As I Emerge From A Pollen-Coma

I talked about how every year there's a false spring in February that makes me want to go outside and start planting. I forgot to mention that every year, immediately following the warm weather, the plants also get excited and FLOOD the city with pollen. This means that I spend the next week or two in bed, my sinuses so irritated that it feels like my face will crawl off my skull.

So I didn't get into the garden much in the following weeks. Just a couple of times to check on the chickens before retreating to the house and my benadryl.

But spring marched on without me and, washing dishes yesterday, I was thrilled to look out the kitchen window and see that some of the apple trees budding out!

Not only that, the asparagus that struggled last year (mostly because of the chickens. I blame the chickens) has sent up 2 spears!I am absolutely thrilled with this as I was pretty sure that none of the asparagus I had planted last year had survived.

 Even more surprising, it looks like we have a new guest in the garden. At some point during the winter, a gnome settled into a corner of the wall. I managed to sneak a picture of him as he was sweeping his porch. Well, I'm happy to let him stay as long as he doesn't disturb the plants.

Apparently hummingbirds are back in the city (seems early) so I should try putting out a feeder again. I'm really bad about keeping bird feeders full, especially hummingbirds. In the past I've made a big batch of nectar for them and kept it in the fridge. But it takes a lot of shelf space and spoils before I use it all. So this year I'll try making small batches as I need them. But more on that (with photos) later.

This Year Will Be Better

Things have been rough. Here's a summary of a pretty pathetic year of gardening and a promise to myself that this year will be better.

The biggest addition to my garden last year was fauna, rather than flora. We got a couple of chickens! Me and Mrs. Digger had been considering it for a while when a chicken coop showed up on Craigslist for $20. It had been purchased by a family living in the mountains and, immediately after putting chickens in it, a bear knocked it over and devoured it's contents. I bought it, fixed it up, and put a couple chickens of my own in it. They're Dominique hens, which have the distinction of being America's oldest chicken breed. They were selected for being hardy, decent layers who tend to be quiet and friendly.

Now, chickens came with some problems. First, I'd heard that chickens dig but I hadn't expected them to really DIG. They are worse than the dog ever was. They killed off most of the day lilies and asparagus before I managed to erect a fence around my little garden bed to keep them out. I feared for the survival of the apple trees. They also poop. A lot. Especially on the porch, where they like to hang out. It was manageable if I swept every day but that got old fast. Without even realizing it, it got to the point where I was simply avoiding going outside because it was so gross.

Now, there are some great things about having chickens in the yard too. Primarily, I got fresh eggs on a regular basis (until they started hopping the wall and hiding them in neighbors' yards). Second, they love grubs as much as I hate them. Any time I'm digging in the yard, they are right there with me, waiting for a chance to snap up a juicy grub. They turn those grubs (and a lot of other stuff) into excellent fertilizer. Lastly, they're sweet, easy creatures. I think their temperament is similar to that of cats. They're independent enough to exist alone quite happily as long as I keep their food and water filled but when I'm out there they ask to be petted or held. That's the kind of pet I like.

Mostly because of the chickens, but also due to some other life issues, my garden was pretty sad in 2016. The total harvest from my yard (ignoring the eggs) was 2 tomatoes, which weren't ripe until November and 1 strawberry. I did pull up and sift all the rocks in the front yard, laying down fresh weed barrier. During that project I planted a row of spineless prickly pears, which are coming in nicely. Photos of the cacti later.

Looking forward, this will be a good year. Little Digger is old enough to help me in the garden now. The chickens, rather than running rampant through the yard, are now mostly contained in a large pen. The dog passed away so he can no longer dig things up. The neighbors moved away, taking their dogs with them, so I can garden without being barked at. I am pretty excited.

This year will be good. I will dig. Plants will grow.

I can't wait to get out there.

Survival

The sun comes up, warm and bright. It is spring and plants burst forth waving green flags, bright and new, to announce that they did not succumb to winter's chill.
All of the apple saplings in my yard have survived their first winter, a good omen for my fledgling garden, and some day lilies are beginning to poke their way through the soil. It will be an exciting year for this digger.

Unfortunately, my little lawn has suffered some from my inexperience. There are many dead patches which I am attributing to white grubs preparing for hibernation last fall. I'm not sure what to do about them just yet. In the meantime, I've aerated the remaining grass and topdressed it with compost.

