but i'm still digging & officially summer

still digging as in i finally got the raspberries planted. but first, the apple trees are in bloom!

this time the "grave" wasn't that deep as (i read) the raspberries rather like a raised bed.

the dog likes to dig, but is never any help in these garden projects. he has dug a nice, cool hole for himself to nap in..."why do you keep bothering me with that camera?"

for the bed i used regular garden soil (the one from the huge bag that i got delivered), added some spruce-rhodo -soil mix and bark mulch in an effort to make the bed more "organic and airy" ('cause that what's the book said how raspberries like it).

the raspberries i planted are all rubus idaeus, the one going in here is golden queen (a yellow variety), the three others were all maurin makes (mauri's sweet). this site explores finnish varieties of common garden cultivars, apples, plums, berries and such.

i decided to use the black plastic as cover as the book says it's the best way to avoid weeds with raspberries. i just do not like the look of it, might have to replace it to the landscape fabric and mulch combo. oh, the work never stops...

"and you never stop bothering me!"

took a minute to rest and enjoy the view.

the dog just enjoys.

elizabethian branches...

the corn...i tried this method last summer and we got an abundant (hah!) harvest. this year i placed the sacks in full sun, hoping that we'd get more than 3 cobs of corn. this particular sack is from biolan, but as their website doesn't list all of their products in english and the kekkilä website does...the sack contains garden peat and can be used as growing medium for all sorts of plants, and is great for soil improvement anywhere in the garden. (and no, neither of the companies are paying me anything.)

the great thing about these sacks is that the sun warms them nicely and that you really don't have to worry about watering too much as the sack prevents moisture from evaporating. right now they are almost soaking wet, i did make holes so that excess water can run out and the corn isn't drowned.

i did plant some potatoes...added some (rather smelly) stuff from the composter (the book says it's a good thing), it'll be interesting to see if anything comes up. obviously, this spot will need watering, at least in the beginning and, of course, as any gardener, i'm hoping for adequate rain that comes during the night, gently and without a storm,. one can dream...

this site explains (in finnish) how you should plant your potatoes.

after all the hard work, a drink was in order. i had so wanted a mojito, even bought mint for it, but had no limes! so had to do with organic lemon, so not the same as lime.

it was very refreshing none the same.

as the official start of summer, we grilled some chicken cutlets and had dinner on the deck.

there's been some "organizational restructuring" (how i hate those words) at work that resulted, among other, bigger things, in long hours (in every other period) for my unit. don't get me wrong, i'm all for change as i tend to bore quickly, but the "improvements" have gone badly south. personally, i find it extremely difficult to get up "early" and a couple of 8am to 7pm shifts in a row are killing me. luckily, they didn't touch our 4 days work/ 2 days off -schedule, my first day off is the day sleep seriously in... in general, people with knowledge and skills are not necessarily where they should be and in worst cases their skills aren't being utilized at all. when they are called for help, the common response is "this is not within my current job description and no, i have no idea who is doing it now". everyone is loosing, sad.