And we're back...

Some things learned in the last two or so months:

• Gardens are alive. You just can't leave them to themselves.
• Grass mulch eventually dries out and must be replenished periodically
• Eternal vigilance is the only weapon against the squash moth
• All the culinary herbs I really need to grow can go into two strawberry pots.
• If you follow the directions for building a proper compost heap, its interior will indeed get hot as billy blue blazes with beneficial microbes eating everything up
• Pollinator- attracting plants are crucial. Try to find native ones.
• Some weed block doesn't, very much

I didn't exactly ignore the garden through June and July, but it didn't get the nuturing it really needed, because I was doing the summer musical. I won't attempt both next year.

This last week has been a matter of pulling up old plants, amending the soil, working on the paths, setting up a better watering system with soaker hoses, re-constructing the compost heap and other chores to get ready for the next growing season.

Re-working the bed grids, trying to work out the plantings for Fall. I bought the new Square Foot Gardening and he says not to worry too much about rotation, but I planted squashes, all of which eventually succumbed to heat/pests, in random spots and don't want any cucurbits in those areas. I constructed a trellis of electrical conduit, rebar and netting according to the SFG plans and am anxious to see how they work. The wooden/plastic net trellises from spring are going on the back fence for perrenial vines.

Happy surprise- nasturtiums. The seeds were in a four pack that I bought for the moonflower and morning glories, so I planted them on a whim. They were delightful, with their clear green round leaves and their hot, bright blooms. They did get a little out of hand- they are vines, after all, but I did love them and will grow them again next year. The best thing about them was their scent. It is very much like a moonflower's - light and clean. But, unlike a moonflower, you can cut them and keep them in the house.

T/P: cantaloupe

Man's Greatest Temptation and Gardening

via The Cukierski Family Apostolate, an article from the Christian Homesteading Movement.
Bob at OC mentioned something similar yesterday, about the passion of politics. Sync...

I'm currently reading works from the Catholic Land Movement, which was active in England between WWI and WWII. Similar to the Agrarian Movement in the American South, it urged the return of unemployed industrial laborers to the land, where they could be self-supporting small land-holders or craftsmen, under the economic system of Distributism. As one thing leads to another, I need to start reading about that, as well...

One thing gardening teaches you- you are not in charge.

Journal May 18

Still WWW- though some things are beginning to produce. Beans, squash and nasturtiums, for example.
Took down the teepees- on second reading, I see that I planted all bush beans.

V. helped me move and turn the compost heap. We had to wait for a wind-less day. There's not much noticeable progress going on- too much brown, not enough green. I can remedy that with the addition of all the neighborhood's grass clippings. I'll probably set up another bin, halve the leaf/dried grass contents and mix well with fresh grass bags.

One problem is that I can't claim to be organic, since I don't know what people are putting on the lawns whose clippings I collect for mulch and compost. And I can't see myself knocking on doors at six in the morning: "Excuse me, but could you provide me with a list of the chemicals you or your yard guys use on your lawn? Oh, and if you could put the clippings in something other than those clear plastic bags, that would be swell. Thanks!"
But I'm not selling anything, so I guess it really doesn't matter.
I've mulched the paths to the point that it's like walking on sponge. But I plan to incorporate all the trodden on material in the beds later.

We've discovered where the bunnies are coming from. Not from down at the corner, where a family lives under the storage shed by the driveway, but from next door, where a family lives under the storage shed in the back yard.

I put up a toad house made of an old cachepot and a discarded pasta bowl, but no sign of an occupant yet. Both V. and Ro have seen one on the porch, so we'll keep waiting.

Everytime I look over my little homestead, it is a spirit-lifter.

Pretty Much Unbearable Cuteness, Garden-style

Mother's Day afternoon, Ro went out on a mysterious errand. When she came home, she rummaged around in the crafts cabinet and the sewing room, then locked herself in the garage, declaring it Off-Limits to Mom.
There was sawing and hammering and a little cursing. Finally, she called me out to the garden to see my present:
Isn't this wonderful?

I have the cleverest children. It's made of Goodwill cast-offs and scrap lumber with raffia hair, button eyes and a drawer-pull nose and is mounted on an old iron fence post. It got its baptism by rain yesterday and is still standing, because my theater tech daughter is an excellent carpenter.
And the birds are, indeed, staying out of the beds.
Thanks, sweetheart!

Progress So Far...

Baby vegetables-

I haz dem.

Various garden views

The Garden Shrine
yes, that's a recycled squirrel feeder.

Inspired by the urban gardeners in the last post, I decided to make an experimental container garden area, using deck stair stringers from the Bob Store (Lowe's) and left-over and/or scavenged lumber. The shortest shelf is 24", the longer ones are 30". They're cut to fit the length of the planters, also recycled/scavenged.

The stringers with 2x2" braces in placed. I did not want to attach this to the fence, so we added some 2x4" uprights. A better view of the shelves in place. The three narrow shelves are placed in the middle of the steps to give the planters more room on the back. The shelves were attached with a single screw on each side. I'd like to put in a plug for the ratchet screwdriver, my new best friend. The kids got to help put the screws in. We drilled the holes before they arrived, b/c while I do allow them to mess around in Sedona Sunset deck stain, I do not allow them to actually use power tools.One of the purposes of this project is to play around with different types of DIY underground watering systems. I have ollas in one of the garden beds and am trying to find a less expensive substitute. This is an unglazed terra-cotta rose pot. Notice that it has no drainage hole in the base. I'm using one of these in both the pumpkin tub and the tomato container, sinking them so that their tops are a little above the soil level. They'll be covered with a terra-cotta saucer of the proper size.

Other candidates are plastic water bottles and large plastic drink cups from the BBQ.

The shelf unit in place:

And with some planters:

I'm wondering if the space underneath could be used for a small-scale composting bin, if you added ran some boards along the sides of the stringers. I think that with a wood frame and some plastic sheeting, this could also make a little greenhouse for seed starting.

The top shelf is herbs. The middle two will be salad greens, radishes, possibly carrots. The bottom shelf will have a tomato, a pepper and an eggplant in single containers.

You go, urban growers!

Wonderful photo links via Rowdy Kittens, via Tiny Houses.

I am in awe of creative, resourceful people. My personal favorite is Yozza's three-story patio bed. Made of oak, no less.

And next to these intrepid folks, my backyard looks like forty acres and a mule.

Journal May 4

Ow, Ow, Ow. Stepped in a mess of fire ants today. Time to buy bait.
Picked up four bags of clippings on a swing through the neighborhood. It was slim pickins' as the weather pre-empted a lot of mowing, so if it clears up this week, next Monday should be great.
I love my rain gauge- according to it, we've had 5 1/2" inches since last Thursday.
Today- mulched with the grass, weeded. Finished de-sodding the new bed area in the NP,
added grass. Intend to add compost and dirt, once the dirt dries out.
Bagged up the weeds.
Fed the birds. V. pointed out a dead one under the feeder, so I buried it under the Althea bush.
Picked peas.
To do: finish bed in NP. Mulch flower beds. Repair statue niche. Hand new bird bath from NP fence.
Squash is up, and there are blossoms on the TP's.
Trying to come up with a format for these posts, so they're not a hodge-podge.

Reading "Flee to the Fields", papers from the Catholic Land Movement, which was active in England between the late '20's and the beginning of WWII. Interesting.