Autumn Changes

Today was a very busy day in my little garden. Three new apple trees arrived from One Green World, a Golden Sentinel, another North Pole, and a dwarf Hidden Rose. The timing is perfect because the Rose is supposed to be a special birthday apple for my daughter, who turns 2 tomorrow. In later years it should ripen around her birthday and the fruit should have red flesh.
But we had to make room for the new trees, which meant pulling up most of the vegetables. As much corn was harvested saved as possible, though the yield was pretty sad looking. The dry stalks were thrown into my very green-waste heavy composter. The tomatoes were pulled up and all the ripe ones consumed on the spot by my daughter. The basil was turned into 21 oz of pesto and frozen. The only vegetables remaining are the two pumpkin vines (which have one ripe gourd for Halloween and two that might be pie in November).
While digging the tree holes I uncovered a dozen white grubs, mostly by the onions that never produced. I'm guessing they're Japanese beetle grubs because I saw the adults all summer. They're probably causing the dry spots in my lawn too. I'll have to look into treatment for that.

A Midsummer's Update

While I struggled away with the lawn and the garden covers, the rest of the yard hadn't been in suspended animation. Obviously. Gardens never stop growing.

The pumpkin bed is doing well. The pumpkin further from the wall has a much thicker and longer vine but they both look healthy. Not that you can see that in the photo since the bed is pretty well dominated by lush Hopi blue corn. It got planted in all the vegetable beds on a whim when I remembered I had seed saved from a few years ago.

The tomato bed is doing all right. There's been one ripe tomato so far, which was fed with all appropriate pomp to my daughter. Two of the tomatoes are much greener and larger. The basil are doing great with the exception of the sweet basil on the end, which is being eaten by something. I've decided that I don't care for the Greek tower basil. It looks too neat and formal. Some of the onions are doing alright. They've been taking the worst of the beating from the dog.

The apples are doing great! I really need to start planting around them. I want comfrey, clover, walking onions, day lilies, and asparagus.

The watermelon beds are hanging on. The melons have healthy leaves but haven't really grown or spread much. I doubt we'll be getting any melons this year. The corn in these beds isn't as green as in the pumpkin beds but it's still doing fine. I think these beds dry out much quicker than the ones against the wall.

I showed off the grass last post, so I won't waste more space on it but I will add a photo of the play area I'm adding on the side. A patio rug under a sandbox, wading pool, and slide. It needs another rug. And maybe a swing hanging from the porch.

While working on the grass I did uncover some more archeological artifacts of people who used to live here. There's more evidence of young boys but also the first things that I could call girl toys.

In the front yard, the white carnations are doing well and the mint is happier looking than any I've ever seen. The globe basil, on the other hand, has had a rough time. It had large chunks die off and it was an unhealthy looking pale green. I think it was too wet. Looks better now though.

The cucumbers are doing very well. They're starting to produce flowers, which my wife is pollinating so cukes shouldn't be far off! The purple carnations are pretty dead though. Time to replace them.

Lastly, this little yucca is doing well. It was a tony little plant when we first moved in.  Shortly after, when I had some plumbing dine, it was trampled and buried under rock.  Slowly it's bounced back though.  A Google street view of our house suggests that before we moved in it was a rather tall plant that got chopped down so I'm pretty happy to have this legacy volunteer around.

A Garden Again

Following the planting of the trees, we've been excited about growing things again.  Before we add other trees, while we wait for evidence that we can actually grow a tree, there is a whole garden bed begging to be planted with something, anything.  When soft dirt beckons, it's impossible not to pick up a trowel and heed it's loamy call.
And so, of the weekend, plants were planted.  In any of my previous gardens, this many plants would have filled all the available space nicely, even as little baby plants.  In our new giant garden bed, they hardly show up in the photo.

Hopefully, they'll fill in a bit.  Specifics and lots of photos after the break.

Call Me Johnny

Just for the record, my name's not Johnny.  But I feel like it could be today (as in Appleseed, get it?).  Yesterday, 4 days after I ordered them from Fast-Growing-Trees.com, I received a box in the mail with 2 little apple trees.  Really, they're no more than sticks but to my untrained eye they look happy and healthy.  One is a Scarlet Sentinel and the other a North Pole.  My grandparents have columnar trees like this in their yard and, though they look kind of unnatural and odd, they seemed like just the right thing to plant against this wall, under the powerlines.

Following directions I found online I dig holes in my new raised bed, planted my little trees, and watered them.  Hopefully they will take root, grow, and eventually make some nice fruit!  The planting process seemed simple.  Too simple.  I'm always suspicious of things that are too simple because it usually means I'm missing some critical detail.  Hopefully I did it right.

I hopefully they should be joined by friends soonish, one columnar tree in each 4 foot section of the bed.  There are lots of columnar varieties out there, and I'd like to get as many as possible, but I started with just these two because they were the ones offered by this particular nursery.  And this nursery seemed to have the best reviews online, the most responsive customer service, and offered a 1 year warranty.  The warranty was a big point for me because I've never planted a tree before, I live in a harsh desert, and I don't have the greenest thumb around.  If these survive the year and do well, I'll order some more varieties from some other companies.