Note to Caroline, Lettuce and Seed Starts

You asked about the garden in general and the seed starts. I can only describe my gardening activities so far as hit and miss due to the unseasonably cold weather. The vegetables that are growing well are also being consumed by pests, snails or slugs. They seem very hungry this year. Did you notice all the holes in my Cinnamon Lettuce?

The seeds I started inside are doing very well and are currently being hardened off. I cannot tell which varieties of tomatoes or peppers are growing because as I told you last month my labels (craft sticks) grew mold so I had to get rid of them. I should be able to plant them this weekend pending that it is still warm.

Off the subject I have some garden gossip for you. Our Community Garden Manager resigned. It is a volunteer position that seems more like a job. Our garden is not in such great shape this year. The common areas of the garden are waist high in grass type weeds. It is amazing to me how quickly the weeds have taken over. We have a work day planned for this Friday, but to be honest we are going to need more than one day to take back control of the garden. Part of the challenge is that everybody is behind in their own plots due to the cool weather.

Not sure if I told you about the last patch of weeds that were growing between my garden and my new neighbor. We both inherited this patch that grew from garden debris that was left. I just had to do it the old fashion way and pull them by hand. The good news is that I discovered that underneath the weeds there is a pile of old dead weeds that have turned into a compost. I think I can use it to plant the rest of the seeds.

Michele