Remodel Begins

So Mom and I finally started to remodel the kitchen today. We removed six cabinet doors and prepped for painting. Cleaning and sanding went quickly, but the primer is going on too streaky. Mom will look into an alternate method of application tomorrow. We may have to rent a sprayer to get a nice finish. I took pictures of the kitchen "before" so everyone would have a lasting memorial to the stove and refrigerator.

Mom started picking at the wall paper ,also. That didn't go very far.

Before starting on the kitchen, I started a batch of Red Beans. They simmered all day and kept the kitchen smelling delightful. Lunch at work will be a treat all week.

So I got inspired by Jessica's re-entry into the Blogging world to add a new post. I thought I could update the progress with my garden. This year has gone well. The tomatoes are producing in droves and are delightful.

Perri wanted pumpkins and ornamental corn We bypassed the Square Foot gardening system, and planted in the traditional way. All were coming along nicely.

Unfortunately, shortly after these pictures were taken, a midsummer Illinois Zephyr came along and left this:

I think the pumpkins and tomatoes may recover, but the corn is done. Also, the asparagus is fine and the potatoes continue to be a mystery under a pile of straw. The compost pile was fully non-plussed by the storm and is contributing nicely to our reduced trash hauling.

Garden

I am trying the Square Foot Garden approach to gardening this year and thought I might use that as a starting point for a blog.
Historically, the dirt in our neck of Central Illinois has had too much clay in it to make a very successful garden. It also takes up a lot of space and requires a lot of effort every year to till.
After reading Mel Bartholomew's book ( Well some of it anyway.), I thought I would give it a try. Building the first 4 foot square box was a nice little project for in the garage during the cold spring this year.
Finding vermiculite was the biggest hurdle. Everyone seemed to be out of it or had quit ordering it altogether. I finally found at least three sources and Perri was a huge help in procuring the first bag. peat moss and compost were easy. I'm not too sure how good the compost was. The plants look like they were anemic for quite awhile. I did break down and put some fertilizer on them. Between that and the warmer weather, things are looking better.
I actually had plants in the ground by April 18. I think that the late cold this spring slowed the growth of everything. By june though, things are starting to pick up. the tomatoes and snap peas are looking good. The jalapenos already have peppers on them. Jessica gave me some onion sets and they seem to be fine, although I'm not sure what to do with them.

Since I don't like buying composte, and a big feature of gardening is composting, I started a composte pile. To begin with, I had grass clippings and kitchen waste.








Than I scored BIG!





A co-worker (Trudy) provided me with a nice load of high quality cow manure. It's good to have high friends in low places.















Now the mulch pile has something to work on. Hopefully the neighbors won't mind too much




I continue to plant some items the standard way like sunflowers, zucchini, and pumpkins. So far, I have enjoyed the garden more this year than in previous years. However, I expect my attention will lapse eventually.

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