In the Garden



The garden.  It was the next task on our homesteading list, after the well.  Oh, the well.  It took so much longer than we planned and so the garden was put off much longer than we had hoped.  In fact, we're still waiting for the hand pump, but decided to go ahead with the garden in the mean time.  

Yesterday, Mike and I conceded and rented a sod cutter after spending a previous afternoon with a manual sod cutter.  {Oy, what were we thinking!} We realized that if we wanted any kind of a garden at all this year, we were going to have to rely on heavy machinery.  It took a few hours to get the hang of it, but then the job went quickly for him.  I tried to follow behind, rolling the sod.  As you can see from the photo, his task went much faster than mine.  Lets just say that today, I'm grateful for  ibuprofen, a large glass of iced tea, and my spot on the sofa.  Later this week, we're hoping to have a young man or two around to help.

While we were mowing out the garden areas, we found a patch of Ajuga.  The  bumblebees were dancing all over the flowers, so we decided to incorporate it into one of the beds.  They are known to be rabbit and deer resistant and can also be used to treat wounds.  With a bit of management, they'll be a welcome addition to our medicinal garden.

What's growing in your garden?

9 comments

  1. This makes me giggle a bit that you are actually removing grass. Here in Tucson it takes an act of god to keep grass alive. My garden has all been moved to the porch due to the heat and the fact that we are moving into our first home soon. http://kathrynpagano.com/2014/06/04/in-my-garden-20/

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  2. Too funny! Oh yeah, our grass is alive and well. I just hope it doesn't grow back by the time we can get it planted. We're late getting planted this year, but our last frost date was June 1st, so we're not too far off for the summer crop.

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  3. Wow - cutting sod to start a garden or pulling two years worth of weeds - I don't know which is worse! I didn't know Ajuga was native (maybe in WI, but not here in PA) - I planted some here last year because it is a great quick growing ground cover.

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  4. We have been enjoying an abundance of asparagus, radishes & green onions. Received much needed rain yesterday & awoke to a glorious sunny day today. Feeling blessed...

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    1. Rain, then sun. You can't ask for anything better!

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  5. I am curious what you are doing with all that sod. Composting? And are you moving it far, by hand? Oh my.
    Also, did you ever decide if you have elk or moose tracks?
    Traci

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    1. The loose grass and dirt will go to compost and the rolls will be used to create a series of berms along one of the hillsides. We're going to plant either berries or a fuel forest on the hill, we haven't decided which one yet. We'll be moving it by wheel barrow to the other end of our 10 acre lot. It's a ton of work, for sure, but we hope to have lots of hands this weekend to help. My biceps are starting to look good. ;)

      We are fairly certain it was an elk mama and her calf, but haven't seen any tracks or any other sign since then. I'm hoping it stays far, far away.

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  6. Your garden makes me want make mine much bigger! So awesome! Do you own a tractor? I think if we did a lot of the work around our place wouldn't take us so long. We had late frosts here in Iowa, too, and it really pushed our garden dates out. We planted basically everything at the same time a couple weeks ago and it's all just now starting to look like a garden and not an empty parcel. Can't wait to find out what you will be planting in your space.

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  7. We don't own a tractor. I can't justify the costs of purchasing, maintaining, and storing a tractor for our small scale. I can't wait until everything starts growing in and looking like a garden! I bet your space is looking wonderful.

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