May is here

Alaska peas are up and growing quickly.  Spinach, lettuce and radishes in the foreground

Broccoli grown from seed with wood mulch to keep weeds at bay

Potato plants coming up nicely

Tomato trellises using string to help tomatoes grow tall and straight.  One tomato is also showing, that being on the Celebrity variety, which is a determinate tomato plant.

May is here and how quickly a little bit of warm weather (it got up to 76º today) and full sun affects the garden growth. It is supposed to be a cool week coming up, so things might stall out a bit, but the dead grass and hay are doing a good job keeping the plants protected and moist.  I used to use cattle panels to support tomatoes, but I don't want to do that yet, so I am trying to using string and the cross bar on top of the fence posts to hold and guide the tomatoes upwards.  So far there are 25 plantings with about 10-12 more coming along from seeds that I started.  Lots of different varieties, some old, some new.  Beefmaster, Cherokee Purple, Old German, Better Boy, Sun Sugar cherry, Black Cherry and Mountainaire, another determinate along with the Celebrity.  Still to come are Black Kim, Oregon, Rutgers, Black Galaxy and Yellow Brandywine (this will be a late one, as I don't have the seeds yet).  The Alaska Pea has been a surprise as it is growing more quickly than the others.  Progress #9 is coming along, but slowly.  I will wait a bit longer to get in the red peppers, which are growing nicely in their little plastic containers. I will probably transplant them once before getting them in the ground, as they like it very warm.  The same with the cukes and I just started summer squash and pickles.  So, they will go in after the broccoli and peas are done.

Tomorrow, my riding lawnmower (The Trump Mobile) arrives from Lowes.  It is a 42" John Deere, as I decided I was getting a bit old for my electric Ego 21" lawnmower, which I really like, but it does take a while to do the entire lawn.  My neighbor has a rider and it seems he is done in about 20 minutes.  I take over an hour and it a few weeks I will have to cut the lawn twice a week.  Since the government was nice enough to send along $1200, no questions asked, this rider ends up only costing as much as a self-propelled 21" gas mower.  I will take it, but don't ask me anything political.

I had to replace an outside faucet, as every hose I attached to it dripped.  It looks like there is some cut in the treading of the faucet.  The task was not easy, as the plumber soldered on the faucet to a copper pipe and then screwed it onto a 1/2" pvc pipe so tight it was impossible to unscrew.  The pipe was also located down in the basement between the beams, so very hard to get at with tools.  I have a dandy pvc pipe cutting tool and that took care of getting the old faucet out. I will put in a new one that will be easier to repair if something goes wrong with it.

Nancy's potting table came yesterday.  It is stainless steel, with a shelf underneath, so that will need to be put together soon, as my wooden adjustable workbench is also due to show up for pickup from Home Depot.  Once the two benches are done, I can then finish organizing the garage so everything will have a home that is neat and tidy.  Getting old means it is very important to remember where you put your tools or else you end up spending more time looking for a tool than working on a project.

This final photo is very special to us.  Rachel Stier was a member of our Mansfield HS girls track team's 4x400 relay that set a state record at 3:48 at the outdoor nationals.  She is finishing up her nursing degree and is working with her mom, a nurse at Norwood Hospital in MA.  MA is having struggling with the Corona Virus and "Hammer" is helping doing her part.  God bless the Stier Family!

Rachel and her mom are together while the President of Nursing is six feet in front and the President of Norwood Hospital is six feet behind the group....