Let the Gardening begin!

Wait is that the Sun?  Amazing, I'm on vacation this week and the Sun is out.  It's been rain here for at least a week and a half now.

We got some breaks in the rain Tuesday morning, so we ran to the Hardware store and rented their rototiller for 3 hrs, yeah 3 to 4 hours is what it takes.  The sun came out a few times making it very hot and humid, the black flies were out too.  We finished the tilling, the machine did a fair job considering we didn't put in the big garden last year.  Now comes the fun part the cleanup, cutting the roots, grass, etc from the tiller tines and giving it a good washing off to remove all the dirt.  Rose and I hoisted the tiller into the back of the van and rushed it back so we didn't have to rent it for an additional hour.  The cost $12.50 per hour two hour minimum and we had them add one additional hour bringing the total to $37.50.  I think I can grow that...  Someday I'll break down and buy a tiller, it's just one of those things that get used so infrequently it seems a waste.

So one garden tilled, four more raised beds to go out back, plus the planters and barrels.  The remaining gardens will need to be turned by hand.  Busy week if we're to get it all in this week.

We're hopeful the weather is a little better this year, the last two were not a s good as we'd have liked from a garden standpoint, not enough sun and very wet causing blight, and mildew problems.

Off to measure the garden area so I can plan out where to put things.

Rose got a deal on a bunch of veggie plants so we'll save some time there, I picked up a couple heirloom tomato plants and some onion slips too.

Then there's the declodding, raking, bean poles, tomato stakes, hilling, sowing, amending, fertilizing, watering, and, and, and... and you wonder why tomatoes are $1.50/lb or more.

I can almost taste the ripe red tomatoes now.