As our days grow longer (and warmer), the vegetable plants we started earlier this Spring began to take over our kitchen.
So, it was time to get the soil in the raised beds and move some of the starts into the ground. The boys did the heavy lifting.
Our normal earliest date for planting outside is Memorial Day, but we felt comfortable filling the beds and getting some plants in the ground a few weeks early this year.
Jolene found a company that was willing to ship earthworms to Alaska, and several thousand arrived alive and well, and are now burrowing through our in-ground and raised beds. I've never seen earthworms anywhere on our property, so maybe adding some will be of benefit (to us, and to the worms).
Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, onions, celery and cabbage were all transplanted to the raised beds, and carrots, lettuce, peas and beans were planted from seed. Even though they were transplanted early, they are doing well.
We had more pumpkin starts than we needed, so we put the leftovers in an in-ground bed to see how they do. The moose will be happy come September (they love pumpkins). With the nights still a little chilly, we covered the raised beds with plastic sheets, but we also needed a way to keep these pumpkin plants covered at night.....
.....I knew eating all that ice cream would pay off eventually!
Tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelons, peppers, cucumbers and corn - waiting for a greenhouse to be built.
Instead of a cache, we decided to use a wine barrel to hold water. It was shipped from Fresno, CA. Slightly elevated on a small platform, and with a spigot installed to make it easy to fill up our watering cans, we'll use this to water the garden and greenhouse plants so we don't have to carry watering cans back and forth each day.
Speaking of the greenhouse, it went up this week. Here's the spot we chose for it. The bluff's edge gets pretty hot, so we put in-ground beds there. A little further back from the bluff we put the raised beds, where it's a little cooler but not too hot. The greenhouse location is further back, under a little shade, but mostly sunny - - hopefully cool enough to prevent the need to run the fan all day.
Jeriah from Alaska Greenhouses brought his crew up from Ninilchik on the Kenai to put up the greenhouse. Here they're laying the foundation.
Frame is up, roof is next.
Roof panels going up.
Sealing under the trim.
Finished product.
Still a few smaller projects left to do, but this area is mostly done for this year.
Time to bring in the vegetable plants.
Jolene wanted a small rose bed under the bird feeders.
Roses and peonies, hopefully they can tolerate the dry bluff edge, and occasional wind storms.
Jolene received some strawberry transplants from a friend, and we planted them at the bottom of one of the retaining walls, where hopefully they will get some extra warmth from the surrounding rock.
On one of our walks, we pass some trees where moose have browsed on the bark. During late Winter, or early Spring, when food is scarce, they resort to stripping bark for sustenance. If you look closely, you can see the moose teeth marks.
Dino, enjoying a quick swim at his favorite swimming hole.
Jolene kept some lettuce and celery ends, and re-grew them in a jar of water. Also trying an avocado seed, but it takes longer to sprout.
The last external earthquake repairs are underway. Re-caulking and painting. Next Winter we hope to put a dent in the remaining inside cosmetic repairs (cracked drywall, damaged trim, floors, counter-tops, etc.). It'll take a while, but eventually we'll get the house back to its pre-earthquake condition.
Spring cleaning. Grayson seems to have forgotten to change out of his pajamas. A routine occurrence during the COVID shutdown.
