The End

Wow! I can’t believe I am still actually working in Big Garden – all the way to “The End” instead of just

What A Difference A Week Makes

I didn’t want to admit it, but before I had that moment of clarity that explained my reluctance to face Big Garden, I didn’t think I would ever see it like this again.

I probably should have taken a ‘before’ to fully explain the difference. Maybe I should interview my new neighbors who moved in last fall when it was at its worst and see IF they ever thought it would look this tidy?!

 

Surely not, if even I lacked faith!

Last weekend, I was still battling with the clean up after tilling and reforming the beds and the paths plus the weeds. After Saturday, everything is in but the marigold seedlings.

What you see in the foreground are the chives bordering the left side – the marigolds go in between. The first dirt beds are arugula on the right and heat wave mesclun on the left with okra to their left followed by the asparagus bed that has ended for the season. Behind them are  the tomatoes and just beyond on the right are the new blackberries with the triangular herbs surrounding the chives/alium diamond. (Still need to convince MacGuyver to make that tutuer I found on Pinterest to replace the defunct bird path.)

This behind the scene shot shows the backside of Big Garden where the sprawling crops grow. Stage right is the pumpkin patch; its’ 10′ x 12′ bed (I am adjusting measurements as I realize I have under-estimated in some cases) probably isn’t really big enough for the 5 varieties I have sown, but we will make it work. We typically get a nice number of pumpkins – not enough to sell, but more that we would ever buy and we have a fun Halloween display.

To the left is where the corn – always Silver Queen – was sown last night. We had a three-man team working this and it was the most pleasant experience to date. Usually, it is back-breaking! Significant Other (he is only really interested in the Better Boys and the Silver Queens) put in sticks at each end at 2′ intervals and then laid a tape measure between so that Thing Two could use the dibber to make holes every 6 inches. ‘SO’/MacGuyver  dropped a seed and then I, suddenly and unceremoniously  referred to as ‘Dirt Woman’ (really, no reference to my Kindle book list, I swear!) plopped loose dirt over each hole. We got 232 seeds sown in no time.

And just to the left of that bed are the squashes and melons:  acorn and spaghetti squash, zucchini, and cantaloupe and a yellow watermelon.

The two back edges that are not the corn bed will be bordered with REALLY tall sunflowers – 12-18 feet. When and where did I purchase those seeds? Insane!

What you can’t see if the left half of the front beds. More to come…

Weeds Whacked

The help I expected to get with turning weeds into dust didn’t quite materialize but I did get my cuppa joe delivery… Next, my sons were offered up to do the chore but their OCD tendencies are still in development. I knew this would have to be my job… But, Thing Two did offer to fill the weed whipper with its particular fuel blend, prime it, and get it started for me.

I am fairly new to using this particular tool but I have been taught to try to cut from the two o’clock side so the weeds blow away with the counter-clockwise motion. It was suggested I also tilt the head a little to get under the dead weeds in order to truly pulverize them.

And for the most part, I did just that.

When the motor sputters and dies, I realize I am out of fuel and Thing Two tells me he used all of the mix available. I call Donny for advice only to have him tell me he will concoct the gas/oil cocktail when he gets back from purchasing an edger. (I am so excited he is adding a new tool to our collection; maybe I CAN get those plastic borders sunk in far enough to stay there now…).

Heading to the pool to dip, I rinse under the shower and take a look at the debris on my legs. Sure, I’d felt things hitting me, and while not pleasant, I’d still been determined to whack those weeds, kinda like Lady Macbeth washing her hands…

Once rinsed, I recognized that I had a cut just below my knew – perhaps a stick had hit me? It stung a little but no big deal. I got in the pool and floated, and then decided to sit reading while I waited for my gasoline bartender to return.

It was then, as I toweled off and sat on a lounge chair that I truly looked at my legs. It looked like I had Chicken Pox – there were  30 – 40 red dot welts on both my calves and lower thighs. Pretty much everywhere my boys’ swim trunks didn’t cover. Hubby’s response, upon return, “That’s why I wear boots…” Yeah, right, I’d have needed porn-star over-the-knee boots. Wouldn’t that just complete my gardening ‘look’?

Making Raised Beds

My significant other doesn’t help with Big Garden much but he can be counted on to do the tilling and today, he got up and went to his father’s to borrow their tiller. By the time I got up after sleeping in (he forgot to bring me my coffee – to my bed – something I trained him to do years ago), the beds were all tilled but the dead weeds in the pathways still need much work.

Since I was functioning without caffeine, I didn’t immediately notice that one of my Better Boy tomatoes had disappeared and found itself planted in a white 5 gallon bucked inside the pool fence! Can I call it or what?! This is what being with someone for 25 years does…

Now it was up to me to pull all the loosened dirt into the squares, rectangles, triangles, and diamonds that make up the layout of the garden.

I am realizing from this picture that I need to pull compost gold out and add to the beds as the piles of dirt are dwindling. (Since I wasn’t there for the tilling, I didn’t get to direct how deep and wide to go, but compost is always a good addition!)

While I work on that, Donny says he will weed whip the dried up weeds into non-existence in the pathways.

Hopefully, we will get the tomatoes and peppers in tomorrow as well as cut back the rest of the chives – working on that theory that their smell will deter deer. I did spray the borders with Liquid Fence and found a shaker can of Deer Away to try too.

I got an email from Burpee that my seeds shipped Friday, so it will be evenings this week when I get the corn in.

Still and all, we are a little ahead of most years. If I get everything planted, next weekend is all about tearing apart that perennial border.

You’d Avoid It Too

This gallery contains 3 photos.

To be frank, I have never been really satisfied with the border that faces Big Garden and I have struggled with trying many different plants in it. Some have passed on and more are about to do the same. Here … Continue reading →

A Garden Renewed: The Challenge

What needs to happen is this: 1- Dig up and divide the keepers: tiger lilies, irises, coreopsis (the tickweed kind, which is spreading, but the yellow flowers are worth it), liatris – if there are any left under the Campanula … Continue reading →

A Garden Renewed: An Inspiration

I have fallen out of blogging about my garden and have felt uninspired to continue. I have even lost faith in my desire to garden. All of this has been perplexing to me since I have always loved to be … Continue reading →