And the garden is watered!

 Finally! The weather was not heinous, nor rainy, had an earlier appointment and decided not to cook anything so voila! I got out to the garden!

Yesterday it was clear blue skies but then the wind came up later in the day and I thought....aha... and sure enough, partly cloudy with moderate temperatures, perfect for gardening! I think I'm going to put garden gloves on my Christmas list this year. I've got the kitchen gloves but they're too small and more of a hassle to use. I was wandering through a Hallmark Crown store (lots more than just ornaments and cards now) and there was a little garden gift section. Some really sturdy looking green and terra cotta rubber gloves caught my eye and ... price was what you would expect. But apparently... they think only women with small to medium hands garden. They were pretty good too but not my size or price point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay for a hose that stretches all the way to my bed! I've learned a few tricks for unwinding the coils and winding them back up again rather than looking like I'm playing jump rope just roll it off my hands. One of the things I did was make sure that jade bush got some water. I doubt the amount I gave it would make any difference but if I do it every week it will appreciate it I'm sure. As well as any critters that might be making a home under there. 

So product review so far, this is the Husky 50' 5/8" garden hose and I already like the super sturdy couplings on either end. The hose itself is nothing unusual for the type it is but feels more sturdy than previous ones. Husky is not a bad product line and is the 'house' brand for HD, I kept the cardboard wrap that was on it and the receipt... oh did I  mention I found the box for the previous Aquajoe hose in the cupboard, with the receipt? Yeah, those went to the recycling bin now. 

First pass with watering. Doesn't look like much and you'd think watering really well the soil would be wet further down....nope. I cycled through all three beds for about a half hour because they were all that dry.

This was after two soakings and the soil was only wet maybe a half inch down. Soaking, as in watering until the entire surface was flooded, then move on to the other two beds and come back and do it again. Wow. Going to check them tomorrow of course, but the West in ground bed was perfectly fine, and the South bed needed a third soaking but that is now in the shade most of the day so that won't need watering as much. I will definitely hit that raised bed again sometime this week because it needs to be moist all the way down. I had dumped a generous amount of fertilizer on all the beds so with the watering and using the cultivator on that raised bed, there is good fertilizer all through that soil. I just checked and I have enough money left on the gift card for a large back of raised bedding soil, yay! I am rightfully reluctant to shop there on a weekend so will try and get there in the next week or so. No rush on that, not like I can spend that money like it was cash and I don't have anything ready to plant either. On one of these trips out and back I'll try and stop by the library and see what seeds they have I might be able to use.  

It's still a bit of a chore pulling out the hose and then rolling it back up again, there are portable hose reels of course and some that are even hand held, that would be a bonus for sure. I'll make do with what I've got. Like ya do.