Something to Blog About
I was asking myself the other day, What do I have to blog about? Well, I figured it out. Duh. The Garden. *sheesh* It's only the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!
Don't mind me, I'm a little slow sometimes. Anyway, consider this the first of many posts about The Garden. I capitalize it because it's not just the vegetable beds I'm talking about. I am working towards creating a Garden of Eden, using the principles of permaculture, gleaned primarily from this book, Gaia's Garden. I could, and definitely will, talk in the future about the beauty of permaculture, but right now I want to revel in the joy of Spring, and if you'll forgive me the uncharacteristic behavior, share some of that with you.
Excerpted from a recent email I wrote:
...the gardening and yard work is in full swing and I am flush with spring. As my friend Karen put it, "the sap is running."
I think about it night and day, literally. I read up, make plans and drawings, dig, mulch, plant, mulch some more. I've already used a ton of planting mix (literally - got a truckload) to amend the garden beds old and new. Last year I started preparing a bunch of new beds by digging up and turning over the grass and/or laying a base of cardboard, dividing my kitchen compost between them, and finally mulching them deeply with leaves over the fall & winter.
I'm *very* pleased with the results. The one I did the most with, for the longest, last year is *perfect* - it didn't need any amendment. The shovel went right in and brought up beautiful dark soil full of fat worms. Doesn't get much better than that, especially considering that our native soil is about 95% clay hard-pan, utterly devoid of microbes and invertebrates and so hard some people actually use jackhammers on it. All that from piling scraps on it! Yay for
permaculture.
I find that I can't wait every day to get outside and do something with the yard. While I'm working I don't feel tired or hungry or hot or depressed. I totally lose track of time and have been late to pick up my daughter more than once because I was so absorbed in digging holes or
some-such.
I built another trellis onto the patio next to the front door, so that side is mostly enclosed now. It shades more of the patio and also shields some of the mess of kids' toys and things from the entry. When it comes to my landscaping, I'm not afraid of heights or power tools, of work or sweat. It's all a joy.
Pictures coming soon...
Don't mind me, I'm a little slow sometimes. Anyway, consider this the first of many posts about The Garden. I capitalize it because it's not just the vegetable beds I'm talking about. I am working towards creating a Garden of Eden, using the principles of permaculture, gleaned primarily from this book, Gaia's Garden. I could, and definitely will, talk in the future about the beauty of permaculture, but right now I want to revel in the joy of Spring, and if you'll forgive me the uncharacteristic behavior, share some of that with you.
Excerpted from a recent email I wrote:
...the gardening and yard work is in full swing and I am flush with spring. As my friend Karen put it, "the sap is running."
I think about it night and day, literally. I read up, make plans and drawings, dig, mulch, plant, mulch some more. I've already used a ton of planting mix (literally - got a truckload) to amend the garden beds old and new. Last year I started preparing a bunch of new beds by digging up and turning over the grass and/or laying a base of cardboard, dividing my kitchen compost between them, and finally mulching them deeply with leaves over the fall & winter.
I'm *very* pleased with the results. The one I did the most with, for the longest, last year is *perfect* - it didn't need any amendment. The shovel went right in and brought up beautiful dark soil full of fat worms. Doesn't get much better than that, especially considering that our native soil is about 95% clay hard-pan, utterly devoid of microbes and invertebrates and so hard some people actually use jackhammers on it. All that from piling scraps on it! Yay for
permaculture.
I find that I can't wait every day to get outside and do something with the yard. While I'm working I don't feel tired or hungry or hot or depressed. I totally lose track of time and have been late to pick up my daughter more than once because I was so absorbed in digging holes or
some-such.
I built another trellis onto the patio next to the front door, so that side is mostly enclosed now. It shades more of the patio and also shields some of the mess of kids' toys and things from the entry. When it comes to my landscaping, I'm not afraid of heights or power tools, of work or sweat. It's all a joy.
Pictures coming soon...
posted by Cranberry | 12:52 PM
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