'Tis the season! We're finally seeing the sun and temperatures are creeping upwards. The grass is greening at a ridiculous pace, the trees are beginning to leaf out, the perennial flower beds are beginning to explode with life. This also means the little vampire world of ticks, mosquitos, and black flies are hard at work making lives miserable. I've already picked a half dozen ticks off of me, and the black flies nearly drove my uncle to the brink of madness when he was helping me set up the tiny tunnel. I say helping, but in reality he pretty much did it all and I just assisted. So yes, my tiny tunnel is up, and the seedlings have moved from the house to the tunnel!
We set it up in the driveway so it was near enough to a water source and in the sun. It should receive 6-8 hours daily, with the house shading it in the worst of the afternoon heat. Once the seedlings are all ready to be planted out, I'll fill this tunnel with buckets of tomatoes to see if they grow better in here or out in the open garden. I'm really excited to try this! If it works well enough, I'll find a permanent spot for it so I don't have to take it down every winter.
I also got my aerator set up in the little water feature. My mom gave me this sphinx-like downspout a few years ago and it has a hole in the center, so I purchased a little solar powered water pump and voilà! The water is now moving.
I'm not really digging the extreme upspray, so I might dial it back just a little. If I take the little cap off the pump nozzle, it will just bubble over and that might be better. I'm thinking the spray might actually cause the water to evaporate more quickly, especially on a hot day. Work in progress! The frog eggs were hatching just when we had a deluge of rain - some areas received nearly 5" overnight. My water feature overflowed the banks, and I haven't seen any signs of tadpoles since. I'm not sure if any survived.
Out in the pasture, the daffodils under the mulberry tree are really starting to take off.
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There are a few other flowers under there, but the deer ate every single tulip and hyacinth, so only a few fritillaries, squill, and one lone anemone break up the daffodil overload. Hopefully they'll take off in the next few years and spread to add a little color to the fray.
In the garden the snap peas are sprouting, there's no sign of the potatoes, and I've planted some leeks and shallots. I need to vacate a few more beds to be able to plant my onions.
The cool weather greens are coming along up at the house planter, too.
Now is the time when everything gets ahead of you. Keep up!
