November 19, 2008

Well, I finished my project.  Well, I submitted it for approval anyway.  Of course I still should probably READ what I wrote.  I hate it when I miss a typo or forget to finish a sentance.  But reading my own work is difficult. I KNOW what I wanted to say, so sometimes I read what I wanted to say, not what I said.  And proofing 30 pages is that much more challenging. Hehe.

I should really get out and water tonight.  Unfortunately I won't be harvesting, unless I harvest for lunch tomorrow, because I got home late and my wife was exhausted, so I went in immediately to take over with the kids.  We had healthy smoothies for dinner tonight.  No, not the green smoothies that include spinach and all sorts of non-smoothie veggies yet still look and supposedly taste like smoothies. 

Anyway, I was reading the my book and came across a few tidbits to share.  First off, a good idea...

Seems Mr. Colman likes to use a template to space his transplants.  He also uses a 1x2 on edge to create a trough for small seeds.  But I thought it would be good for those of us spacially challenged folks to make a pattern like his templates to space our various squares.  You could have ones for 4, 6, 8, 16, the sky's the limit.  Sure most of us just eye it, or break the square into managable quadrants and then use them to space like Mel suggests, but it was a good idea.

A not-so-good idea would be that he seems to be a devote of Mel's tomato method.  He talks about setting up a trellis for tomatoes and using a single string trellis, pruning it down to one vine.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.  To each their own I guess.

I do like the way he traced the latitude from Maine where he lives to France which shares his climate.  He spent an entire chapter talking about how wonderful France was and their ancient gardening secrets that can be used here.  He even visited countless gardens and a few seed companies there and talked all about them.  Joy oh joy.  I can't wait until he enlightens us about four season harvests... I mean it, I REALLY can't wait, hehe.  Of course if someone had done the same trip to England and talked about that climate, which is very much like ours here in the Maritime PNW, that could be interesting.  That's why I read a blog or two of folks in England.  You never know when you'll pick up something useful.

Well, that's about it for the book today.  Again, so far it's teaching you basics of gardening.  Can't they assume we already know that and get to the point of their system?  Sure the book would be shorter, maybe even a pamphlet, but I'd buy it if it was useful.  Alright, I would check it out from the library. I'm cheap like that (and we've got a killer library system... several in fact.  We like to read here in the rainy PNW if you hadn't figured that out.

I'll end with a surprising character study.  For a year or so I've been disappointed that the cul-du-sac across the street is always in use when I wanted to take my son there to ride his tricycle or learn to ride his bike.  Specifically, neighborhood kids use it to ride their skateboards.  When I was a kid, skateboards were stuid and dangerous.  Now it can be worse with some unsavory types that just happen to ride skateboards.  That was my fear.  That and they don't wear protective gear.  What must their parent's think? 

Anyway, my wife told me that one of them came over the other day, sans board, and asked if we needed our leaves raked.  Of course he probably wanted the money for more skateboard equipment, but I was impressed.  Had I been home I probably would have given him $20 to rake them all into a pile for me, even though my mower does a great job.  Gotta love the entreprenurial spirit.

Oh, and I did go out and water, though without a flashlight so I didn't harvest anything.  Shame on me.  Tomorrow.

Til then, enjoy your garden!