[gardeners] love my dirt
Cynthia Mayeaux (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 24 May 1999 18:02:32 -0400
I have been a busy womyn these past couple of weekends. I've actually
managed to stay in town for the final half of May (quite a feat considering
I travel for work so much). I put up a great fence, 70 lineal feet of
boards, 216 screws to screw in and 14 post holes in rocky clay soil
(another mountain moved :-). It makes my whole front yard seem bigger,
while at the same time making it feel cozier.
I put a couple of rambling roses in, and put in my gourds to overrun the
fence this summer. My gourd plants are pretty big, and the statistics that
they will live are against me. I started my gourds too early last year
too. I was very careful to harden these off, and did not disturb the roots
at all when I gently put them in to the ground. I have postive hopes that
my birdhouses, dippers and corsicans will produce well.
I let the vines lie on the ground last night so they could get used to
their surroundings today. It's pretty windy today, so I may not tie up the
vines onto the fence slats for awhile, no need to have ratty leaves due to
winds.
The soil in my front bed along the fenceline is fantastic. It's quite
remarkable since it started out as such nasty soil. I worked on it all
last summer, removing the top layer of weed filled sod and triple tilling
horse pucky and compost into it. Recently I began weeding, quite a chore
as the bed is 60 feet long, 15 feet wide. But getting down on your knees
and hand weeding is one way to really get to know your dirt (I think Duane
has talked about this before). It is awesome soil. Perfectly friable and
the horse pucky composted in beautifully. I know y'all'll understand when
I say I am in love with this dirt. By the time
I'm done weeding it, I will know each handful of this land. If this area
doesn't grow good gourds, I don't know what will.
I am very excited!
Cynthia (the dirt witch)
**Womyn Who Moves Mountains**In The Little Finger Of Michigan**
**cmayeaux@traverse.com **USDA zone 4b-Sunset zone 41**
** http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/2659/garden/cynthia.html **