Progress

We opened our Wilderness garden one decade ago so that garlic could be planted in soil free of pathogens from the deadly disease that nearly destroyed our entire crop.  Written references  to that situation indicated that our garden near home would always carry the seeds of that illness.  New garlic was purchased and we have been able to grow healthy garlic here ever since.

Eight planting beds were planned but two of them remain undeveloped.  It seems that more than can be completed is always part of the plan.  The soil near the house contains many broken stones that can be used to build decent safe paths but here the soil was more finely ground by the glaciers with the desired small flat stones mostly missing.  With planting beds needing attention this central path was more of a stone dump than a safe place to walk.

Earlier this year Becky attempted to enter the garden crossing the weed filled jumble of stones that filled this area them.  A stone of some size caught the end of her foot throwing her toward the ground.  A steel pipe had been driven into the ground to mark the edge of the planting bed.  Becky fell  heading directly toward that pipe.  Some combination of luck and skill resulted in the pipe end barely grazing the side of her head.  No blood was drawn and we will not mention the contents of my pants as I stood behind her helplessly.  The pipe was pulled that day and this proper end of the path was built yesterday.  A load of junk stone has been removed but small flat stones are still needed to finish this job.  For now the end stones have been solidly placed with absolutely no wiggle.  Small flat stones will be placed on top of the path as they become available.  No steel rods now reach for the sky and they will always be removed before I leave the job.  The white plastic pipe near the fence serves as the hinge for the gate.  It is totally encased by the bent fence and is a hazard to no one.

Here we see the boundary between a bed that has been fallow but weed filled.  Believe it or not these weeds are rather small since this bed has been already cleared this year.  The adjacent bed has been repeatedly covered with grass clippings and the weeds are removable using only hand tools.  As of today the planting bed is totally free of weeds from end to end.  Screened manure would have been spread here today had the early morning lightening and rain not altered our plans.  This ground will be frequently enriched and hand tilled between now and mid-October when the garlic is returned to the ground.

Here are our tools of choice.  All of the weeds on the pile in the background were carried there using the purple trug.  The American made Cobra Head hand cultivator follows the spade that only loosens the weeds.  Gloves protect Becky's hands with an ample supply of water close by.

This wild location at the base of a wooded slope is developing as planned.  In response to reading two sentences written by John Burroughs describing his search for the seldom seen in this area Cardinal Flower, I have spent many years trying to find a location that will support this plant without further help from me.  The raised road to the gravel bank traps the water that moves down the hill in the background.  Cardinal Flower needs generous amounts of water in order to survive.  This hill slopes toward he north delaying the early plant growth that so often freezes out both here and in Burrough's Catskills.  Lingering snow cover protects the tender green growth that has been under the snow for the entire winter.  Our garden plants have been severely hammered by this year's drought.  Short stems bearing few flowers are all that we find in our there.  Many early spring visits will be made here to check the progress of these plants next year.

I Feel The Need...

 The snow outside reminds me of the old  song, "I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor ... " . We are slowly approaching "Oh heck. I'm up to my neck."  I look out over the snow covered garden and I feel the need, the need to weed!  I found just what I needed. Wood sorrel, one of the weeds that I battle in the garden every year, was growing in my pot of society garlic.  I got my garden claw and nippers.  I hardly needed big tools for the tiny weeds, but it was my happiness that was the issue here.  I purposely left the gloves in my garden cart. I wanted to get my hands dirty and some dirt under my nails.

There's not a lot of dirt in the pot, but I did get my hands a little dirty and a little bit of dirt under my nails.  I also found scale on the plant.  I can't tell you the satisfaction I felt scraping those little suckers off the plant with my fingernails.  I know the house plant experts say to toss a plant that has scale, but this plant was a Mother's Day gift and I have had it for years.

I left the plant looking like this.  It thanked me by releasing its scent when I watered it. It's not an aroma I would dab behind my ears, but I loved it just the same.  I'm sure I didn't kill all the scale on this plant, but the weeds are gone. The plant is trimmed.  I don't know if the plant feels better, but I know I do.  As for the scale,  "I'll be back!"

Sometimes Rain Spoils The Kiddie's Fun

I enjoyed my morning coffee this morning watching this mother turkey and her three babies.  It's easy to see these birds since Mom thinks she lives here. In fact she spends nearly all her time within our sight out one window or another.  She is very wary however and notices even small movements inside the house.  She issues a couple of clucks at the slightest provocation and the three babies scatter pronto.

Sometimes they run, sometimes they fly, sometimes they fall all over each other.  Generally it is a bad idea to name wild animals but never the less these three have been tagged with Larry, Moe and Curly in no particular order since I can't tell them apart.  The names just fit since since the youngsters frequently run into each other!

