Garden work

ready for more dirt, just as soon as I have the energy

After the very fun dirt party last October, I learned that though I live in the woods there just isn't very much available dirt. The enormous cedar trees that are so beautiful send out an almost impenetrable web of roots. Good because it anchors those monsters through our frequent wind gusts, not so good if you want to pilfer the dirt an add it to a raised garden bed.

it looks like such a small pile!

So I girded my loins and spent money ordering dirt from a local nursery. They delivered early Saturday morning and it is lovely stuff. Two yards of rich dirt for the beds, and three yards of bark mulch to prettify the front yard. When someone is coming to your house with a dump truck, you might as well fill it up. I managed to get a dozen or so loads down to the beds on Saturday, alternating between new dirt and the contents of my compost heaps that have been cooking next to the shed for a year or so. It looks like a pitiful amount of dirt in those beds but it is getting there.

snacking on weeds

Today as I was working out I noticed movement off the deck. It was a group of adolescent deer checking out the new additions to the yard. They helpfully nibbled some of the weeds growing around the beds. It also reminded me that while the beds were made with hardware mesh on the bottom to deter moles, I had best make sure the tops are covered too or else I will be sharing the majority of my crops with four legged neighbors. Rain, hold off just a little today so I can get more wheelbarrows down there!

but lady, when will the buffet be opening?

early starts in the kitchen: squash and seed potatoes
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Egg laid in the coop Sunday: 2
Eggs laid in the coop this year: 243