A Tale of 2 Gardens

Our hero is back, and what's better than one Man garden but two... you see i managed to secure a spot in the new community garden at Mt. Tabor... 200 square feet of garden space far away from any fool who thinks it's a good idea to feed squirrels unlimited peanuts.  Yes indeed i have yet to see a squirrel or a peanut shell anywhere near this new garden, and i have yet to see a single rodent hole dug in this plot... it's like a dream.

An easy thought was that I could do without the cover crop as i have found digging in grasses kind of a pain in the ass so to say... i noticed some people have put burlap over their plots perhaps to kill back the cover crop, me I imported a yard of fine soil called "white lightning" and dug like a savage for many  hours.  The cover crop is re establishing itself, but I'm on it.  I'll have to research cover crops... i know farmers do it so perhaps it is a good idea on a number of levels.  It's the old be presented with some work that you weren't planning on and find a negative, and that's never positive, cause sometimes in life you just have to do some work and you will find opportunities open up.

 And look at this...  a lock on the gate.  No need for any unnecessary loiters  over here.  Some may argue community gardens should be open for the peasants to go wandering through, but i don't mind the lock. 

So far i have filed a blueberry, some garlic, some "Red Zeplin" onions, some peas and some potatoes in there and there is room for plenty more.  I see a lot of food being produced in this fine "squirrel free" zone and it tickles me plenty to be able to say that.

Back at the home front  i have restructured things as well... the big thing in gardening is to learn from the seasons before. Be honest and scientific, what worked and what didn't and why... don't be emotional with your assessment, don't confuse what you want to happen with what will happen, know your strengths and your weaknesses. Remember nature ain't fair and what happens happens and the best suited survive.  My main 2 weaknesses from last year were too much clay soil (bad for water penetration)   and of course, the number one thing being,  fucking ass hole rodents with their unlimited peanuts. Now it's possible for a gardener to become obsessed with certain aspects of their garden and obsessions can from time to time lead to clouded judgement... you know rage brings hate and hate is the path to the Dark Side and once you start down that road forever will it dominate your destiny... or something like that. I like to believe that you can spring back from the dark side if you give your head a shake every once in a while.  One thing i find in life is that if you catch yourself dealing in absolutes then you need to step back and see the big picture and build a different house that you can live in in peace.  Otherwise you spend your life living in the wrong house, unhappy thinking that circumstance has you pinned... this is not the case, your mindset has you pinned.

So i banged in a couple yards of sand and chopped it into the earth, i also had all of the maple leaves from the tree in front of our house in there, so we have our organic material and our sand for drainage... for sure it was many hours of work turning soil, but it's the kind of work i like to do.  Working soil is good for the soul, a great metaphor for life... get involved in a task that appears to be endless but just keep doing it and then some time later you can feel the results.   I also snagged a few planer boxes from a neighbour who had no use for them anymore (be social keep an ear to the ground) and here we are...

 I see me in way better shape this year than last... mind you last winter we just moved here, i had to remove ivy, make the garden, start fresh and learn the ropes of this particular land. I have installed as you can see a few SR squirrel guard 3000™.

 It's is my first time gardening in beds, my father was a field gardening man, and that's how i learned but sometimes you have to break tradition  The planter boxes have been seeded with peas, carrots and beets, with plenty of Canadian Peat, some "white lightning" soil and some sand so the carrots can get down into the ground and grow.  Best of all of course is the fact that the beds are sealed with chicken wire so that some furry prick can't get in there and dig up all of the seeds.

I have of course started many plants inside so that when the get moved to the garden they might be big enough to survive a squirrel attack. Also it's too early for tomatoes to be put outside, that broccoli plant will probably go into the community garden this week although one can still be bitten by a frost this time of year... sometimes you gamble a bit with getting a head start on your garden.  The big thing is not to be too late getting things going... you want an established garden when the prime weather hits so that your growing becomes exponential.  It takes a long time for the roots to become established and the plant to have enough green matter to turn the sun's energy into food growth.  The Oregon farmers almanac tells me potatoes can be planted and this year i will box up the area around the plant adding new soil as needed... apparently this is the trick to growing potatoes... I'll give it a shot and we shall see what happens.  Dad would "mound" his potatoes, meaning putting more soil around the plant with the idea being the plant will fill in the "mound" with more potatoes.  Last year i was stung with the clay soil dilemma that hardened and stressed the plants to the point of little return.

Every day is a new day in life and in the garden, treat it with respect and it will give the same back to you, dream big but understand reality, swing for a home run but take a single when you get it cause at the end of the game you need points.