We picked up about a half-inch of rain overnight.
Yesterday was my big opportunity for tilling and mowing. There have not been many three-day windows without rain so it was either till on Sunday or wait an unknown amount of time before I could do it.
I still have hand-weeding to catch up on.
From the potato patch
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| Picture taken after tilling at about 8:30 in the morning. |
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| One quarter of the potato patch is dedicated to vegetables that are not potatoes. Approximately 50' east/west and 20' north/south |
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| I call this composition "A gardener and his loyal companions: Fence-post, man and Preying Mantis". Warning: ALWAYS feed your Preying Mantis before removing from cage. |
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| Rows from left-to-right: Rutabaga, rutabaga, mangel that needs weeding, carrots with beans planted every 2' for makers, misc peppers and eggplant, beets. |
There might be a few folks unfamiliar with the (praying) mantis tiller. It is a wonderfully productive tool.
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure: I don't have a Mantis tiller. I was referring to the shape of the shadow.
DeleteI have a 15 year-old (give or take a few years) Troy-Bilt with a 208cc gas engine. Other than replacing the pull-cord a few times, it has been a trouble-free machine,
Agree on the smaller-sized tillers. I have one of those weed-eaters with the detachable tool, and use the tiller-attachment frequently. I would however like to get a nice Pony and be able to really dig up between the potato rows... For the money, I may just invest in a hilling-plow for the tractor.
ReplyDeleteDo you have problems with scab and other recurring soil-infections that require several years of non-planting to get rid of? I've got a few diseases showing up that I may want to try to cover-crop away for a couple years.
Your garden looks a lot better than gardens here. Cold and very dry so far and it looks like most things planted will not mature. There was another light frost here on our farm two mornings ago.--ken
ReplyDelete