OK, I'm not a Finnegan. I'm a Muloghney (I think that's how it's spelled as it went through several changes after we were chased out of Ireland by William of Orange - the bahstahd - and into Canada before coming down the coast to Boston 9 generations ago).
But after a year of being laid up after my ankle surgery and missing my garden, not starting plants early, battling Flu-A over April school vacation week, and all that happy sunshiny lot of reasons/excuses, I finally made it down to the garden today.
Wow, do I have my work cut out for me! A year of running amok may have done wonders for the bunnies, groundhogs, pollinators, and such; however, it means I feel like I'm back at square one.
First I needed to start clearing things out. One of the problems is the little red wagon that lived outside the fence for years is now gone. So carrying the detritus off to the big pile where the landscaper dump everything for compost and mulching went far more slowly. I still have a 5-gallon bucket that I could load up and carry off stuff for dumping, but it took far longer. I have a note to myself to find an old wagon or something online to bring down.
I also think I may ask management for a small communal shed where there can be tools. I know the woman who runs the garden isn't hot on the idea as people have "borrowed" her tools, often without asking, and replaced them in varying conditions of disrepair. I still think it's a community garden and let's start acting like a community.
Today's focus was the 4x4 tomato box. Last year Rascal Rabbit and his family moved in there after eating all my tomato seedlings and I wasn't there to chase him off. First I had to clean around the outside of the box - where a year of mint began to creep in. Seriously, don't EVER plant mint in the ground unless you want ground cover and enjoy the smell when you mow. It's a container thing people - especially in a community garden.
Outside of the box is a sage bush.
This started as a little sage plant that was kind of on its last legs at the supermarket ... or maybe it was a big box store ... six years ago.
I planted it to see if it would do anything and was delighted when it came back to life the next year and the next. Well, this year it had thick stems and had really spread around the outside of the box, so I trimmed it back. It is now contained again and showing some healthy growth all around. That gave me a lot to be happy about and I now have a bunch of sage hanging in the kitchen drying and waiting to be ground down for use.
After the outside was cleaned up, it was time to focus on the tomato box itself. Rascal is no longer there, but I cleaned the soil out to be sure. I then laid down an 8 mil layer of plastic under the box and made a new round of Mel's mix (1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 compost). I only made about 45 dry gallons before I was too worn out. Coming back from the flu still really is tough.
Mel's mix is a great way to start soil in a container or raised bed garden. The vermiculite and the peat moss create a light, airy soil that drains well and retains moisture around the roots while the compost really brings nutrients to the party. I use a mix of compost: organic mushroom, lobster and crab compost from Maine, cow compost, and what I get from my composter as well. It's no more pricey than buying a pre-made container/raised bed mix and it's really not that much work. When I remove something from the mix to add in something new - say after some spinach or lettuce plays out, I just mix a scoop of compost in and it's good to go. It will last a good long time and I don't need to worry about weeding really. I love Square Foot Gardening because I don't have long rows of things to weed, hoe, rake, or maintain - I have a small box. I lay down a layer of cardboard and some salt marsh hay between the beds to help with weed suppression (and it makes my garden look all pretty).
Some year I may figure out what the hell I'm doing. We'll see, but I've started again.
