four Bell Peppers. I mulched the tomatoes and peppers with corn stalks left over from last year’s cornstalk blizzard. After all that work, I was shot, so decided to put off the rest of the garden for “a day or so.”
I knew it was going to rain, and it did — hard, which packed the soil and left a puddle standing in the garden. Then, this-and-that happened — mowing, spraying weeds, more rain, so I didn’t get back to the garden for two weeks. My nicely tilled garden was hard-packed, like a brick. By rights, I should have re-tilled, but I had taken the tiller off the tractor and didn’t want to struggle putting it back on. Instead I struggled pushing the hand cultivator through the baked soil.
I planted a gob of Blue Lake green beans in a spot where I had good luck with Blue Lakes in years past. If they produce well, and I’m guessing they will, we’ll have our hands full and have to have a snap-chat party. This year I worked smarter not harder and placed the bean seeds a hoe length apart for easier weeding. The Rule of Hoe.
Along side the Blue Lakes, I put in six hills of Straight 8 Cukes — once again in a spot where they did well several years ago. I love garden cucumbers, sliced with salt. All we have to say is, “Come and get’m!” and we have plenty of takers (like Denise Snavely).
Every year I try something new. This year it’s Glass Gem corn, a different variety of decorative or Indian Corn, given to us by Susie Clark — using Rule of Hoe again. Also given to us by Susie Clark was a mess of Bird House Gourd seeds that she raised. I planted two hills of those, and stuck one of my American Gothic window trellises over the hill. We’ll see if they climb. (Susie gave us way too many seeds if anyone wants some.)
Between the gourds and corn, I planted a row of Peredovik Sunflowers for the birds.
Between the rows of Glass Gem corn, I planted two hills each of Howden Pumpkins and Cushaw Striped Pumpkins. Pumpkins love to run in cornrows, and I love giving away pumpkins and Indian Corn for fall and Halloween decoration. They’re so colorful.
At the edge of the garden, for easy access, I planted one long row of Bell Cherry radishes, icicle radishes and Romaine lettuce. With the Straight 8 cukes, cherry and Early Girl tomatoes, there should be some scrumptious salads this summer. Throw in a side of green beans and bacon, and maybe some wilted lettuce, and it’s a summer meal fit for Curt!
My back was bothering me considerably from all the bending over and planting, and pushing the cultivator through caked earth. I’ve heard it said that lying down on the ground, putting your arms over your head, and rolling, is the best cure for a sore back. I tried it. My back was immediately relieved, and it felt so good lying on the ground with the sun warming me, that I just laid there, spread eagle, and relaxed. The earth and sun have such a healing effect. I was out like a light. I woke up to a stranger (who shall remain nameless) standing over me. “You all right, Mister?” Our garden is beside the road, and a passerby, seeing me lying on the ground, stopped. I told him what I was doing. He said his back hurt, too. So he tried rolling with his arms over his head, and was amazed at how good it felt. I told him to come back in July for some cucumbers and green beans. He said he would.
That’s our garden for 2024, complete with Rule of Hoe and ground massage.
Saturday, May 18. It’s 87 degrees. The radishes, beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, both pumpkins, and Indian Corn are all poking their heads up. God bless this earth!
Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@yahoo.com