Progress Before the Storm

There's a storm coming tomorrow, bringing heavy rains and the possibility of flooding. Thank goodness we're at the crest of a hill, and that we had a gorgeous spring day to prepare. My husband laid out string guidelines for the garden paths while I watered and seeded and transplanted and repotted in the greenhouse. Then I got outside - the greenhouse was really starting to cook - and dug out garden paths around the periphery of the garden. I made a new garden plan to reflect the reality of the beds and the not-quite-square shape of the garden, while Alex set up another rain barrel. We both put together another compost tumbler; the first one is already quite full, and I'm sure the new one will be stuffed in short order tomorrow.

If only the rain could hold off one more day. I know how badly we need it, but with one more day, I could dig out a few beds and get the peas and kale and pansies and snapdragons started. I could plant the strawberries and broccoli and cauliflower and kale and leeks, thus freeing up much-needed space in the nearly-full greenhouse.The cucumbers and yellow crookneck squash sprouted today. I repotted broccoli and zinnias, and some of the tomatoes look like they're about to burst out of their seedling flats and walk away. I'm out of compost, running low on 6-in. cowpots, but nearing the end of the seeding. One more flat of pumpkins, and then I just have to wait for May to seed the melons. Ladybug pupae have hatched and are prowling over the kale, devouring those tenacious aphids. Bees hum in and out of the greenhouse, happily pollinating the peas which are exploding everywhere and threatening to crash over onto the kale.

Ah, progress, at last, after the long, sluggish winter. Alas, with the coming rain, we will have to postpone the visit by Harborlight Montessori School's middle school students, who were scheduled to come and help us dig out the garden paths on Monday. I hope sincerely that things will have dried out enough by Wednesday for them to come. All our garden tools have been spray painted neon orange in anticipation of their visit, and I laid in a deep store of snacks and drinks for them. All we lack is lumber for the potato bins and fencing for the peas. I'm debating whether to buy folding fencing, as I've done in the past, or copy my next door neighbor and use fallen tree branches and string to create my own. It all comes down to time: how long will it take to dig, to construct, to string? How soon can we start growing?

If there were a full moon tonight, I'd be sorely tempted to go out and dig by moonlight, just so that I could plant peas tomorrow morning. Ah, progress, so very addictive.