We finally were able to get our Lincoln Log raised garden in (planted). It took us until early May, which is late. Better late than never, unless you’re clever.
You would think that with our Lincoln Log raised garden right outside our kitchen door, we would be one of the first with radishes, onions and lettuce, but with my shortness of breath, doctors’ appointments, and general laziness, the recliner has been way too comfortable.
I find that gazing out our picture window with Kindle Book in hand, is way more inviting than hoe in hand.
You may recall from previous Empty Nest columns that we gave up our large garden that was too hard to maintain, for an 8-foot by 16-foot raised garden made out of railroad ties, notched like Lincoln Logs– my design, Caden Hinkle’s labor. We had a dump truck full of dirt hauled in to fill it. BTW: We’re going to convert our old garden space into a mini Stonehenge, made also of RR ties, labor once again supplied by 22-year old, Caden Hinkle, and also the design thereof. The Stonehenge replica will be out by Marsh Avenue so people can drive by and observe, even stop and pay homage, if they want.
Caden Hinkle just turned 22, so for his birthday, Ginnie and I gave him an original Lincoln Log set, since he did such a fantastic job of making our raised garden. He loved it! We posted on Facebook that we wanted to buy a Lincoln Log set. Bingo! Within seconds we had hits galore. Say what you want about Social Media, it has its advantages. No sooner than we had the Lincoln Log garden filled with dirt, than a chipmunk hole appeared right in the middle of it, up through three feet of dirt. Those blankety-blank chipmunks! That’s all we need in our new raised garden, a chipmunk that can rise in the middle of it and help itself! “Oh, wasn’t that nice of the Swarms to plant these luscious vegetables just for me to eat!” Grrr. I grabbed a can of gopher and mole pestilent, dumped some in the hole, and it appears that I may have stopped the varmint. At least there isn’t fresh dirt around the hole.
Ginnie and I did get our tomato and pepper plants in early, as soon as the danger of frost was over– four tomato plants and four pepper. The four tomato plants are Early Girl, Beef Master, Better Boy and Whopper. The four pepper plants are all California Wonder. I wonder why I planted four pepper plants! Oh well, Caden will eat’m!
The rest of the garden I let go for a couple of weeks, because getting in the tomato and pepper plants exhausted me. But I finally guilt-whipped myself and put in the cucumbers and pole beans.
Because of limited space, Ginnie bought a tent-shaped cucumber trellis for the cucumbers to climb. For the blue lake pole beans, I cut an 8-foot section of hog fence, and set it up with steel posts.
Since the cucumber trellis is two sided, we planted a different kind of cucumber on either side — Straight Eight and Early Frost. I’m sure Denise Snavely will be out to help us with our over abundance of cukes.
Our cucumber trellis is having trouble standing up in the Empty Nest wind tunnel– out of the south one day, north the next.
After I was done with the cukes and pole beans, Ginnie took over and planted Winter Density and Green Ice lettuce; Cherry Bell radishes; and several Autumn Beauty Sunflowers to reign over the garden and attract gold finches.
What we have left are Early Frost Shell Peas, onions (both green and bulb), and four different herbs — basil, cilantro, dill, and rosemary. The herbs can go in pots, or the strawberry patch the rabbits ate off.
All-in-all, we will have more than enough garden vegetables for ourselves, family, friends and whoever else comes along to visit the Empty Nest Farm, all from a Lincoln Log raised garden. Abe would be proud.
Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking.
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