Master of the Vegetable Garden

Yesterday, while I mowed the upper lawn (the lawn located above the farm road, house side vs. the lower lawn which is located below the farm road, garden side) of the yard, Glenn weeded the vegetable garden.

vine veggies and pole beans

I am not a fan of weeding the veggies because the weeds are so thick and they always outgrow the vegetables.  My forte of weeding is, like I previously mentioned, weeding my beloved perennials.  But, when Glenn finished, instead of a mass of green, you could plainly see the rows of onions, potatoes, peppers, corn, tomatoes, beans and vines.  You could almost hear those vegetables sigh, "I can breathe, I can breathe" after being released from under the cover of all the offensive weeds.

onions

I used the riding lawn mower instead of the walk behind mower because of time issues ad because I was just plain lazy.  Essentially, not lazy but sluggish as the the weather was hot and muggy, and I was uncomfortable.  When the grass collector filled, I would ride over to Glenn and he would empty both baskets around the vegetable plants.  There was so much grass that Glenn was able to  mulch the entire garden.  The day before, I had created a mountain of grass clippings when I mowed the lower lawn.  This pile was not even used.

Glenn planting sweet corn

After weeding, Glenn decided to put in a second planting of sweet corn.  Rain was in the forecast and would be beneficial to set the seed.  Our first planting of corn was actually planted twice due to the irritating crows pulling the emerging sprouts out of the ground.  From past experience with said crows, we knew the corn rows had to be protected until the stalks became established (approximately one foot tall).  In previous years, we had placed long cages created from woven wire fencing, folded in half along the length, over the newly planted corn seed.  The crows would not go under these cages. But, this year, the caging did not phase the crows as they walked under the protective covering entering at the open ends.  So, we learned and closed the ends on the second seeding, and foiled those crafty crows.

newly planted sweet corn rows (caged) next to first planting of sweet corn

Regrettably, our first planting was on the late side making this second planting a bit close to the first in terms of maturing.  Although we have a long growing season, we could not wait any longer to get the second crop planted.  Glenn and I love sweet corn, both fresh and the excess frozen to use later, so an abundance at once would not be a problem.  Forgoing a second planting was not an option.

The last of the corn kernels were placed in the soil and fenced as the initial drops of rain arrived - perfect timing!

And, in 85 days or so, Glenn and I will be dining on fresh, homegrown corn.  My mouth is already watering!