Working in the Garden

Well, I went out in the heat and humidity to work in the gardens at the old place today. 

Friends, this is what my beautiful vegetable garden from last year looks like now. 

I don't know if all the seeds were in the straw that I used as mulch... or if they 

just drifted in on the chicken's feet. 

Some of them were four feet high. 

The volunteer lettuce had bolted and grown huge and bitter. 

I had to dig the huge weeds out... sending the shovel down deep enough to break the tap roots. 

I shook each thouroughly to try to keep as much dirt in the beds as I could. 

It took a while to get the first bed uncovered.  I tried to pull out every stray plant. 

Then I put dirt on each bed... two bags went on this one. 

It took me three hours to do the three beds you see here.  I had to carry the 

huge weeds (they were heavy) in the cart to the pasture.  I gave up with the second big load, and just dumped them.. I couldn't go as far as the first.  If I still had the cart and mower there, it would have been much easier.  

After I dumped weeds, I put leftover straw and hay in the garden cart and pulled them back up to the garden. 

So, tomorrow, I'm going to work smarter. 

I'm taking the truck... it has 12 more bags of dirt in it thanks to Keith... and 

I ran to the feed store this afternoon and got two bales of straw 

(straw here up to six dollars a bale!).  I went back by the old house and pulled 

clear into the garden and dropped them right next to the vegetable beds. 

I'll dig/pull the weeds out of the five beds... the fourth in the above picture, and the four to their left... and I'll stick them in the back of the truck.  Then on Saturday, Keith will take it all to the 

transfer station and dump it. 

The flowers are looking GREAT... that's Mondara Jacob Cline, and some beautiful daisies. 

Big daylillies are blooming... 

And little 'uns.... 

(I love the little daylilies) 

Mint is taking over the north bed, and some of it will have to be dug out. 

The monarda is pretty strong in that bed, too, and it was alive with bees going back and forth.

However, this is the reverse side of the above bed.  This was the potato bed last year, one that I lavished care on... it had new Miracle Gro dirt, and straw compost mixed in... this is what we have this year. 

I can't guarantee I am going to do anything to this bed except cut these weeds down to the ground. 

There's only so much I can do with this house to take care of, too. 

Remember the delicate wildflower I showed you last week... the pretty little yellow daisy type flower? 

ARGGHHHHHHHHHH . 

I pulled it out, the whole plant!  It was laying on my asclepias tuberosa!  

And this is a project for next week... see where the deck was never finished?  It's like a jungle growing through there, and the sad thing is... there are wasps in there.  I'm going to spray... then chomp down those little saplings, and then it is going to be sprayed with Round Up.  On July 12, our families are coming together to help us get the house ready to rent out.  Keith was out there today measuring for new siding... 

the deck will be completed, and a railing put around it, with steps down to the yard. 

So, we have our work cut out for us for the next two weeks!