Gardening
When Gretch and I first moved into our current place, nearly two years ago, we were pleased to see that we had a large background and a space that appeared to be suitable for gardening.
Of course, that space was filled with a vast jungle of weeds, spiders, and other various critters, so we didn't do much with it for the first year. After the weeds died during the autumn and winter, I considered pulling them all up and preparing the ground for a garden. But I didn't get around to it. Then spring came around and the weeds returned with a vengeance. Vague dreams of planting a small garden still floated around in our heads, but we had work and other worthy tasks taking up our time and so we delayed and put it off.
After the school year ended, we started thinking about it more seriously. Then one day Gretch decided it was time. We were going to plant a garden!
Not that either of us really knew what we were doing.
I mean, we had the basic downs: get rid of the weeds, turn the soil, plant, water, plenty of sunshine, keep the bunnies and squirrels away. But beyond that? Well, we were just going to figure it out as we go.
This is, apparently, a skill that Valencics have. There is a family story that two of my brothers helped fix a broken car, despite knowing nothing about car mechanics, by just acting like they knew what they were doing. (There was, I believe, an added element of not wanting to admit weakness in front of a father-in-law.)
In examining our resources, it was determined that we needed a shovel so that I could actually turn the soil. And we'd need yard waste bags to get rid of all the weeds. Of course, seeds and starter plants would be useful. Oh, and don't forget about a set of small garden tools, like trowels and those three-pronged rake thingamabobbers. Fresh top soil, organic garden soil, compost manure, and mulch were important, too. Gretch took to researching things online and searching on Pinterest. We toyed with the idea of buying the wood to make small garden boxes, but as I looked into I decided it was just too much hassle and would probably cost more than we really wanted to spend. (This was, after all, an attempt to cut down grocery costs by growing fresh produce.) Since we were planting tomatoes and bell peppers, those wire cage things would be needed. And we needed stakes and chicken wire to deter the rabits and squirrels. A garden rake would help with spreading out the soil, a small pair of shears/snips were needed to get rid of obtrusive weeds and trees. I needed a staple gun to attach the chicken wire to the stakes. We decided to use the Topsy-Turvy planters for the tomatoes and we bought a couple of hangers for the planters.
I was able to type all of this in a single paragraph. In reality, the acquisition of all these items took place over the course of about two or three weeks, with over two dozen trips to four or five different stores. Shockingly, the total cost was not all that extravagant, although it was frustrating to go to the store, come home, and then remember that we had forgotten something and had to go to the store again. And again. And again and again and again!
But I realised something fairly important: my dad has all sorts of tools and gadgets. I am sure he didn't acquire them all at once. In fact, I am sure he acquired them the same way I've acquired mine: he would start working on a project, determine that a specific tool would make the project easier, and then he would get it. The process repeats itself often enough that after 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years, you've found that you've acquired quite an impressive array of household tools!
Last week we officially started on the garden. I began pulling weeds and turning dirt. Now, remember that this is the same space that a garden had been planted in the past. Since we have been here not-quite-two years, I didn't think I'd need to call JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) because the area had already been cleared for digging.
Right?
Well, not quite.
Near the end of turning soil, I found a cable that was just a few inches under the surface and it had been cut! Whoops. I called JULIE and reported the cable and requested someone to come look into it. It turned out to be a dead cable from who-knows-how-long ago. However, we also discovered that our backyard is a criss-crossed network of feeder cables for most of the telecommunications companies in the area. Yikes! Fortunately, those cables were buried deeper than the foot or so that I needed to dig, so we were okay!
After returning from our five-day vacation, we finished working on the garden bit by bit. We started on Tuesday and finished on Thursday. It has been hot and sunny, so both of us got slight sunburns on our arms, but I'd say it was well worth it. We have planted tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, onions, and some crazy-hot pepper that Gretch found that reminds me of the insanity peppers featured in this episode of The Simpsons:
(As a side note, I highly recommend watching El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer in its entirety. Besides being quite entertaining, and besides featuring the guest voice of Johnny Cash as a space coyote, it tells an excellent story about husband and wife coming to accept one another for the weaknesses and appreciating the things that make them unique. In fact, most episodes of The Simpsons have an important moral message like that mixed in with the satire.)
