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.

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

My dog is now leaving the planters alone, thanks to the plants filling in and the lawn being a nicer place to lay, but now I have a new problem.
Shortly after we got our dog, our neighbor supplemented his pack of small happy canines with a larger puppy. This dog has been significant trouble, jumping over the wall, escaping his yard, etc.
Through the strategic application of dog treats, I've convinced this new dog that he doesn't need to snap at me but that doesn't mean he's become friends with my dog. The two snap at each other over the wall constantly. The fights have become aggressive enough that they're knocking bricks out of the 60 year old wall that separates our yards.
Gotta do something about that while I still have a wall.

Attack on Dog

On that day, vegetable-kind received a grim reminder.  We live in fear of the dog...

I'd written previously about how I'd hoped, by reserving two spaces of the garden bed exclusively for the dog's use, that the dog would stay out of my plants.  Obviously this peace offering was ineffective.  In addition to lying between the newly planted apple trees, he's been digging at bit in other parts of the garden, burying plants.  He destroyed the poor honeydew.

I had planned on writing detailed, step-by-step instructions for the dog-proof fortifications I built.  But, honestly, no one is really interested enough to read that and what I built is simple enough that it could probably be recreated with a little imagination from the after-photo of the finished bed.  Besides, I'm already taking photos of the next project for the next post.

Here you can see the garden's new fortifications.  Three of the beds have net-covered pvc frames.  These took a while to build but they should last a number of years and they're designed to be stackable, when not in use, for easy(ish) storage.  Eventually, when the plants are more mature, they will have to be removed but my hope is that, once the're more filled in, the dog will leave them alone.  The tomato bed and the apple trees are protected by left over pvc and landscaping stakes that I've driven in around the perimeter and in the dog's favorite laying spots. The theory was that if the bed was hard to enter and uncomfortable to spend time in, he'd choose other spots. I haven't seen him in the beds all week so they seem to be effective, if ugly.

If I had to do this again (and I probably will when I build the other garden beds) I'll probably build in attachments for garden hoops.  Seems like they'd be cheaper and easier to construct and serve the same function.