We had quite the electrical storm last night, with most of the surrounding areas getting hail- a friend of mine texted me that her garden had been pretty much destroyed. We have been fortunate enough to miss two hail storms in the past week. It can be pretty bad around here this time of year for hail. Having not had much of a garden in the past I never thought too much about it, but this year I am obviously much more aware of the weather, hoping that our garden will make it (not that being aware or concerned about it does anything whatsoever to change the weather patterns!).
Well, so far we are making it! The soil on our property is just wonderful. It is very rich and upon getting it tested, seems to only lack a bit of nitrogen. This year happens to be a great one for rain so far, which my dad tells me will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Add to that the blood meal that we are putting down in the soil to try to keep deer away (I took this photo the other morning from our front porch), which is also rich in nitrogen, and we seem to have pretty ideal soil for gardening.
Thankfully I haven't seen any rabbits at all so far, since of course they can make short work of a garden. We have sprayed a few plants with soapy water where we have seen bugs possibly at work eating the leaves.
Apart from those few issues, I think the garden is doing pretty awesome. Sort of can't believe that we're growing actual food, and that it's working- I'm sure I'm prejudiced, but to me it looks like a garden out of a magazine. It's pretty exciting to go out there each day and see the progress being made.
That progress, of course, is due in very large part to my weed pullers. My dad has been rototilling between the rows for us each week and that has alleviated the majority of the weeds, however, the weeds in between the plants must be done by hand, or hoe, and with 62 rows (I think? I can't remember) it is a very big, hot, tiring job. However, the kids always feel so proud of themselves and their hard work when they are done. I am proud of them, too. As they have gotten older they have proven to be very dilligent workers, something I have tried to instill in them since they were young. They will discover the rewards at the end of the summer when all the wonderful produce is harvested. I can't wait for them to know it for themslves.
Last night was one of those sleepless nights where I fell asleep around midnight and woke up, wide awake, at 3 am (hello, afternoon nap). 3 am is such a conducive time for worrying about all kinds of things that feel so rational at the time but when daylight comes fade into nothingness.
I went out early this morning (I was wide awake, remember) and took some pictures in the morning light (thank you blog, for pushing me to try yet another new experience). Today is a new day. Life is good. God is good.