I love an overcast day for working in the garden and Ed and I decided to go down and work on the flowerbed by the road.  To people who speed by at 50 plus miles an hour, I'm sure this bed looks perfect. The masses of color are great.  However the gardener knows that weeds are always moving in by land, creeping rhizomes, by wind, especially dandelions, and by aerial bombardment.  Birds eat berries and drop already well fertilized seed.  It was a delightful morning rescuing all that beauty from the intruders.  That nasty grass that you see in the foreground of this picture is no longer there.

Garden beds and pasture grass are not good neighbors.  Coarse grass quickly reclaims garden soil as its own.  The deep mulch moat that surrounds the bed is intended to make the invaders easy to remove.  That is proving to be the case.  The grass rhizomes can be removed intact before they reach the planted area.  Weeds from seed also can be pulled complete with all roots still attached.  Hand weeding is required but the job is easily completed working the deep loose mulch.

I was happily working on the west side of the bed and Ed worked on the other side.   I was having a wonderful time.  We had just enough rain overnight so that the weeding was going great.

Ed was working on the other side of the bed.  I was oblivious, but he saw the rain coming.  At first I didn't think much about the few raindrops, but by the time I realized what was coming, it was too late.  Ed and I are accustomed to wearing white to work in the garden and today was no different.  By the time we had gathered our tools together, we were both soaked to the skin with our clothes clinging and relatively transparent.  Both of us are long past the age where participation in a wet T shirt contest is a great idea.  Fortunately there was no sign of the neighbors and a lull in passing traffic!  We headed up the hill to the house and a change into dry clothes.  We are getting more rain now so the kiddie's fun is likely over for today.  It was great while it lasted!

Warming To Weeding

Last fall when Ed finished weeding one of the garden beds, we decided to put down a double layer of clear plastic over part of the bed.  I'm sure I remember watching the Victory garden and hearing about doing this to heat up the soil .  As I peered through the wet plastic it was clear to me that something was growing very well under there.

When we flipped back the plastic, lush green plant growth was revealed.

I got my glasses and looked closely at the plants in this bed searching for something good.  What I found was  some shepherds' purse, a bunch of dead nettles that arrived here from somewhere last year and seem determined to take over the place, and some of my least favorite weeds whose proper names I do not know. The  names I call them cannot be printed here.

Meanwhile Ed was working on the area where we plant our early spinach,  lettuce and beets.  The metal barrier along with galvanized cages is our attempt to protect our delicious crops from the wildlife.   Ed's beds all prepared for  planting are a beautiful spring sight here!

We moved the plastic over to this bed to warm the soil in Ed's newly prepared garden bed.

The all clear had been sounded.  Everything in this bed was officially declared a weed.  There is something very satisfying to be able to get in there and just weed everything out of a bed until nothing but beautiful planting soil remains.  When Ed finished weeding,  he placed wire mesh over this newly prepared bed.  This helps to  prevent the local wildlife and the neighbor's cat from walking on, rolling in or leaving unwelcome presents buried in the newly prepared soil.

The sun is shining today, but the wind is chilling. This morning  I spotted a bluebird sitting on a post in the garden. It was a female. The brilliant blue of the male flashed by and I watched as they checked out the houses just south of the garden.  They took turns peering in the hole of first one then the other next box.  After that, they flew together to the shade garden tree.  I sure hope they settle here.  Perhaps I will bundle up and go out to see if a little more weeding progress can be made.  Of course if the wind is still cold , it will blow me right back into the warmth of the house.  

A Glorious Gardening Day

This morning with the time change we were a little late getting going, but by the time we did head outside the day was gloriously warm.  I was delighted to find this single winter aconite in bloom.  It is the very first bit of  bright color to show in the garden.  Why only one of twelve bulbs planted remains is an unanswered question.  We will replant this fall.

 I worked on cleaning up the bed in front of the house, and Ed tackled the job of  removing weeds from this bed of emerging bulbs. He removed a huge catnip from this spot. I didn't think it could be done, but he did it. The bulbs don't even look like they have been disturbed.

It was  a heated  battle, weeds and grass had made serious inroads into this area.  Ed is a well motivated and persistent weeder. When he is finished the beds always  look fantastic.  A top dressing of compost and duff replaced the soil that was removed with the weeds.  He watered the disturbed plants and headed off to attack another spot in the garden.

The sun was down and the light dwindling when Ed finally came in from the garden. He'll have to rest up tonight because tomorrow looks like another glorious gardening day!