It all starts with sex, right?? Before the promiscuous activities could begin, a little bed preparation was in order. We constructed a raised L-shaped bed in the sandy backyard with sweetgum logs from another overgrown landscape. Chicken wire was spread below before we added soil to keep our
gopher friends from stealing too much of the harvest. (Notice her matching tin snips and yellow jacket, SO not accidental... Dirt gardening and style go hand in hand.) We are avid fans of sharing, but it's just not possible to work out an agreeable deal with these root-munching rodents. (If you're feeling especially crafty, there are some fun tips out there about
barn owls and their fondness for gophers.) Our soil ended up being a choice mix of compost, local horse manure, and Cal-trans select roadsideblend. We layered it into the bed, mixed it, drenched it heavily and allowed it to rest a few days while we picked out our stock for the season. That's the abbreviated version, leaving out barrowfull after barrowfull of heavy dirt that needed to travel uphill, the constant thrust and pitch of the shovel as we mixed layers, the midafternoon sun baking already roasted skin.
In shopping for seeds, we went straight for
Botanical Interests. No question, those little packets are pretty. Dinosaur kale, rainbow chard, spinach, mesclun salad mix (oh-so-sassy), Romaine lettuce, Japanese cucumbers, sugar snap peas, snow peas and bluelake green beans all jumped into our cart immediately. After some long looks we found we couldn't pass up the Corsican gords, and they too found their way home with us. Then it was on to the tomato section. Sun gold and a rainbow mix of cherry tomatoes spoke to us right away, but we sadly turned away from larger varieties (beefsteak style) because they need more heat that our little coastal town can provide.
It all starts with sex, right?? Before the promiscuous activities could begin, a little bed preparation was in order. We constructed a raised L-shaped bed in the sandy backyard with sweetgum logs from another overgrown landscape. Chicken wire was spread below before we added soil to keep our gopher friends from stealing too much of the harvest. (Notice her matching tin snips and yellow jacket, SO not accidental... Dirt gardening and style go hand in hand.) We are avid fans of sharing, but it's just not possible to work out an agreeable deal with these root-munching rodents. (If you're feeling especially crafty, there are some fun tips out there about barn owls and their fondness for gophers.) Our soil ended up being a choice mix of compost, local horse manure, and Cal-trans select roadsideblend. We layered it into the bed, mixed it, drenched it heavily and allowed it to rest a few days while we picked out our stock for the season. That's the abbreviated version, leaving out barrowfull after barrowfull of heavy dirt that needed to travel uphill, the constant thrust and pitch of the shovel as we mixed layers, the midafternoon sun baking already roasted skin.
In shopping for seeds, we went straight for Botanical Interests. No question, those little packets are pretty. Dinosaur kale, rainbow chard, spinach, mesclun salad mix (oh-so-sassy), Romaine lettuce, Japanese cucumbers, sugar snap peas, snow peas and bluelake green beans all jumped into our cart immediately. After some long looks we found we couldn't pass up the Corsican gords, and they too found their way home with us. Then it was on to the tomato section. Sun gold and a rainbow mix of cherry tomatoes spoke to us right away, but we sadly turned away from larger varieties (beefsteak style) because they need more heat that our little coastal town can provide.
3 comments:
You have created a beautiful space (and so is your blog). Go Maggie! (from yer Uncle Pete)
This is great info to know.
fascinating post! i learned a lot from reading this and appreciate your generosity in sharing your experiences.
xoxo,
Cy
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