Work a Little, Whine a Lot

It's about 8:30 a.m. Already, I've spent an hour and a half in the tomato patch removing fungus-infested leaves, barely making it to the end of the first row. We're working a bad case of leaf spot. To make matters worse, I saw tomato worm poop around some of the plants. Looks like another spraying session is in order.

Unfortunately, the fungicide I ordered hasn't come in yet. Maybe it will be here tomorrow. But I have a busy week ahead at work that will require me to hit the road early every morning, meaning that I will be able to do my gardening only in the evenings. The temperature here is predicted to be in the high 90s almost every day. It's going to be torture working out there in the evenings.

Not for the first time this year, I am regretting having planted such a big garden.

Part of this morning's labor involved uncoiling the extra garden hoses I bought early in the season to see if they will stretch all the way to the tomato patch. Thankfully, they reached. So far, I haven't needed them because of all the rain, but it looks like a dry spell is upon us. I was tempted to do some watering this morning, but seeing all the leaf spot, I thought it might be insane to encourage it with more water.

The original garden plot has finally dried out a little, but probably not in time to save the squash plants. By now, they should be big and leafy, and loaded with squash. Instead, they are scrawny and yellow, and their fruit is rotting before getting big enough to eat. If I can stand the heat late this evening, I intend to plant new seeds in a different part of the garden.

My onion crop has been disappointing, too. They've been soaking in water, like the squash plants. Yesterday, when I went to Nanny's house, she handed me a small paper bag, along with an apology. Seems she had been weeding the onion row and had accidentally pulled up most of the red onions I'd planted.

On the bright side, the cucumbers are beginning to make. I picked two nice ones this morning, and saw many, many more babies on the vines. I intend to make the best of the situation. Tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions (even tiny ones), mixed with fresh oregano, a little garlic, and some olive oil, will make a yummy salad for dinner tonight. I'll go mix it up right now!

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