Watermelon has a rather humble start.
The three narrow center trays represent 3 varieties, 150 plants and, hopefully, about 300 watermelon. enough for a week to 10 days.
they require really warm soil to germinate so i start them on a heat mat, then transplant them.
my mouth waters just thinking about them.

i was biking home from a job around noon today, and a woman in a black suburban stopped me; i thought she was asking for directions...she said, i want to give you this. it was a little wad of money. i asked, what for?. she- i just feel like i should give it to you. i - i'm not poor, i'm riding my bike because i want to ride my bike. i didnt take the money. it was a wierd feeling. i was wonderfully dirty, and in work cloths as i had helped with some chain saw work south of delano, and brought my bike as a means of escape since i'm very handy with a saw and i knew they would try to keep me much longer than i desired, and i do have my own work to do even if rain is inevetable. and they did try to keep me longer, and i did manage to escape...
so i was dirty, very, and i had been on the end of a saw for a few hours, and i was biking into quite a wind and it was past noon so i was about as hungry as a bear, so i can kind of understand her conclusion and i only wish i had gone into marketing mode; for example; if you want to help me, buy produce just up the road at Peterson produce.
or; if you want to help someone, google artandes and click on communidad, then paypal.
maybe next time.
and maybe i should ride around more in my work clothes.

yesterday, 5/5, the sweet corn began to emerge.
this spring seems really early and warm, however, that's only a few days ahead of last year.

strawberry blossoms are beginning to show up
its very exciting!!

the sweet corn germinated in under a week. i have never ever ever had it germinate that quickly this time of year.

I planted 5 varieties of sweet corn today. It seems a lot earlier than normal. Not by the calender; last year I started 4/22. The soil, the land, is ahead; dryer and warmer than usual for this time of the year. The ground really worked up and planted well.
A nice little rain would be perfect now.