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| LI modeled my plan for watering the garden - at Niagara Falls. |
I asked Mrs. I if she wanted spinach. She said yes, so that meant I had to go out and plant my new Malabar spinach vines. They produce enormous leaves and love heat.
Rain is on the way, but I watered everything anyway. Long ago I learned that the second stage of gardening is watering the seedlings. Planting the seed is not enough. The seedlings are quite vulnerable when they are starting, so I find it best to keep them well watered.
The ground was protected by rank weed growth, around the chain-link fence, so I had to cut and dig and rake. I created some broken ground where I sowed pole beans, Malabar spinach vines, and radishes. I put MiracleGro soil on top and tamped it down.
Soil in a bag is going to win over digging soil into a wheelbarrow - any day. Besides, I have no wheelbarrow.
The new sunflower row got mulch on top, to reduce weeds around the sunflower and hold in the water. I noticed that the alternate rows of mulch were still moist underneath the top layer. The newspapers were still soaked.
Sunflowers apparently send out a root chemical to suppress competition, so they take care of their own area well. I have tried to grow pole beans up their stalks, without any real success. Their broad leaves can effectively eliminate smaller plants that need sunlight.
Sassy Sue supervised my work, but only after a walk. She sat there barking at me until I gave in. She went outside for one reason only, and she seemed to think I tricked her. We went for a walk and came back to play with her squeaky ball. She had renewed her interest in chasing and catching her ball, so we cleared more of the limbs in the backyard.
We have a good gardening area in the back, a middle section in the shade, and the back area with a fair amount of sunshine. Once we got rid of the low-hanging branches, the middle area began to look more like a park.
