It had been 3 weeks since we were last at the farm. It was - what is the word? - disturbing? how overgrown everything was. I was forced to work really hard on Saturday and Sunday despite the heat.
- On Saturday I focused on the Star Garden. I pulled weeds. Weeds, weeds, weeds everywhere. I pulled up all the Love-in-a Mist because it had gone to seed. I collected seeds to send to my aunt Libba, and I threw the rest of them in the flower beds. They will reseed when the weather conditions are right, some time in the fall.
- I watered all the water-stressed plants. My poor Peggy Martin rose almost expired. Rain is desperately needed.
- Sprayed herbicide in the Orchard and the Star Garden and the driveway. One of the reasons the weeds were so bad was because I didn't get a chance to spray herbicide the two weekends prior to being gone for three weeks. It rained both weekends so I couldn't spray.
- Trimmed the wisteria.
- Worked on the sprinklers, one of the stations was not working, and all the plants in that zone were gasping. I think I fixed it, hopefully.
- Swam in the pool throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. The water felt really good, not hot - yet.
- On Sunday I worked in the Orchard. I began cutting away last year's growth on the blackberry vines. That is a horrible task. I didn't finish, I did as much as I could stand. Prickery, painful work. I pulled up several dozens of wheel barrows full of spent wild flowers that had gone to seed and threw them into the burn pile. The stems are too hard to throw in the compost pile. Weeded for hours.
- Once I had made room in the beds, I spread zinnia seeds in the Orchard that I collected from last year's flowers. The salvia and many zinnias were already growing underneath the dead wildflowers. I pinched as many zinnias as I could so they will branch out and get more full. Butterflies are wild for zinnias. I have to get ready for the beautiful butterflies. They will be here in force in another month.
- My husband weeded the Vegetable Garden, and I seeded the beds with zinnias. Too hot to start anything growing right now except for okra and sunflowers. So I sowed some Mexican Torch Sunflower seeds as well. Don't think I'm going to grow okra this year. Not sure yet, but I have time to decide. Okra scoffs at heat.
- Seeded the beds in the Star Garden with zinnias as well. And I set out some Blackeyed Susan vine seeds around my trellises. Not sure if they will sprout at this point because of the heat. We'll see.
- Every one of my muscles hurts - legs, back, arms, even my hand muscles. Trudging to work again on a Monday, sore and tired!
No comments:
Post a Comment