March 25, 2019
I got a row of peas planted, in spite of my wife bringing home an 8 week old Golden retriever puppy, and asking me to babysit it in the garden. The puppy's name is Anny, and my garden may never be the same. She thoroughly enjoyed running up and down the bird netted trellis, barking and biting at it. She had never been on dirt before, so when she discovered that she could dig, she proceeded with gusto and abandon. Sticks were also new to her, and the hollyhock ones are abundant. She chewed them and spit them out, shaking her head to remove the pieces. Blackberry vines were her favorite, even though the leaves have thorns..
The way she waddled along behind me on the pathways was precious, and reminded me of an imprinted ducking following it's mama. I had to put one of my wire hoop tunnels over her in order to get the peas planted, but she thought it was a great game. I found a sheltered spot and sat down with her. When she fell asleep I tiptoed away and fish emulshioned my Cole crops. Fun day..
March 26, 2019
The overwintered kale is producing an abundance of tender young leaves. Having an established root system allows it to concentrate it's growth above ground. The trick to successful overwintering is to get the plant to a mature enough stage that it can go dormant without decomposing. In the middle of winter it looks uneditable, with leaves in various shades of purple, green and gold. It's an interesting visual asset that contributes to garden structure, and the birds tend to leave it alone..
Our mild winter took less of a tole on them this year and they are ahead of schedule. Also the Fawn Lillie's flowers are abundant this year, before any Shooting Stars have shown up. This is atypical, as usually Shooting Stars have overwhelmed the landscape before any Fawn Lillie's arrive. This could be another sign of an unusually warm winter..
March 27, 2019
The ripping, tearing sound that the weed's roots make when letting go of the ground is delightful. I don't know if I detect it more with my ears or with my hands. It sounds and feels like shredding newspaper. If I hear a popping sound it means the weed has broken off from it's roots and I'm not always sure that it won't grow back. I learned that part of the reason I like to keep the top soil loose and fluffy is so that I can be rewarded by getting all the weeds roots to come out..
Hand weeding also puts you on your knees, which is where you should be, figuratively, at all times. Us older gardeners usually learn thankfulness because just being here is winning. Young gardeners should grasp tenaciously all the gifts of an active life, and cherish their abundance of energy, excitement and enthusiasm..
