Finally, the weather has returned to normal, and it is feeling downright Fall-like this morning. I have no idea if it will last. While I was anxious to get outside with my coffee, seeds and shovel, I was glued to the television news, with images of the Steiner Ranch fire, the Bastrop fire, the Pflugerville fire. Having gotten the updated information, I headed outside with my coffee and commenced planting. First, I planted the seed potatoes I got from Boggy Creek Farm yesterday. They were well endowed with roots already, and acclimated to our area and certainly organic, having come from a local farm.
Seed Potatoes and coffee
Carol Ann advised, “no additional nitrogen or they’ll burn up.” Check that, no nitrogen until they come up and get established, then I”ll side dress with a little compost or 8-2-4.
As enjoyable as the morning was, with the cooler temperatures, every gust of wind reminded me of my friends, either evacuated from their homes, or glued to the television for news of where the fires would turn next.
I planted the potatoes in a 4×4 foot space, as always, then in the next two feet, I planted carrots, and the next two feet, I planted green beans. This particular 4×8′ bed gets some dappled shade in the heat of the afternoon. I planted everything fairly deep, to give the seeds a bit of additional time to sprout, in case the heat returns.
Seeds!
In a 4×4 section of the big bed, I planted broccoli seeds, in the space next to where strawberries will go in December. As much as I was enjoying digging in the dirt again, I decided to wait to plant the sugar snap peas. I think I might plant some lettuce in a big pot on the patio and see what the weather does before seeding a big space in the raised bed.
It was a pleasant morning in the garden, but this will be memorable Labor Day, as drought threatens our landscape, and wildfires rage out of control all around. People are losing homes. I fear that folks don’t realize how many trees we will lose – there are already dying trees all over the city. It is a scary time and we really need rain badly.
