RE: [gardeners] Vicki

Victoria Okeef (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 16 Sep 1998 11:21:12 -0700 (PDT)

Hi, Catharine.
 I think I remember you from GardensL.

 Thanks for the welcome. I've heard about the dear up there eating
everything alive. I probably will put in 8-10' deer fencing. My property,
however, is in Kendall County, but I don't think that's going to make much
difference.

> You also might want to invest in a German pick. You will be dealing with an
> average of 2" of topsoil on top of pure limestone or caleche. Digging holes
> for planting is not a lot of fun. Plan on moving a lot of rock!

 From what I can tell, I may be lucky to have 2" of topsoil. There is
literally almost no soil on the edge of the bluff and a bit the farther
back from it you go. I sort of figured I'd be creating a lot of raised
beds.

 The irony is that my situation here in Seattle is a bit similar. Instead
of solid rock, I like to joke that the glacier receded right on my
property, leaving tons of roundish rock ranging in size from one's thumb
up to 10-12 lb. boulders. I have not put in a flower bed or veggie garden
without either sifting rock or building up. I always swore that I would
never buy another piece of property without first taking a shovel out into
the middle and digging a hole. But alas, I fell in love with the piece in
Texas. At least I've had a lot of experience with moving rock. Marge Talt
from GardensL once told me that I hadn't really dealt with a rock or rocks
until I'd moved the same one(s) at least three times. She's absolutely
right.

Vicki