That's the PLAN, anyway…

First, a refresher of what the plot looks like:

The big reveal of "the Plan"…

…and the expected outcome

My new garden adventure might just end here.

No, I'm too stubborn, I will adapt and overcome and outwit.

My underground plot dweller says:

***

This week just brought more work and prepping in the garden.  Many of you know that I have always grown all my seedlings under lights and heat mats and all that good stuff, but I actually had to buy my tomatoes and peppers this year, the horror!  I wasn't sure if we would get a plot back in late winter so I wasn't about to go crazy messing up the house with all that stuff, but next year I surely will :)

For those that have never seen mail order seedlings, here you go.  I ordered a few heirloom peppers and tomatoes from Burpee, they arrived in beautiful condition and are hardening off in the backyard right now.  The rest of my tomatoes and peppers were purchased locally from a small business.

Hubby has been working hard to build whatever my heart desires, as long as its bamboo and he gets to use his new machete and his Japanese saw.

My new bamboo gate… it even has rope hinges!

This is the bamboo thicket that is next to the community garden, as much as we want and it's free.

He has really streamlined the process of hauling it out.

Just one of the interesting things found in the garden… a sign of the trouble we are going to have this summer!

Meanwhile, indoors at the military homestead, I am starting a new "starter".  My last sourdough starter that I had for several years did not PCS with us.  PCS is a common military acronym that stands for Permanent Change of Station, aka moving.  As in, "the last PCS all my stuff got broken"… that's the most common usage you will hear, followed by "PCS'ing soon, they won't tell us where…"  LOL

So anyway, having to make a new starter capturing all new Maryland wild yeast.  Interested to see what the new yeast strain bread will taste like, maybe crab?  Or high taxes?

Starter Day 1

Day 2

Day 4 and the first feeding.  Things are moving a little slow due to our lower temperatures this week, but we definitely have action.  It will be chilling under a tea towel this week and be fed daily.

I will leave you with a photo I took yesterday of one of our local U.S. Post Offices.  It's open like 2 hours a day, and check out the chickens behind it.  I love this place!

Postal Chickens, nice.

Weekend Work

Definitely nothing pretty going on in the garden, but lots of work accomplished this weekend.  Let's start by horrifying Grandma… yes, mom - that's a machete Finn is working with!  With supervision, of course!  The man has been wanting a machete for quite some time and now that we are gardening on the edge of a bamboo forest, this seemed like the right time to make the purchase.  He is wasting no time in making me everything from fences and gates to trellises and stakes, and even teaching Finn - but just to cut twine.

Finn planted my turnips and rutabagas.

Some of the bamboo the man and Thing 2 hauled out.  What a great resource, and free too!

Fingerling Potatoes were planted, along with garlic and onions surrounding them, in hopes of deterring wildlife.  (yeah, right!)  There are groundhog holes in everyone's garden plots here and there was a gopher watching us from the far corner, plotting no doubt.

Just a few tomatoes and peppers went in, the rest will go in about a week since I'm not totally believing that our cold temps are gone for good.  A much bigger staking system will go in later, these little poles are just so anyone that tries to step on my seedlings will be impaled warned!

I scored 72 marigolds for $5 at the local big box store.  I do this every year, nothing wrong with them of course other than they need to be deadheaded and planted asap.  I take all the ugly for cheap… most people just don't realize how plants work and I will gladly reap the benefits!  Of course, I will need all 72 plants, you know, to "repel" that gopher that watched me plant them.  Ha!

When Thing 2 isn't in his garden clothes, he often looks like this.  He has turned into quite the Style King.  He claims he is "Punk Rock".  I'm an 80's girl so I won't complain as long as the straight A's keep coming!  

In contrast to the brown of the garden, the trees in my neighborhood are beautiful.  Cherry trees just finished, but the Redbuds, Dogwoods and Crabapple trees are peaking right now. 

Any type of fun projects at home are taking a back burner right now to the garden work that needs to be done.  I had forgotten how much work it can be getting a garden started from nothing!  So many challenges to this particular garden.  We can't use "sharp" objects so things like metal fencing and stakes are supposed to be out, and I'm following the rules, but everyone around me is putting up chicken wire like crazy.  Funny thing is that they are putting up 3-4 ft fences and for the cost I don't see the point - anything less than 8 feet isn't keeping deer out and we have tons of groundhogs here and they are just going under!  I cheaped out with deer netting and just am trying to put enough poles and structure inside the fence that it will be difficult for deer to judge if there is room for them to land.  The netting was $15 for 200 ft so I don't' feel bad if it doesn't work.  We also have to be out of the garden every year by Nov 1st, so that precludes me having a nice working, aging compost pile.  The base lets pasture grow over it all every year so I can't get in there to keep things cultivated or mulched, etc.  That also precludes me growing my cold weather peas, spinach, kale, etc.  I'm still very grateful however for even having a plot, it's virtually unheard of on a military base!

The biggest challenge, by far… is the WIND!  It howls at about 35-45 mph all day, every day.  I will leave you for this windy video to laugh at - you can't hear a thing I'm saying in it but I'm basically telling you about the challenges I outlined above.  

Grab your popcorn and prepare to laugh at my predicament!

I should take bets on the sidebar on whether the groundhogs, gophers, deer or wind will let me harvest anything this year, and what it might be!