Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Now Only Two Sisters


After a rainy day last week, I noticed that the three sisters were shorter. The corn stalk must have been uprooted in the storm.


The stalk in lying on the ground near the other two sisters. Luckily, it seems that Jose has added some supports for the bean plants. I wheatpasted a thankyou note to one of the posts



I hope he will see it! The squash plants are growing very well and are hiding the wood where I pasted the note. There are hints of yellow under the leaves where the squash flowers are blooming.

Friday, August 7, 2015

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back


Earlier this week, there was a storm in the middle of the night. I woke up while the wind was blowing, worried about my three sisters. Sister number one, corn, was falling over, unable to support her younger siblings. The storm could mean the end. I went out in the morning with some topsoil to shore her up. She was indeed fallen, and while I was working, one of the neighbors came over. His name is Jose. He and his wife wondered if the planting was intentional. We chatted about gardening and the sisters. He brought me a stake and hammered it into the ground to support the corn. It was so wonderful.

What is left on Thames Street

It was especially nice because, my pollenator seedings are suffering from serious setbacks. The most successful planting was uprooted by an overzealous weeder. My suspicions fall on the Reverend Fennel of the Mount Cavalry FBH Church. The spot was in front of his church and everything was ripped out. The weeds have since come back, but I do not have hopes for the flowers. And over on Thames street, the planting had also suffered a severe weeding. A few stray clover remain, one or two cosmos. Who knows, maybe in the fall, the cosmos plants will surge out in the cool weather they prefer.

Clearly, I have to plant the guerilla seeds earlier so they have time to take hold before these midseason weeders jump in. I do not see the point of ripping the plants out of a spot of soil in August, leaving nothing but soil. But there is a whole crowd of people who believe that weeds are noxious and must be contained. I suppose it is the same group who live in the suburbs and do not trust trees.