Starting the Garden

Jeff has taken a break from cutting wood and started planting this year's garden.  He's cleaned out last years raised bed/boxes besides building some new ones. This is one of the new boxes that he planted this week.  That's a

Mr Stripey tomato in the corner...the skin and inside are suppose to be  orange stripped.  We got 3 of them  planted in different places around the garden.  This box has a base of purchased compost...from the transfer station/dump.  The second is in a box with our compost and the third is in a box out front in the main garden.  (The old clothes drying rack in the other corner is support for beans.) 

  
This is the horseradish in blossom.  We

had forgotten exactly where we had planted it but know now! Now can something that looks so pretty be so spicy??  Since we planted it last year and it's in full bloom, it's marked for relocation/harvest in the fall.

All the boxes are now planted for this season except the herb box.  A lot of the herbs wintered very well and are going strong...even some that are suppose to be annuals in this area!  I want to cut parsley, oregano and basil and put them thru the dehydrator before crushing  and dry vacuum packing them. The blackberry bushes I got years ago from a friend's mother are budded out ready to bloom.  Just got to keep the birds from enjoying them before I do!  The ones we bought and planted last year are growing but haven't shown any buds yet.  Our next door neighbor trimmed one of his apple trees and offered Jeff the branch. I tried to drag it over on to our lawn but couldn't budge it!  Jeff got it moved and will cut it for firewood after it dries a little.  I notice that it had sprouts growing across the branch so today I cut a couple and we put them in a mixture of compost and soil to see if they would root.  If they do, it will be a couple of years before they go into the ground and even more before we get any apples.  My neighbor's parents always had a lot of apples and if they were sprayed annually were pretty decent.  Spraying has lost favor in the last few years so I don't know how good any apples would be.  We didn't get any apples from our tree last year because the late frost killed the blossoms but the year before our apples (both of them!!) were perfect.  Our tree hasn't blossomed yet this year...I think it's starting to bud now.  It's an Empire and they are late bloomers.

Jeff found some volunteer plants in the boxes and around the bean towers when he planted yesterday.  He's not sure what this is but thinks it's a purple kohlrabi   Since it is blooming he decided to let it go to seed and see
what he gets. 

I have been trying to work on my Skipper Stripes hoodie but to be honest, it's been too hot and humid and I've been too tired to get much done.  I'll take it with me tomorrow when I work in the shop and maybe I can finish it. (All I need is the 2nd sleeve and the body.)  

Cooperstown should be busy this weekend.  There is the annual Hall of Fame Classic (an old timer's game) on Saturday, a Memorial Day parade on Monday and the traveling Vietnam memorial will be in Doubleday Parking Lot all weekend. If only the weather cooperates!