May, 2008

Ducks are here! Our little trio, one male and 2 females, came two weeks ago, and are getting to know the yard and their favorite spots. This little family came from a giant flock of around 50 ducks and geese that were penned in a desert hell, with a mud pond with no vegetation. They were all rescued by Animal Acres in January, and we made our plans to find a small group for the garden. Their very first act was to begin eating the slugs in our mulch, and just a few days ago, I saw them finally begin to try out some berries - something completely foreign to them. During the heat of the day, they are behind the larger bushes. I have started to build small plant cages to keep them from trampling seedlings, and as we begin to plant out new veggies, we will have to fence off parts of the garden until the plants are large enough.

April, 2008

Things are really coming to life. Though we had two near frosts in March (in which we had to cover quite a few seedlings to keep them safe), the turn towards Spring seems to have been made. Nights are around 45 or so, days are around 70. We have constructed an archway into the rose garden and have trained the roses to climb - which they are doing vigorously. A Mourning Dove has made a nest there and is currently on it night and day. Frogs are in our rain barrel, and as soon as we free them, they go back in!

I have to say - now that we are fully into the garden-mode, we have connected with the seasons and the earth in a way beyond words. Attention to Sun, light, temperature, soil, moisture, growth patterns, micro-climates - it's all on our minds at all times. Watching seedlings sprout, growing in their pots - how much light and warmth they need or not. Windbreaks or shade teepees on new seedlings. Right now I am nursing a pot-bound sage bush that has nearly died three times. I planted it 2 days ago, and I've had to construct a shade teepee until it is strong enough to handle the Sun.

The tire garden is coming together, full of flowers and cold weather lettuces, kale, broccoli, beets and other seedlings. As it only gets morning sunlight, it should stay cool enough throughout the Summer to keep salad foods going. I'll be putting a step-by-step on the Tire Garden next month as soon as it is finally finished!

Ducks are joining our family soon! Until the pond is finished - which will be the workshop planned for May, we have a large 'pond tub' for them to play in. We'll be observing them in the garden, seeing if they like the clover and dandelions, as well as assorted berries we've been planting for them. They will also get a mixture of standard feed, but we hope they will be snacking on the snails and slugs we have in the garden. In Permaculture, ducks are the ultimate in pest control - so we'll learn a great deal from them!

We should be getting them next week, a little trio rescued by Animal Acres.

March, 2008

Orchard Update

We began experiencing an early Spring in February, and with all the rain, the Hairy Vetch has begun to go crazy (see above photo). As a fantastic green manure/living carpet and mulch - it's wonderful - BUT it's been climbing on everything; other sprouting plants, such as Calendula and Yarrow, are getting smothered, not to mention budding Blueberries, Blackberries and Strawberries. As it rips easily without being damaged, we used a great deal of it in our Sheet Mulch Workshop.

We have just begun shaping the Orchard in our next step to turning it into a mini-food forest.

A Food Forest (in its very perfect form) can be seven layers: Tall fruit trees, then dwarf and semi-dwarf trees, then shrub layer such blueberries and raspberries, then an herb layer, then ground cover such as strawberries, below that is a root layer and then there are the fruiting vines that can climb the trees.

My plan this year is to tame it a bit - though I placed stepping stones last year, the plants exploded between them and walking through the Orchard became very tough by late Summer. So as I began to plant flowers (we visited The Theodore Payne Foundation for native perennials) the thought occurred that a forest path would work best. Using old plastic bags and assorted rocks and cement pieces, I routed my path. Then with wood chips to create the first layer over the bags and between the stones, I created the a walkway that will allow me access for the rest of the season. To the left is a budding dwarf Almond tree we planted last year. I have ripped down the vetch around it and mulched the base.

To the right is the path covered by wood chips. Already it gives off a fantastic forest feel, and once the shrubs begin to grow tall, it'll be a wonderful place to visit. Plans are now in gear for a cob bench!

Planting new seedlings this year is quite different from last - with the wind in high gear, all the sprouting greenery has kept the new plants safe, whereas last year, I had to put rocks around every seedling to keep them from getting knocked over!

To the left is the surviving Borage from my Winter Journal, in full bloom...