Status

Well, after a wet weekend (mainly Sunday), I decided to check the status of my garden. It appears that my efforts have borne out some decent results. We have received about an inch and three quarters of rain from Thursday through Sunday evening. There were pretty strong winds on Thursday but were calm the rest of the duration. When I ventured out into the garden, the first thing I noticed was that the ground I was walking on was quite saturated. I don't believe this was due to the recent rains but rather from the cumulative effects of the many storms over the past few weeks. There is only so much rain the ground can absorb. And the future forecasts are indicating we should have three rainy days in the next five.
So, I first checked the tomato bed where I put the plastic on an incline to divert the water. When I exposed a portion of the bed, it became immediately apparent as can be seen below that my efforts were worth it. I don't think I will keep the plastic on the bed long term but rather until I transplant the tomatoes probably round mid-May. I might incline the soil in the bed a little to divert some of the water but time will tell. Right now though, I'll keep it covered to prevent weeds from populating the bed.

Next. I checked the row cover and cloches in the bed where I planted Spinach and Bibb Lettuce. The bed underneath the row cover as well as the soil under the cloches were wet from when I watered them Thursday but neither showed any signs of water saturation. Another good sign. I hope that the seeds will germinate and I can get some good crops from them. Here is what I found under the tunnel.

The peas are rolling along although I do have to be aware that even on an overcast day, the cloches have to be vented as the air can get quite warm in them. They all seem to have had a growth spurt and may be ready to come out from under the cloches. I'll keep an eye on them this week and decide when to uncover them.
I have lots going on in the greenhouse presently. Yesterday, while it was raining, I started 36 cantaloupe seeds in my greenhouse. It's always pretty warm in there so I don't mind doing the work. I've been cleaning out some of the old plants as they are past their peak production periods. I'm trying to move more of the plants out in the garden but that will have to wait a little while longer until the weather settles into Spring. It's supposed to hit 75 on Sunday but then take a small dive after that. But again, I only count on about two days out with any forecast. 
Well, that's all I have at this time. I'm going to continue with the coverings and such for the foreseeable future. I will be keeping an eye on everything and begin removing them once the weather settles down. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!