Friday Thoughts – The Day Before…


Actually, it’s 2 days before. Tomorrow will mostly be spent in travel with a 90-minute flight to Los Angeles, endure a nearly 4 hours layover before hopping on a 10-and-half hours flight to London.

Last night, when I found out our seats got assigned, I thought, that just made the trip more real. We’re flying to London in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I’ve flown on the 777 before and didn’t like the seats at all – too narrow and not enough legroom. I’ve also flown on the Airbus. Personally, I prefer the Airbus with its roomier leg space. I’ve heard good thing about the Dreamliner though, so I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

There are 9 seats per row and my mom and I are in the middle. Since we went with the cheapest option, we didn’t get to pick our seats. So far, there’s no one sitting in the third seat and there are 40+ empty seats on the plane. I hope it’ll keep it this way, then mom won’t be squished into me. I like my personal space, if you haven’t noticed.

* * * * *

I planted 9 tomatoes last night. 9!

If you told me I would be able to plant 9 tomatoes in an hour a year ago, I would’ve told you you’re crazy. I probably wouldn’t be able to stand the next day.

My back has been sore since December and I’m currently going through physical therapy. My therapist has been teaching me to stretch in the appropriate places follow by electro-stimulation at the end of the session. The stimulation is nice. It’s like 4 pairs of gentle hands loosening my tight back. I feel better afterwards though it’s always been temporary. Oh well, I have 18 more sessions to go.

Anyway, back to tomatoes. Thankfully, I invested in a set of auger that can be attached to the drill. It’s a lot easier to press a button than to dig the hole myself.

I’ve also gone minimalistic when it comes to the amount of amendments I put into the planting holes. Last year, I’d put bone meal, blood meal, vermiculite, perlite, so many others but last night, I just scattered a few handfuls of worm castings and fertilizer. As much as the initial planting matters, I now believe in the importance of subsequent fertilizing. Besides, after spending so much time and energy last fall adding manure compost and amendments, the soil was incredibly rich and full of earthworms – a sight any gardeners would love to see.

Anyway, I just drilled, threw in worm casting, fertilizer, and plop went the tomato plant. I’ve also put cages around the indeterminate tomatoes, hoping to keep them tamed this year. Wish me luck.

As a documentarian, I have to document the garden before my trip. Otherwise, what would I have to compare when I return 2 weeks later?

I will also note that 2 of the broccoli plants in the new raised bed is beginning to head, will I return to beautiful broccoli heads?

#WQ #18: Grow


This week’s Wednesday Quotes is all about the concept of growing and I am choosing plants for my muse.

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#WeekendCoffeeShare – Tomato Seedlings 2023


Good morning! Welcome to #WeekendCoffeeShare, thank you for joining me on this gloomy, cloudy, and/or rainy spring day.

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Monday Thoughts – Panic Mode


It appears Mother Nature has heard our prayers.

The snow had ceased as of last Wednesday but I think Mother Nature might had turned the dial on the thermometer a little too much because it was hot this weekend even though it was only 60-degrees-Fahrenheit. It went from 30-degrees on Wednesday to near 60 on Friday. If I feel this hot when it’s 60, how will I get through the days when it’s 90+?

Anyway, the foot of snow in my backyard finally melted on Saturday and I spent the weekend catching up on my planting. I’m so late this year. The peas were supposed to be in the ground in the middle of March and so were the cold-hardy vegetables. I was in panic mode for other reasons as well. As of Saturday, I’m 4 weeks aways from my last frost date. There are many things that should be planted at this point but what? My mind was drawing a blank, which it’s what happens when I’m in panic mode.

I was also in panic mode because not only there’s a crack in the hose splitter, I still haven’t purchased the material to reconnect my drip irrigation system. I had to cut a large chunk of the system because my current design doesn’t fit the 2 new raised beds I installed last fall. With mom wanting to follow me everywhere I go, I might need to take a Thursday off from work, get the material, and install it myself.

Also, with Mother Nature turning up the thermometer, I hope I’m not too late with my tomatoes. I started them indoors on the 2nd of April and they are just now popping up. I’ve grown tomatoes for the last 2 years and I’ve transplanted them just prior to Memorial Day (last weekend in May) in time to let the cold-hardy crops finish up.

Oh, I’m so sore today, definitely overdid it this weekend.

  • The Johnny Jump-Ups (viola) began blooming on Saturday. They are such pretty flowers and so cold-hardy.
  • Poppy and alyssum seeds scattered in the backyard, in hopes that it’ll create a carpet-like groundcover to deter weeds.
  • The soil in my Greenstalk towers are loosened and amended before popping the remaining 6 strawberry plants in there along with some lettuce and spinach seedlings. The seed potatoes I planted before the last freeze still hadn’t come up. I hope they are okay.
  • Planted snow peas and shelling peas in the L-Shaped bed and Napa cabbages in the new raised bed next to the broccolis, which miraculously survived the last freeze.
  • Planted the remaining seed potatoes in 10-gallon grow bags and placed them in the front yard to take advantage of the southern sun. Getting to plant beneath the southern sun is such a game changer because my front yard gets full sun and facing south, it’s much warmer than the backyard, which at the moment, it’s highly advantageous as I’m in a hurry to play catch up.
  • A 15-gallon grow bag was also filled and placed in the front yard, in which I sowed carrots and some Asian greens. I’m looking forward to those.

Now, I just need to locate a couple of blackberry plants to plop in my backyard.

CMMC: April Close Up


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#WeekendCoffeeShare – Oh Spring, Where are Thou?


Good morning! Welcome to #WeekendCoffeeShare, thank you for joining me on this cold wintery spring morning.

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#SundayStills: I would #Rather be…


Teri from Second Wind Leisure Perspective presents a very interesting theme for this week’s #SundayStills – I’d #Rather Be…

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#WeekendCoffeeShare – More Garden Preparations and Thoughts on a Rainy Day


Good morning! Welcome to #WeekendCoffeeShare, thank you for joining me on this Spring Equinox Eve-Eve. Grab a drink, a seat, and let’s chat.

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Reflection on the 2022 Garden – Lesson Learned


If there is ONE lesson I learned from the 2022 garden, it would be plants like the sun but not love the sun. I learned that most vegetables like cucumber, squash, beans, and even tomatoes benefit from a bit of shade.

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Reflection on the 2022 Garden


When I went out to try to rake the leaves and dead grass to try to expose the soil on Saturday morning, I found the ground was frozen solid.

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#SundayStills: #Closeup on Garden Raspberries


I cannot believe the day has at last arrived!

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#SundayStills: Monthly Color – #Apricot


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CFFC: Found in Nature


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The Garden – A Constant Work in Progress #Construction #Sundaystills


I am going to put a spin on this week’s #SundayStills because, to me, #construction isn’t always about buildings. There is construction going on in nature as well. In fact, nature is always working on something.

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