Garden 2009

IT IS SPRING!!!!!!!

I can not believe how much better I feel... even though I still have to bundle up a bit to do it, my gardening pants have dirty knees! I have dirt under my fingernails! My back is killing me!

I am so happy :)





So far:

I am working on plot #1... it is an area that used to (before my time) be a burn pile. We did not till it with the big tiller when we smoothed the orchard because it had grapes growing in it that I did not want to kill off. So, for the past couple of years, it has just been a tangled mound of grapes and blackberries in the middle of the yard.

Last fall, I dug up the grapes (and moved them) and then used part of the maple/oak tree leaf clean up to do a winter cover. You can see the part I covered... of course, once I started tilling, it was just not big enough, so part of the year has now been reclaimed... :)

The Lincoln log planter at the back has a story of its own. Dad was building a bunch for a client. I ended up with his prototype... not much left of the connectors, but hey... whatever works.

Sooo... after tilling (a lot more than planned), I moved t-posts from the back pasture to use as the basis for the living fences. It took me a couple of tries since I am 'straight line' challenged, but I finally got them in line and strung.

Everyone kept telling me "it does not matter if they are not straight"... seriously? Am I the only one who realizes the peas and beans are going to taste funny if they grow on a crooked structure?

Once the lines were strung, I planted the tatters... they are already sprouting, so I just snugged the peices into the soil and covered them in mulch. I will keep mounding the mulch as the plants grow... that way the tatters will grow into the softer mulch... easier to pick for the babies... mmmm... already can taste the fresh beans and baby tatters... with a little fresh rosemary and chive... mmmmmm...

Peas are in, beans will be going in today after a short soak in some warm water... :)

The planter is actually doing double duty this year. The tenant in the little house did not tell me that their septic was plugged... apparently for a looooong time. Instead of telling me so I could fix it, they simply opened the clean out pipe in the back yard and let EVERYTHING flow out into the yard... (yes.. I know... grrrrr). When they finally told us (because it was becoming hard to ignore), I hauled about 30 gallons of waste in buckets... (NOT a happy camper).

The big question became what to do with it all... soooo... the old fashioned way ( a story for another post).

The planter now has the first round of lettuce and radishes going... next round in two weeks.

For the front of the plot, I moved over the bricks we scavenged when we removed the old chimney from the little house. The are pretty neat... they have a circular middle cylinder and four little cells around that. I planted the herbs in the middles and then put panseys in the cells in the front. I have not decided what to put in the back cells... maybe some marigolds? Or more mint... not sure yet...