May 9 - Green Beans, Cucumbers, Okra, Peas

My planets must have been in alignment today, for I was able to accomplish all of my garden chores  without too many complications.

The plan:  (1) build a permanent fence for climbers, and (2) plant beans and cucumbers to grow on it. 

My boss turned me loose early today.  The weather was great.  I had a pile of fence posts and rusty hog wire left over from prior attempts.  I had a roll of bailing wire to attach the wire to the posts.  I actually found the fence-post-pounder and the wire cutters.  I was in business.  In less than an hour, I had ten fence posts pounded into the ground and one long section of hogwire attached.  It was at that point that I remembered that I'd wanted to re-till that row before I planted, since it was a little clumpy from being too wet when I'd plowed it the day before. 

I hauled Gloria, the little red tiller, out of the shed, thinking I'd run her up one side of the fence and down the other.  She hadn't been cranked this year.  When I reached for the pull cord, it was hanging out about a foot and wouldn't go back in.  With a shortened cord, it couldn't build up enough compression to start.  I was about to cuss when I saw that spot on the top of the tiller where you can use a drill and a special bit to crank the thing.  I pushed the tiller to the workshop, where the little cranking bit was supposed to be.  It wasn't there.  I did cuss then, and I yanked Gloria's cord just for spite, and the b*tch fired up, and sucked the cord back in where it was supposed to be.  I could not believe it. 

I rolled her out to the garden, and we started tilling.  I hadn't finished the first pass when I looked up, and there stood Nanny.  She hadn't been home when I started to work, and I hadn't heard her drive up.  But there she was, in her gardening clothes, ready to work.  I was glad I'd already done the hard part, and glad I hadn't finished the wiring when I realized that if I'd raise the wire a little higher off the ground, Gloria could run under it until the plants get too big.  When I finished the tilling, Nanny helped me re-attach the section I'd started and attach the next section, and we were ready to plant.

About that time, I looked up, and there stood The Husband in HIS gardening clothes. He, too, was glad I'd done the hard part.  ;)  I sent him back to the house to get the seeds while I de-clumped three more rows with the big black tiller.  He and Nanny made short work of planting the pole beans, cucumbers, and purple hull peas.  I planted okra and did a little raking while they put the tillers back in the shed. 

Yeah, we kicked butt today.