Insomnia
It makes it rather difficult to get any work done, you know, during the day, at your job, the one you slave at day in and day out in order to bankroll your lavish lifestyle.Ha.
Sadly, I cannot do very much knitting during these episodes, otherwise I will not be able to function the next day at work. I do a lot of mousework on the computer (can't be helped) and if I knit all night and then try to use a mouse all day... let's just say I learned my lesson once.
I did plant a whole bunch of things in a flurry of "spring" planting. I say "spring" because this is the bay area and we're supposed to be having nice weather already, no? Like 2-3 weeks ago. But instead what we get in windy, sometimes overcast, highs maybe creeping up to 70 and then plunging back down to 45-50 at night. These temps are not terribly conducive to things sprouting and growing quickly.
At any rate (and this is more a laundry list for me to remember what I planted, where, and when), here's what got sown yesterday (5/7, now it is Friday and it has taken me 2 days to write a lousy post, sheesh):
- eggplant + nasturtium, 11" bottom-watering pot
- red currant tomato (3 seeds), smallest square pot
- white current tomato (3 seeds), smallest round pot
- 2 seed mini peppers, round 4" pot
- bunch of basil seeds, OJ carton
- cucumbers (3 seeds) + nasturtiums, large 14" pot next to the tomato bed
- cascadia peas (take 2) + morning glories, along the back of the carrot bed
- stevia (2 seeds), yellow pot
- roma tomatos (2 seeds), small blue pot
- egg carton seedlings (2 seeds each cup): 6 lettuce (3 each variety), 3 red currant tomato, 3 white currant tomato
All of my veggies are patio varieties or otherwise dwarf. I can't wait to see what I get! I've been generous with the number of seeds because, though I get very good germination rates from this company, I have tons of them - more than enough to last me a few years in my tiny space, so I can afford to waste a few if it guarantees me a higher success rate! Some of these plantings are just to get the seeds started, and some are "permanent", that is to say, were planted where they are intended to stay. It is recommended that you not start both eggplants and cucumbers indoors ahead of time, so there you go. The big tomato bed is empty because I am a big dork and did not start any seedlings like a month and a half ago. Sigh. So much for my big plans of early tomatoes. Although, I notice that 2 little roma seedlings that I planted (and then left outside) about 2 weeks ago have sprouted - hurrah! I suppose that must mean soil temps are rising... My other big bed, that had the peas and all those greens during the winter, is now mostly empty - the peas were looking really sad due to some lamentable neglect while I was away. I think it is still early enough to get another crop of peas in though, plus I have more than enough seeds left to last me probably 2 more years, so I'm not worried about waste. I have some Oregon sugar snap pea seeds as well, which is supposedly bush-type (though I'm not sure I saw a difference before) so I may plant a couple freestanding somewhere as well.
The chamomile came out, I'll dry the flowers this weekend and save them for tea. It wasn't too bad of a haul given they were growing in a restrictive space and they overwintered (I thought for sure they would die without ever flowering). I would like to get some Roman chamomile next year, as it's very compact and really more appropriate for my current living situation. In place of the chamomile I think I will plant more mustard greens, as they did very well over the winter in the big bed and they are quite tasty when eaten young.
Some of my long-suffering plants from last year have perked up:
Now I don't have anything like lovely extensive strawberries beds, or even a scraggly little patch my like my grandmother had growing up on a raised rock structure next to her house, but I do have four little plants. I bought them while in an overly optomistic mood sometime around February I think (I know, what was I thinking, right? It isn't like I have a greenhouse...yet...) They have seemed on the verge of death nearly the entire time I have had them, but now are sending up new leaves and even putting out a flower or two (they are a continuously-producing variety). And apparently I have some pollinators around too:
My compact oregano also deserves to be in my Hall of Fame. I got it last year and over the winter it pretty much looked dead, all brown leaves and crackly little twigs. I so wish I had taken a photo. It's a testament to my laziness that I didn't chuck it a long time ago. Though I've still watered it periodically, holding out hope that maybe it was still alive.
Well will you look at that:
It's been going strong since about 2 weeks ago.
That's not all that is growing:
Both of the plants I have like this that are outside are blooming, and I have no idea what they are. I'm pretty sure they are not cacti, so I'm calling them succulents. They each have one long stalk with these tiny tube-shaped flowers, a whole bunch of them (10? 15? It is dark outside now and I don't want to go look.) They aren't all open. The flowers truly are tiny too - I bet they aren't more than 1/2" in length. I got these from my aunt, and like I said, have no idea what they are. Any guesses? Again, colors are accurate - natural light is lovely. (It occurs to me that perhaps I should have taken a photo of the plant as well. They are kind of spiky and green/purple. Does that help?) Google is not helping me out a whole lot here.
And since this supposedly a knitting blog... block 15 of Absorba, the Blah Blah Blah is done! I have even picked up the stitches for block 16 and marked her as 75% complete over in Ravelry. The prospect of maybe, just maybe, having a bathmat before the weather turns hot and sticky has spurred me on, although the next block is a long one: 20 purl ridges. (I use a highly scientific method of determining the number of rows in my random long cabin - I grab the nearest book, close my eyes, flip through the pages a few time, pick a side (left or right), and then stop. Whatever is the last digit in the page number multiplied by 2 is the number of purl rows. Unfortunately I drew a zero this time, and since you can't double zero...)
Onward!
posted by Carrie @ 10:12 PM
1 Comments:
I'm so sorry about the insomnia. I get bad bouts of insomnia too. I can get to sleep okay, but then I wake up too early and can't get back to sleep.
Your garden is just lovely. I wish I had the fortitude to get one of my own going. I'll just have to enjoy one vicariously through yours. :)
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