Sunburn

It has been a beautiful week here in central Oklahoma. It is spring now but it’s already getting very warm. Last Saturday, I went to the farm and got a lot of my spring planting done. We planted over a hundred plants and I honestly lost track of everything. I planted my tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers on a sunny hill. I planted herbs and flowers under and around them. I didn’t have time to amend the soil with compost so they all went into the straight red clay. I hope they can handle it. I planted my 4 tea plants on a hill with a bit more shade. I also attended a seed and plant exchange at my local library on Saturday morning. I donated about 20 pepper plants and acquired some new plants, too. I donated two packages of pumpkin seeds but I took a lot. I got yarrow, bee balm, rose of Sharon, coleus, daylily bulbs, prairie milkvine, and many more. We were planting outside all day and I forgot my big garden hat. So, I got a sunburn on my face and ears. Now, it is Wednesday and my face is peeling. We were so busy planting that we didn’t have much time to clear the overgrown grass and clover. I also didn’t have the time complete my trellises. I ended up putting sticks next to the plants for support. I tied the plants to the sticks with the long reed grass. I didn’t tie the peas because I think they’ll climb on their own. We saw many tadpoles in the house pond and heard a lot of frogs at sunset. Many of last year’s plants are doing really well, including peonies, hydrangea, Russian sage, phlox, asparagus, peach trees, and strawberries. The fig trees don’t have any leaves yet. My boyfriend’s mom lives near our farm and she has a nice garden. She gave me some of her volunteers this year. I got two teddy bear magnolias, a shoal creek vitex, a blue spruce sedum, and a yarrow from her. Now, I have four yarrow in all. I also bought some ginger from the store this week that sprouted. I decided to plant it on my balcony, even though it will have to come inside in winter. I got a peppermint, a bronze fennel, and a catnip on sale. I planted the peppermint on my balcony and hope to use it for tea in the future. I also have some chamomile on the balcony. We acquired a new hornet nest on the balcony this year. I have had a lot of trouble this year with the squirrels digging up small seedlings. I did draw some this week. I made chicken chili this week but it wasn’t very flavorful. I plan to start more seeds indoors soon. I hope to plant as much as I have time and money for this year. Please enjoy a selection of my favorite weekly photos.