Green and Black

Hello. Me here in the garden again. I've fallen in love with a little square of dirt. It must have a million worms in it. Everytime I plant something I unearth a big glob of wriggling squigglers. I read that this is a good thing. I wouldn't have believed I could feel such fondness for worms until this week. Now I get it. Tunnel on, ladies.

This is actually my second vegetable garden. Our first was in the yard of our apartment building in Missoula, back in 1996 or so. It was a little smaller than this one, about six feet square. Andy and I dug it out of a back corner of the lawn. Our landlord told us to go for it. He was probably laughing to himself when he said it. The yard was huge, and edged with ancient lilac trees. No one ever used it. We were younger and skinnier and less-tired back then. I had one book on gardening (that I bought at Freddy's Fead and Read, if anyone remembers that place) and it said to double dig. I don't remember what that means, exactly, but we did that. The square was filled with rocks. I think it was more rocks than dirt. We put in a rock border. We planted strawberries and peas. We sat out there daily and watched it all grow. I loathed my job (I was a publications and marketing assistant for a managed-care company) with the white-hot passion of a thousand suns, then. Every morning before work I'd go out there to the little garden and cry.

This year the timing was perfect. I am free for the first time in months to take a few days off and really dig in. The majority of work that we had to do to this property just to get to a "clean slate" both front and back is done. Spinach and tulips, a veggie garden — they feel like a flourish, icing on a compost cupcake it's taken years to bake.

This past week I got a bale of hay from the feed store. Actually, Andy got it, and I just went with him. Bewildered by the sheer size and weight of a real, live [enormous] bale of hay, he was unsure how to pick it up to put it in the truck, and wound up tipping it vertical then bear-hugging it, lifting it four inches off the ground, hobbling with it quickly across the parking lot, then hurling it desperately into the bed of the truck. I would have taken a picture of this but I was doubled over, laughing and pointing. When we went in to pay for the hay, Andy said to the strapping farm youth manning the register, "That was a lot heavier than I thought! Don't cowboys usually just lift that thing with one hand and throw it over their shoulder?" And the strapping farm youth was like, "Well, I usually use two hands." And I was over in the corner by the baby chicks, sputtering.

When we got home I spread the hay out over a small area around the spinach, then decided I missed the look of the dirt, and a couple of people had suggested that hay would fill the garden with weeds (thank you!). So I wound up donating the bale to my niece and nephew's bunnies. When my brother-in-law saw how much hay we had, and how much hay I'd used (about two square feet), then it was my turn to be laughed and pointed at.

I looked at my giant, frowsy hay bale, shedding alfalfa all over the driveway, and sadly waved goodbye to it. But it was fun while it lasted, and I kept a little patch of it, just for that yummy hayish smell. I'll pull the weeds, I don't care.

We dilettantes take it where we can get it.

The weather reverted to cold, and everything I planted last week seems rather stunted and unsure. Andy finished his wood shed and he got the wood moved off of its splintery, tumbling pile and into its nice little house. Willow fencing went up on all of the chain-link boundaries. Unfortunately, it does nothing to shield us from the volume of our new neighbors' band practice, noise I might have thought was cool fifteen years ago but which now just makes my head hurt.

I wish it was a bluegrass band.

You know what I mean?

Comments

[Carol]

Wow! It's looking great! I love the little garden fencing.

[Leslie]

i know exactly what you mean :) at least you have a slice of gorgeous to look at/sit in while the cacophony ensues?

[Norma]

Oh I like your little garden and love your yard. It was a great weekend to be out in the yard. We had a great time getting the yard all pretty. Take care. :)

[alexia]

Staw is lighter than Hay, and that is what you should use to keep the weeds down and help keep the ground moist, staw is also used when seeding grass. Hay is for feeding animals. Your plants look great and has insired me to put my containers in groupings.

[wndl]

seconding what alexia said about the straw. you want to use that instead, as it's sterile and won't sprout!

[kyrie]

hahaha! I wish my neighbors had a bluegrass band instead of very yappy dogs. that would be awesome. :)

[Bonnie]

Lovely garden. A tip on your musical neighbors. Play opera at the same decibel level and they should get the message. I did this when my neighbors(whom I really liked) were playing the same kind of music as yours. They understood within two days. Have a beautiful day.

[Sally]

Ditto the last comment - you want straw, not hay. Think bedding material in a barn - it's straw. Hay is dried grass and will make grass grow like mad in your little garden.

I LOVED your story about the hay bale though! I had the best imagery, because my husband and I had a very similar experience with a straw bale that we got when we first got chickens. It was out at Linton Feed Store (on our way home from Sauvie Island), and the strapping farm boy behind the register pointed us in the direction of the truck that was full of straw and told us to go get it... The bale was so big, it barely fit in the back of our little SUV. And watching my husband heave it out of the truck and into our car was hilarious.

