Okay, there have to be
some gardeners out there who read my posts. I really need some advice which I
can apply to next year, providing I’m still here. I’ve always grown tomatoes on
the deck, usually four big pots. Since the driveway now has only one car, I
thought I would put the pots out there on the asphalt. I figured if I got a lot
of tomatoes on the deck, I’d get bushels with the pots someplace that gets a
lot of sun and asphalt heated by the sun.
Well, nope, that hasn’t
happened. I have tomato plants that are actually scrawny. They all have
tomatoes, but nothing like what I’m used to. And the squash. Sheesh. I figured
I’d tie the vines to the fence as they grew. Well, I really don’t have much in
the way of vines to tie up. I’m not going to have much in the way of squash and
only one smallish pumpkin that’s already turning orange. Plus, the squash are
all getting powdery mildew and that usually doesn’t show up until September.
So, here are my questions
for you other gardeners or people who live with other gardeners.
1. Do you think the asphalt
got too hot and I’ve baked the roots?
2. If I do the asphalt again,
should I put the pots up on something so they aren’t resting right on the
asphalt?
3. Was this just a bad year
for squash and tomatoes? I’ve seen plants in other places that look
outstanding, so maybe not?
That’s it for the garden
questions. I guess I am going to have a garage sale the weekend after Labor
Day, unless the weather absolutely sucks. AJ and Haley and maybe Thor want to
move ahead with it. AJ’s going to borrow ten tables on which we can put stuff.
AJ said Haley could make the signs. I guess I need to get busy making signs
that have prices, i.e., Everything on this Table = $1.00. I think that will be
the easiest way to do the pricing, with the exception of bigger items that
wouldn’t fit on the table or that might be worth a bigger asking price. And, of
course, customers can always make an offer.
AJ says once this is done,
I can call the Salvation Army and ask them to come pick up whatever’s left. I
just may be able to park my car in the garage this winter for the first time
ever. I figured we would have to wait for spring, but I’ll just wear a mask all
day…or stay inside and watch. Also make a sign that says, no mask, don’t come
in my driveway.
And, perhaps it’s not a
good idea, but today it sounds wonderful. I want to leave this house and all
the work it entails as quickly as I possibly can. I don’t want to have to deal
with anything that requires a repair. I don’t want to have to deal with putting
the garden to bed or waking it up next spring. And, perhaps I’m just having a
bad day, but if I could put this house up for sale and include every single
thing in it for an extra couple hundred thousand, that’s exactly what I’d do.
Since I have no idea about
where I want to go, however, I guess I’d best be looking at that. What I’d
really like is a quiet piece of property either on a lake or small stream from
which I could launch a kayak. I’d get one of those sheds Costco had on sale
last spring and have it turned into a little house with a bathroom, kitchen and
loft bedroom. Ah, the dreams I have that will most likely not come to fruition.
Well, I said I was going to try not to whine and maybe this really isn’t a whine. I think it’s just one of those days where I feel like sitting down and having a good cry. I have no idea why I’m so teary today. It’s Xander’s birthday and I saw him, hugged him, got hugged back, gave him his card and present…it was soooooooo good to see and touch him. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so teary…he’s six now and it won’t be long before he’ll add a one to that six, and I wish I could have him in my life on a more regular basis. Maybe I’ll stop this post and go have that good cry. A good cry really for no reason than I just feel like I need it…I guess.