3/18/2020
(Above: The freshly planted bag & bucket garden.)
Active Summary: This day I performed the early morning regimen and then followed it up with a little bit Jacobhouse neatening, writing, and some Macroeconomics work. After completing a sizeable assignment in the lattermost, I ventured outside and set about planting the garden. Thus far, I have planted everything except the tomatoes and summer spinach. The former will need to be planted away from the green bell peppers*, and the latter will soon be planted at the base of the pea plants in the original garden**.
After tending to the garden for a little while, I walked up to the Master Blend freezer room where I neatened up the place, arranged an order for this afternoon, and wiped out / plugged in the freezer from Oldhouse. I was next going to go procure my family a sushi lunch, but when making the online order, it kept giving an error message of ‘that action cannot be completed‘. Thus, I called the Sushi Bistro and found that they had preemptively closed the restaurant until April 16 in an effort to stave off profit loss during this Corona virus shenanigan. Lunch of grilled steak & potatoes ensued; it was a more than adequate substitution.
(5:26 PM Update:) Afternoon activities included a couple minor cattle-related shenanigans (checked calving cow a couple times, kept a new mother and her calf from joining the main herd in the primary feast-barn, and covered some feed with protective plastic), my tending to a Master Blend beef customer, and giving/receiving a haircut from Padre. Being able to feel the breeze against my scalp is quite a refreshing change.
TIL: While planting today, I learned a couple benefits about the bag and bucket garden. The first was somewhat obvious: the fact that it is up 1.5 feet from the ground. I did not know that it would make such a difference in quality of life (for me), but it really does. Instead of having to kneel down to poke seeds into the soil, I could do it all by simply bending at the waist.
The second, less obvious benefit is in regard to the varying water-retaining properties of my planting vessels. The buckets hold much more moisture, so into them I planted more water-dependant (and less rot-prone) flora: green-glaze collards and jewels of Opar. In the bags, I planted: Suyo long cucumbers, green bell peppers, more collards and magenta magic orach.
It should be noted that even though buckets do retain a fair bit more water than the bags do, both vessels bear much higher drainage capabilities than ground-planting.
Commentary: As I presently peer out my office window, I see a small herd of recently weaned calves wander by. They are tightly grouped, and when they pause to graze for a few moments, I see them swishing their tails about and incessantly stamping their hooves. Heel flies are yet another indicator of Spring’s arrival.
Here are some bonus pictures for the day (including some evening cooking):
Final Note: Tomorrow, I reckon there will be similar events as occurred today: more Macroeconomics, more planting, and more Master Blend freezer room neatening.
*Tomatoes and bell peppers are in the nightshade family, so they sometimes can cross-pollinate to form hybrid (and often very odd looking/tasting) fruit. ‘
** I may also plant some Malabar Summer Spinach in bags along another nearby fence; I just need to make sure they do not strangle the cucumbers.