Ahh, the things we city folk do! :)

Your garden looks delightful!

If it stays cold, you might also try keeping your tender veggies warmer with either plastic or, if you can find them, glass cloches (?). Bell shaped glass things that go over your plants to give them a little greenhouse feel.

Happy gardening!!!

[Emily]

"Compost Cupcake"...my favorite image. I'm going to picture it all day here at work, wishing I was home with my terra cotta pots and new geraniums.

[Joanna]

Ooh Nasturtium! One of my favorites garden multitaskers! We plant it so that it cascades down over the sides of our raised beds. I think its flat, round leaves are as beautiful as the flowers (which are edible!)Plus the bright pops of color from the flowers are so much nicer to look at than the wood walls of the raised beds!! Happy gardening!

[sarah k.]

Your garden is all sorts of beautiful. I have a squirrel problem, so the garden isn't quite up and running. So I'm wicked jealous.

[Kate]

I can't tell you how many times I've thought about your garden/patio area since first seeing photos of it on your blog. It's just so darn comfy-looking and inviting.
Thanks for your inspiring work!

[Gloria Waggoner]

Alicia,
You may already know this, but fine bark mulch is the best to use to keep down weeds (it will decompose into the soil over time acting as compost.) I hope you are gardening in an organic manner, so use fish emulsion or seaweed for food. No Miracle Grow, no synthetic nitrogen (a petroleum product which pollutes rivers and water sources), no conventional plant food. Miracle Grow prevents roots from absorbing nutrients.
Earth worms are an indicator of how healthy your soil is and will only stay that way with no use of pesticides and herbicides which kill all the living and nutritional parts of the soil.
If you have problems with mildew, use 1 part skim milk to 7 parts water. This works better than any conventional fungicides (which are so toxic.) Coffee grounds spread around the perimeter of plants deter slugs, as does spraying the leaves with regular coffee.
Encourage beneficial insects such as Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, and Lacewings. Be able to identify them in each of their growth stages, so you do not kill the larvae which are pretty ugly.
Corn gluten for pre emergent weed and feed for lawns. It is non toxic, and feeds the soil. Clover Meadow will be safe. (if your neighbors use chemicals, you might want to wash off her paws after her walks.)
I suggest purchasing the magazine, Organic Gardening. It is chock full of great organic and safe tips for all types of gardens. Let me know if you have other questions as I have been organic for 30+ years and continue to study this method. I work totally with Nature and have gardened successfully on both sides of the USA.

Best regards. Continued thanks for your beautiful blog which is such a gift.
Gloria

[Lisa]

Very Nice!!!!

[PamperingBeki]

You play the spoons, I'll play the washboard. :)

Love all the green!

[Julie]

I know exactly what you mean. We had the same sort of music-loving neighbors across the street for many years. One day the 4-year-old girlie next door said to me as the band started playing, "Those are Mommy's and Daddy's favorite neighbors." I would have bet the tone that was said by her parents was nothing like the tone she used! :D

Once again I marvel as I read your charmed way of telling a story. Such giftedness! Always a joy coming here!

[Rho]

Oh it all looks so yummy and British-what is that, Pea Gravel? And that willowbordering is too cute! The Fairies will love it at your summer Fetes...

[Elaine/MuddlingThrough]

I'm so glad you're enjoying your garden. I've just come in from working (piddling) in mine. Ah, dirt therapy! There's just nothing like it.

[Jenny]

Your garden is just lovely, especially the border! I've never seen such a cute fence around a garden. I love it.

[Nikki]

Your yard looks amazing! You really did a wonderful job. I can picture sitting out there all day every day just taking it all in. I can't wait to see updates of it throughout the season.

[Michelle]

Your sweet garden is lovely. It's amazing what can be grown in such a small little plot. I've been reading Square Foot Gardening...it looks like maybe you have too?!

[The Antidote]

What a lot of hard work you have put into your little garden x

[Whistlepea]

I'm just starting my first veggie garden. I planted the seeds for zucchini, cucumber, leeks, red and orange peppers, hubbard and butternut squash and I can't believe they're all sprouting! I have no idea what to do next but I'm thrilled. Nevermind that it's still freezing here in the prairies. I am coming to Portland in June to suck up some of your glorious weather!

[Susan A]

Hi Alicia, We have loads of earthworms in our yard, I think due to fertilizing with healthier stuff and not using pesticides. We also have a worm bin to compost our kitchen scraps into fertilizer for our plants. It used red worms - a different type than the earthworms in soil. If you like earthworms, you might like doing a worm bin! Have a great day! Susan

[Laura]

I love your little garden. It is so cute! I have used hay and straw in the past and both left me with so many weeds it was scary.
I feel your pain with the neighbor. I just finished having a 7ft tall privacy fence installed and it is great for keeping prying eyes out...but does nothing to help the noise. Luckily, my iPod can go with me out to the garden. :-)
Blessings
~*~