For the 2nd time in a week or so, (1st time regarding dwarf beans ), I'm following Alys Fowler's advice, this time with regard to Swiss chard . Long story short, after midsummer plants which often bolt if planted in spring will resist the impulse to do so, probably because of shortening days; (I say shortening, but in Glasgow, in July, we're still getting 18 hours of daylight). I got a packet of Bright Lights , at a good price, (another reason to wait until July before sowing, lots of bargains, I've noticed). But where to sow them? Most of the 2nd bed is under a tarpaulin, but it wasn't quite big enough to cover the whole bed, so the last 5ft or so went under a sheet of plastic, (in the background of the photo in this post, here .) Transparent plastic was a foolish idea, weeds were growing underneath it, so I covered most of it with sheets of metal from the old shed. I decided to leave the tarp, but use the area beneath the plastic for the chard. Who-ah there...
I look forward to seeing same tonight. Yesterday it was very full, and I was out running on a track in the moonlight, and I couldn't help but feeling it was like having the kind of vision you have when underwater. As the other runners outpaced me, their white tee shirts just kind of faded out of view as they grew distant, like silvery sharks. Really great. Our weather is clear here, and the trees are bare. Such a remarkable sight to see that huge moon through the sticks. We are just about ready to untap the maple trees -- have already gotten our ration of maple syrup out of the season. The peepers, little tree frogs who wake up 6 weeks before the start of summer, have been singing for a few days now. Warm weather is stretching and waking. I don't know why everyone is calling it the supermoon. That's so obvious and boring. My dad was a farmer and the full moon in March is the full worm moon. Everything is punching its way out of the grave about now. :D
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