May 23 - Fertilizing and such

My garden looks puny.

Last week, the farmer sprayed the fields with Round-Up, and it evidently drifted toward the garden, for many of my plants have white spots on their leaves.  Every year when the Round-Up gets sprayed, the wild cherry tree near the garden drops its leaves. So do the crape myrtles in front of Nanny's house.  But the little pin oaks and big pines nearer to the field don't seem to mind.

I get so frustrated on my drive to and from work, watching other people's gardens grow.  Their tomatoes are big and green and look healthy.  My tomato plants are scrawny and a putrid shade of green.  The biggest squash plants are only about 2" tall. 

The pole beans sprouted fairly well and are about 6" tall.  There are a few skips that could stand re-planting.  The purple hull peas didn't come up at all.  Maybe I used old seeds.  In any case, I plowed up the pea rows and Nanny re-planted them with a different batch of seeds.

I mixed up 15 gallons of Miracle Grow water and poured it directly onto the pepper, tomato, and squash plants.  I also made a drill beside the pole beans, sprinkled some 6-12-12 in it, and covered it up with dirt.  It might rain tonight, so maybe the fertilizer will melt. 

I still have one empty row.  I plowed it again today to keep the grass from taking it over, and I want to put something in it.  It is on the back side of the garden, which gets less sun.  I probably should have put the squash back there, and next year I probably will, if I can remember.  Or maybe I should do it tomorrow, if it doesn't rain!

Gloria, the red tiller, gave me a little trouble today.  I wanted to use her to weed and loosen the dirt around the tomato plants.  Her rope was hanging out again, and would not accommodate a good yank.  I gave it about a hundred little yanks and a moderately severe cussing, and she eventually fired off.  As I was tilling around one of the tomato plants, I turned loose of Gloria so that I could gather up some Bermuda grass roots, and when I reached for her, she was gone!  I looked up, and she was slowwwwly walking over to the next row, headed straight for a tomato plant.  I grabbed her before she did any damage and didn't turn her loose again until I was finished!  Later, when I wanted to use her around the green beans, her cord was hanging out again, and I couldn't get her to even wheeze. 

I should google what to do when your cord hangs out.