The poppies on the east side of the house are in bloom but they are also overtaken by grass. Beautiful, nonetheless.
Yes, the leaves are from the plum tree!
I took a break and Robbie and I brought the sheep in. He does all the work and I just guide him. He is getting much better with his duties and herding. The rest of the pack, all 8 dogs, were together out in the bush with us.
Two years ago, I created a berm garden. I dug a trench in the lawn down the hill and then filled the depression with rotted manure. I then put the sod and topsoil on top of that and then layered another layer of straw and manure. The year after I stirred it up with the skid steer bucket. The first year the only thing planted were roses and 5 of them have survived. Last year I planted some wild flowers, elder trees, and potatoes.
This year I planted potatoes and onions and wild flowers. The roses and elder trees are growing too. It was easy to weed and finally, I found worms, lots of earth worms. The grass had been sprayed with pesticides and herbiscides and there were no worms to be found anywhere. Even last year there were so few, but his year, there were lots of worms, big beautiful worms.
The idea of the trench is to collect the water from the rains as it runs down hill. The berm is in a depression of the land naturally and does get sun most of the day. So being protected and sunny, it is idea for growing. The potatoes last year did very well there. I also planted 200 onion sets so I will see how they grow.
I was excited to notice some green leaves coming from the cardboard retainer around the base of the dead plum tree. I didn't know if there were leaves on the tree or shoots or it was another plant entireley different growing. After removing the cardboard, the leaves were easily seen and are from the tree! Yay, the plum tree, the $75 plum tree was alive! The entire trunk had died, but the shoots came from the well protected base. In time, the tree will grow and produce fruit I hope. The apple trees survived and so the the pear.
After planted the potatoes and onions, I scattered wild flower seeds on the berm and under the plum and apple trees. Tomorrow I will water the planting and then the rest is up to the seeds. I have a small flower bed with the tomatoes in it that needs weeding desperately and I do plan to mow the lawn. Two weeks of growth with lots of rain means it is almost a hay field,even though I have allowed the geese and ducks to be in it. They eat what they can, but cannot keep up. Geese live on grass it seems.
It feels good to be done with the planting. Now I am at the mercy of the seeds and weather, but I am a happy gardener just the same!
This year I planted potatoes and onions and wild flowers. The roses and elder trees are growing too. It was easy to weed and finally, I found worms, lots of earth worms. The grass had been sprayed with pesticides and herbiscides and there were no worms to be found anywhere. Even last year there were so few, but his year, there were lots of worms, big beautiful worms.
The idea of the trench is to collect the water from the rains as it runs down hill. The berm is in a depression of the land naturally and does get sun most of the day. So being protected and sunny, it is idea for growing. The potatoes last year did very well there. I also planted 200 onion sets so I will see how they grow.
I was excited to notice some green leaves coming from the cardboard retainer around the base of the dead plum tree. I didn't know if there were leaves on the tree or shoots or it was another plant entireley different growing. After removing the cardboard, the leaves were easily seen and are from the tree! Yay, the plum tree, the $75 plum tree was alive! The entire trunk had died, but the shoots came from the well protected base. In time, the tree will grow and produce fruit I hope. The apple trees survived and so the the pear.
After planted the potatoes and onions, I scattered wild flower seeds on the berm and under the plum and apple trees. Tomorrow I will water the planting and then the rest is up to the seeds. I have a small flower bed with the tomatoes in it that needs weeding desperately and I do plan to mow the lawn. Two weeks of growth with lots of rain means it is almost a hay field,even though I have allowed the geese and ducks to be in it. They eat what they can, but cannot keep up. Geese live on grass it seems.
It feels good to be done with the planting. Now I am at the mercy of the seeds and weather, but I am a happy gardener just the same!
You can see the tree appeared to be dead and I was getting ready to uproot it and discard it. It was much to my surprise to find it growing and I am very grateful for the life in the tree. Winters here can be brutal.
RSS Feed