Due to a small jet flying overhead at 7:30 am and then a trash truck backing up a half hour later...combined with the muggy warm weather. I was up early today. It's going to be 90 today so by the time lunch rolls around we're going to be buttoned up for the day. I wanted to get up early anyhow to water first thing but a more gentle waking would have been nice.
Got out to the garden thinking I was going to see bone dry soil from hot and sunny yesterday. Keep forgetting how much clay is in the soil and also it clouded over last night. There was distant heat lightning/thunderstorm that I saw the lightning but never heard the thunder.
Doesn't look like it but that south bed is pretty much okay for water. If I didn't have seeds in the ground.
North bed was just fine, fence bed was drier than the other two so watered lightly. First I decided to dig out the purslane and a few other weeds. Surprisingly it was easy to dig between the fence and bed to a point.
I got the big ones dug out then turned to the north bed and decided to pinch out the tops of the peppers. Not a very neat job but they were already forming flowers and it is way too early for them to do that. Pinching out the tip will encourage side growth as well as putting more energy into a bigger bush.
The right one I did a little too far back, will see what happens.
After pinching out I moved to dig out some other weeds near the south bed and looky what I found.
Didn't take much to chip away the surrounding soil to find a tunnel access.
Hmmm, the new hole is at the bottom of the picture, the other holes that I thought were lizard holes... I don't think so anymore. A progression of holes leading to the jade bush.
Scary that. The other holes that have been there now make more sense. They're air holes and just big enough for a gopher to pop it's head up, get bearings and then dig back down again.
Digging out the weeds near the south bed....I found the main tunnel.
Right in line with the marigolds. I dug down then explored it a little for direction and that is a right turn to the bed.
Before and after flooding it. I put water down there and it never backed up in about 20 seconds or so. As I've said, I could run the water for ten minutes but not going to waste water in our current drought.
Will likely see that hole backed up tomorrow. I started pushing dirt back in but then remembered they don't like open holes, it means a predator might find them. I left it open and still want to find someone with a gopher snake.
That little plant in the corner of the neighbor bed... I was thinking it was grape but did a leaf ident on it and Leaf Snap says it could be okra? What the... that lady.... no words really. Okra get big and it's in the back corner and will likely crowd a lot of other things out. Including my bed.
And then there's all the weeds and grass growing in the bed. Sigh. If we had completely separate raised beds I wouldn't be so cranky about it but honestly. Throwing seeds in anywhere without knowing how big they get... ludicrous in this sort of planting situation. Will see what it really is in the coming weeks.
Just realized I still haven't put the zinnia seeds out yet. Might do that tomorrow. Just sprinkle them around in the beds. Because I know how big they get and what I have planted there.
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