Sunday, June 09, 2013

June Garden Report



            Lots of rain.  Many cloudy days.  Cool.  Great grass growing weather.  Great weather for weeds, as well.

            Except for a short row of spinach that decided not to grow, the garden is looking great.  Last night we ate our first radishes, sweet and mild, not like the radishes later in the season that may be large and beautiful but bite your tongue.

            Many of the tomato plants I started from seed back in April and set out on Memorial Day were wee little things, puny, fragile and not offering much hope.   Except for my new heirloom tomatoes from the Isle of Man.  I don’t think I lost one of them—I have a long row, maybe 25 plants of this experimental (for me) tomato that is supposed to have a special flavor and grow strong and yield well.  So far so good.  They are standing upright and growing, and competing well with Big Boy, Better Boy, Early Girl and a couple of other hybrid varieties.  The cool, wet weather made the transplanting easier on the plants.

            What great weather for potatoes.  My ten rows are thriving—well ahead of where they were last year at this time, and I planted them two weeks later.  Go figure.  Kennebec is the variety I favor, which generally does well on my sandy soil, tastes great, and lasts well into late winter.

            And cabbage, Kohlrabi, Broccoli, etc.—growing like crazy as they love this cool, damp weather.  The snap beans are coming up—but they like it warmer.  The cucumbers, winter squash, pumpkins, and zucchini are up as is the sweet corn.  But these vegetables prefer more sunshine and warmth.  The sweet corn is a rather yellowish green, which means more sunshine needed.

            The three sisters—well this year I’m following the instructions.  I planted the three sisters' corn on Memorial Day—it’s two or three inches tall.  Next week I will plant the Rattlesnake Beans and the pumpkins, the other two sisters.  And then I will sit back and watch how they get along with each other.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Want something to talk about?  Grow a vegetable garden.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Interested in learning how to write your own stories?  Sign up for one of my upcoming one-day workshops that I am teaching at The Clearing in Door County.

Saturday, June 22, 9-4 (A few openings still left)

Saturday, November 3, 9-4

Contact The Clearing for further information and/or to sign up (www.theclearing.org).

(There will be a book signing at The Clearing on each of these Saturdays from 4-6:00 p.m. The public is invited.)

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 13, Writing Workshop, Fulcrum Publishing offices, Golden, CO.
June 20, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Public Library.  Limping Through Life
June 22, 9-4. Writing Workshop.  The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI.
June 22, 4-6.  Book Signing.  The Clearing Ellison Bay, WI.  The public is invited.
June 25, 8:30-10:00.  Bethel Lutheran Church, Madison.  Homeless Book Club. Limping Through  Life.
June 29-30, Chicago. McCormick Place.  American Library Association Convention.  Letters From Hillside Farm.
July 2, Boscobel Library, 10:00 a.m.
July 13-20.  Writing Retreat, Rhinelander.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD

DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.






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