Projects: Garden

While Brett works on the fences, and Sage chases squirrels, I work in the garden.  I don’t think I have ever physically worked so hard in my life, other than swim team workouts when I was in college.

Ever since starting the Master Gardener course, I’ve been buried in self-imposed projects.  Every time I learn something new, which is every week, I run out to the garden and practice the new skill — I have ripped out all the drip lines and replaced them, hauled compost and shredded bark mulch to the fruit trees, and then — covered the entire garden in mulch.  Oh, and I’m trying hot composting which means turning a huge pile of manure and leaves every three or four days.  Do I have biceps?  You bet!

Am I complaining?  Not really.  Although my body aches, my mind is peaceful (except when reading the news) and content.  I am creating, and enjoying, the garden of my dreams.

The garden of my dreams is sustainable — a central tenet of being a Master Gardener.  It is not fussy. The plants are suited for this climate so they have low to moderate water needs, are disease resistant, and insect friendly (which brings birds and butterflies).  I probably fuss the most with the orchard but I’m hoping that, over time, as I get the water and fertilizer (just compost) dialed in, it will also become less work.  Also, as the trees mature, they will require less pruning.  The apples and pears are already pretty much there.  The peaches will always need a major haircut but the figs and cherries will need less as time goes by.  ...if I can just stop myself from adding more.

I was determined to finish all the heavy manual labor before summer because I do not function well at all in the heat.  It was a four part project.  1) replace/reconfigure the drip lines, 2) hand pull all the weeds, 3) put a layer of compost around the fruit trees, 4) cover everything with a 4” layer of shredded bark.  Now that the last bucket of weeds has been fed to the chickens, and the last load of mulch has been spread, I can focus on other, less strenuous, projects.

I’ve been moving my vegetables from the greenhouse out into the garden.  Normally, I would wait until Mothers Day but we are having a two week run of hot weather so I moved it up.  It’s the kind of thing I can do bit-by-bit.  It feels more like play, and less like work.  Drip lines, compost and mulch feel like work.

Right now, sitting in the hammock, I can smell the lilac as it drifts past me on a light breeze.  Finches and sparrows sing in the oak above me.  An occasional dove, blackbird or woodpecker chimes in too.  Sage sleeps underneath me.  It’s a pretty sweet life and I intend to spend as much time as possible enjoying it.