An Organic Urban Yard in Less Time Than a Sit-Com

(Note this post was originally written on April 6th — I just realized that I’d never published it tonight when I was preparing an UPDATE on the pea garden. I guess the update will appear tomorrow.)

We planted the peas today which worked out to a nice 20 minute task. About a week ago, we’d scraped away the mulch from the soil where we intended to plant. The sun was able to warm the soil up to a pea-friendly 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) We were able to check the soil temperature with this fancy soil thermometer we got years ago with our CompostTumbler. [Read more →]

Today, I finished setting up a tub planter at the corner of the barn. It used to be the temporary home to the rhubarb but since they’ve been transplanted to a more permanent home, we wanted to use the tub for “something else.” This change allowed me a chance to review some tub planting basics. [Read more →]

What’s that? A snake in the garden??

No, it’s only the afore-mentioned cloche snake, Jim’s clever way of storing our homemade cloches. We hang the snake in the barn when not in use.

When Jim’s parents house was going on the market several years back, Jim wanted to transplant some of the rhubarb from that yard to ours. The problem was where to put it. Jim thought he’d like rhubarb planted along side the barn, but that barn was quickly reaching the end of its lifespan. Wisely, he decided that the rhubarb shouldn’t be planted next to the old barn because it would surely die a horrible death in the creation of the new barn.
[Read more →]

Just as I prepared to head out into the garden to do a block-leveling project, a light spring rain blew up. The skies darkened a little and, as I opened the door to estimate the storm’s power, the most amazing scents met me. Nothing smells as fresh a spring rain. Try as they might to capture the smell of “fresh,” makers of dryer sheets and air fresheners cannot match the delicious breeze that came in my door.