IT IS ALIVE

I am facing surgery for my ankle and at least 4 weeks in a non-weight bearing cast, so getting things on track is essential for me right now.  This week I learned do NOT to underestimate the ability of a pair of 13-year-old boys armed with a shovel and a rake (and snacks) to whip things into shape in a couple of hours.  A former student and his best friend came to rake, weed, level, and build a couple of beds for me.  Then they spread some Semican Mulch - an alternative to saltwater marsh hay - between beds for weed suppressant.  What they did was amazing, but the top was a complete disaster.

This is what things looked like at the start of Saturday morning.  I wasn't sure how long it would take to finish things up and trying not to despair when a current student and his brother showed up to work.  Again, within two hours, the results were amazing!  

The two went right to it weeding and digging and leveling.  Before I knew it, the compost bin had been moved, beds were filled and charged up with some compost, ready for planting, mulch was spread and the garden is now organized and ready to go.  I am totally gobsmacked - but mostly I am grateful.  I have a garden and I am ready to begin thinking this is a reality for my summer and season.  

Now that all the PVC, hardware cloth, spare lumber, etc are together, I can start building my trellises and cages.  The tomato box will still need to be cleaned, composted, and topped off, but it's OK.  The big 10x10 box is currently a bit amok but that was because we found a baby bunny nest among the Egyptian walking onions and didn't want to disturb it.  We covered baby bunny back up, apologized to Mama (she was probably nearby) and the boys wanted to leave her something to eat for her and the babies, but I convinced them it was best to just leave the nest be.  They understood, but it was a bit exciting.  The garlic-onions (I don't know their real name) that I pulled before we found the bunny nest got planted in the new 4x4 box.

 I did get the onion and broccoli sprouts I started last month into the new beds.  I also got some sugar snap peas planted in the ground.  I know those will be replaced with some corn later when they've played out.  

The other amazing thing for me this week was discovering the difference a heat mat can make for my seeds.  I planted a bunch of different tomato seeds this week.  I was mad at myself because I really should have done this a couple of weeks ago and bit the bullet to order a heating mat for the seeds.  OMG!  Every tomato seed sprouted within 48 hours!!!  I'm right on schedule for them as they should be getting their true leaves and ready for their spots in the garden just on time.  I absolutely love that thing and we'll see how the peppers do now the tomatoes are off and about to move up close and personal to the grow lights so they don't end up all leggy.

Amazing what happens when you reach out for a little help and the universe responds.  I know I'm blessed and grateful.  If you're a gardener, please don't be afraid to offer help.  If you need help, don't be afraid to ask.  I have gone from, "Can we put this off until after gardening season instead of doing it ASAP?" to "I got this."  In the end, it's a garden and it's alive.

 

Another year, another attempt at this gardening thing.

 

As the old saying goes: people make plans, and the Divine laughs.  Well, this time around it came in the form of a tree root half a mile into a hiking trail.  Two ripped tendons and a torn ligament later, I was booted and wondering how to get things up and running for the coming year.  My garden was a disaster after having to spend all of August designing and building partitions for the school as we returned to in-person learning with COVID and such.  Then the school year hit full force and I was back in the classroom full time with no time to get things undercover for the winter.  Twice the work and bum ankle.  What's a girl to do?

She calls her adult son and asks his assistance is what she does.  Pi came out and started cleaning the lower garden to move a bed for me, set up the fence, and otherwise get a jump on things for me.  Unfortunately, like most of those in collegiate circumstances, he's busy packing to move so his time is limited.  Fortunately, I have other resources that will be out here to give me a hand over the coming weeks as I get the garden plan set up.

In the meantime, I've got my seeds in their mini-greenhouses under the grow light.  Broccoli (blue peacock and classic) are ready to go in once the next round of beds are ready as are my red and white onions.  I'll also direct sow some peas and set up a cold frame since it will still be a bit chilly at night around here for a few more weeks.  I have all sorts of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and strawberries trying their best to germinate (I may pull out the heating pad to see if that helps) so they'll be ready for later in May.  I've been playing with an online garden planner to help me figure what's going where before I have to go in for surgery to fix my ankle in June.  The hope is that, once things are in and starting to grow, I'll just need a hand with some maintenance until I'm ambulatory again.  

But kudos to my Pi guy, he worked his butt off and did a good job.  Now that I have a plan in place, it won't be long before things start looking more like a garden and less like a disaster.