Rain. We wished for it, and it came in droves!! We have not been able to work the land since Sunday, and now it is Friday. We went to check out the situation yesterday since Toronto has had very little rain. WOAHHHH, 3 1/2 inches of rain has fallen since Sunday and all the gardens are under water!!! Now we can see the value of aised garden beds. Initially we did not raise the beds because we really needed to plant as soon as possible and we largely missed the planning phase (March-May), then we did not go for raised beds because we did not have the proper tools to create them quickly and easily. Well it is always good to learn something new. RAISE THE BEDS. I know that there are other reasons as well that raised beds are better. For instance:

• Raised beds warm more quickly in spring, allowing you to work the soil and plant earlier.
• Raised beds drain better.
• The soil in raised beds doesn't get compacted, because they are constructed with accessibility in mind.
• It's easy to tailor the soil for your raised bed to the plants you plan to grow there.
• After the initial construction process, raised beds require less maintenance than conventional garden beds.

from: http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/raisedbed.htm

As soon as we get in there I'll be tilling the weeds and raising the soil around the plants to increase drainage. Hopefully I'll be able to work the soil as of Tomorrow. Today we won't be waisting another trip up to the property for nothing.

Unlike tomatoes, lettuces love the water, so the lettuces are doing well. So are the weeds. Since all the gardens are in various degrees of tillage, it is easy to see that the ones which were left longer in order to kill off all the grass and weeds are MUCH less weedy. At least the Lettuces are turning over quickly so we'll get another chance soon to do it right. We also have to get our row covers out of storage so we can reduce the heat on the lettuces and also the bugs that are likely to find them as tasty as we do.

The potatoes are looking GREAT! They are so robust. Some of the soil has washed away from the roots though so we really have to get in there as soon as possible for proper maintenance.

And in Greenhouse news, we are still needing to complete the other end of the structure, get the furnace inside and put the plastic on. hopefully this will be completed this weekend, weather and help dependent.

Regarding accommodations, We have arranged with a friend who lives around the corner from the farm that we could move in with him for August 1st if the drama with the farm property continues past the court date on July 14th. (it was moved up) Thus we will be leaving Toronto regardless by August 1st!!! YAY. Lets hope the weather is more moderate this week. WE need a couple of hot sunny days to dry out the fields and then intermittant rain towards the end of the week until we figure out the irrigation situation.

Thanks Kindly for reading.
Sandra and Tamas Dombi