Barley gardener returns

As summer approaches, my wee gardening helper has been slacking in his duties. When I asked him over the weekend if he would like to water the garden, his response was, "I thought they looked dry. I told Dad he should water them, but it looks like he forgot".

When I tried to lure him out with the opportunity to wreak violence on aphids, my aphid-hunter looked up briefly from his video game, and said, "Umm, no thanks".

I planted one of the Earthboxes we got with a replacement tomato plant (our first one is all wilted and looks terminal), but could not entice either of my gardening helpers to get interested in the contents of the second one.

So, today, on our way OUT the door to cub scouts, he of course wanted to water the plants RIGHT THEN. I managed to persuade him to put down the watering can, and we would do it when we got home. I figured he would forget by then.

Well, he didn't. We filled the can halfway, and he sloshed water around the strawberry plants enough to dampen the earth. I made a mental note to water after him anytime he tells me he is done, as he did not water the blueberry bushes in the center, nor is half a can enough for all the plants. But he was proud and enthusiastic, and it was nice to have my little gardener back for a few minutes. He even inspected the rose bush, which is blooming like mad, and declared the lacewings must be doing their jobs, because he did not see any aphids on there!

We've managed to pluck a few teeny tiny red strawberries from the front. They were sweet, but about the size of raisins. I am hoping they will get bigger over time. There is one blueberry ripening also. I removed the flowers as they bloomed, as blueberry bushes do better if you force them to just grow roots their first 2 years. However, 2 buds got by me, and I thought we would see how they come out. Something must have gotten hungry, because one of them is missing now.