The garden has been planted and I must say it looks rather nice. It has only been there for a couple of days, so there isn't much to see yet, but I am glad that nothing has been eaten by animals or died. At least not yet. We'll continue to keep friends and family updated via Facebook and I'll probably do another post here about our garden if and when we have tangible results. But in case you missed the picture that Gretch shared on Facebook yesterday, here is our small garden:
Of course, that space was filled with a vast jungle of weeds, spiders, and other various critters, so we didn't do much with it for the first year. After the weeds died during the autumn and winter, I considered pulling them all up and preparing the ground for a garden. But I didn't get around to it. Then spring came around and the weeds returned with a vengeance. Vague dreams of planting a small garden still floated around in our heads, but we had work and other worthy tasks taking up our time and so we delayed and put it off.
After the school year ended, we started thinking about it more seriously. Then one day Gretch decided it was time. We were going to plant a garden!
Not that either of us really knew what we were doing.
I mean, we had the basic downs: get rid of the weeds, turn the soil, plant, water, plenty of sunshine, keep the bunnies and squirrels away. But beyond that? Well, we were just going to figure it out as we go.
This is, apparently, a skill that Valencics have. There is a family story that two of my brothers helped fix a broken car, despite knowing nothing about car mechanics, by just acting like they knew what they were doing. (There was, I believe, an added element of not wanting to admit weakness in front of a father-in-law.)
In examining our resources, it was determined that we needed a shovel so that I could actually turn the soil. And we'd need yard waste bags to get rid of all the weeds. Of course, seeds and starter plants would be useful. Oh, and don't forget about a set of small garden tools, like trowels and those three-pronged rake thingamabobbers. Fresh top soil, organic garden soil, compost manure, and mulch were important, too. Gretch took to researching things online and searching on Pinterest. We toyed with the idea of buying the wood to make small garden boxes, but as I looked into I decided it was just too much hassle and would probably cost more than we really wanted to spend. (This was, after all, an attempt to cut down grocery costs by growing fresh produce.) Since we were planting tomatoes and bell peppers, those wire cage things would be needed. And we needed stakes and chicken wire to deter the rabits and squirrels. A garden rake would help with spreading out the soil, a small pair of shears/snips were needed to get rid of obtrusive weeds and trees. I needed a staple gun to attach the chicken wire to the stakes. We decided to use the Topsy-Turvy planters for the tomatoes and we bought a couple of hangers for the planters.
I was able to type all of this in a single paragraph. In reality, the acquisition of all these items took place over the course of about two or three weeks, with over two dozen trips to four or five different stores. Shockingly, the total cost was not all that extravagant, although it was frustrating to go to the store, come home, and then remember that we had forgotten something and had to go to the store again. And again. And again and again and again!
But I realised something fairly important: my dad has all sorts of tools and gadgets. I am sure he didn't acquire them all at once. In fact, I am sure he acquired them the same way I've acquired mine: he would start working on a project, determine that a specific tool would make the project easier, and then he would get it. The process repeats itself often enough that after 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years, you've found that you've acquired quite an impressive array of household tools!
Last week we officially started on the garden. I began pulling weeds and turning dirt. Now, remember that this is the same space that a garden had been planted in the past. Since we have been here not-quite-two years, I didn't think I'd need to call JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) because the area had already been cleared for digging.
Right?
Well, not quite.
Near the end of turning soil, I found a cable that was just a few inches under the surface and it had been cut! Whoops. I called JULIE and reported the cable and requested someone to come look into it. It turned out to be a dead cable from who-knows-how-long ago. However, we also discovered that our backyard is a criss-crossed network of feeder cables for most of the telecommunications companies in the area. Yikes! Fortunately, those cables were buried deeper than the foot or so that I needed to dig, so we were okay!
After returning from our five-day vacation, we finished working on the garden bit by bit. We started on Tuesday and finished on Thursday. It has been hot and sunny, so both of us got slight sunburns on our arms, but I'd say it was well worth it. We have planted tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, onions, and some crazy-hot pepper that Gretch found that reminds me of the insanity peppers featured in this episode of The Simpsons:
(As a side note, I highly recommend watching El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer in its entirety. Besides being quite entertaining, and besides featuring the guest voice of Johnny Cash as a space coyote, it tells an excellent story about husband and wife coming to accept one another for the weaknesses and appreciating the things that make them unique. In fact, most episodes of The Simpsons have an important moral message like that mixed in with the satire.)
The garden has been planted and I must say it looks rather nice. It has only been there for a couple of days, so there isn't much to see yet, but I am glad that nothing has been eaten by animals or died. At least not yet. We'll continue to keep friends and family updated via Facebook and I'll probably do another post here about our garden if and when we have tangible results. But in case you missed the picture that Gretch shared on Facebook yesterday, here is our small garden:
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