Exit, Pursued by a Bear

All set, more or less

We ignored Hallowe'en last year, due mostly to C's nearing the end of the third trimester and everybody's general disarray. This year will be different: I've field-tested and deployed our four-foot inflatable pumpkin (thanks, Grandma C.) -

Wuzzles!

Onward and upward in the garden

Another busy weekend in the garden, with a plant backlog built up from June or so and a lot of bulbs to be planted, some bought, some from bulb division in Jville. One was an enormous fritillaria the size of a small cauliflower. The nursery, which writes the number of bulbs in a bag on a pre-printed label, had written: Qty: 1. (!)

It`s paired toward the back of the bed with three big alliums (`Mount Everest`) and one even bigger one (`Globemaster`), so there should be a lot to look at next June.

Againt my better judgement Saturday, I took advantage of the gardenimport.com fall sale, (50% off lots of things) so there are Even More bulbs on their way. Gardenimport.com is a rare example of a plant retailer which really gets e-commerce.

The ugly wire contraptions are an attempt to keep squirrels off the bulbs – they'll be coming off at some point in the spring.

Shrubs, from left, are: another native witch hazel, not as healthy as the one in back; a variegated dogwood; a serviceberry; and a white butterfly bush.

Here's a view of the back garden, with the witch hazel (yellow shape at left) colouring well –

And here's how it looked in late April -

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done, more or less

The double-digging is done - it was healthy exercise, but not as bad as predicted. We'll have to see how my back feels in the morning, though.

With pen and spade

1) To Environment Canada: These are not 'showers'. This is 'rain, heavy at times.'
2) This is not a gardening day.
3) That is all.

POO!

Six hundred pounds of horse manure, more or less, packed in 20 feed bags, waiting to be dug into the front garden.

The plan is to take half a day or so (Wednesday is possible, though there's rain in the forecast) and double-dig the whole front bed, which has been abused over the years between our dumpsters and piles of construction waste, and Mr. Concrete's concrete edifices.

What's double-digging? It's explained well here, but I can't help but notice the all-hope-abandon-ye-who-enter-here warnings all over the Internet:

Double digging is recommended on a new vegetable or flower bed and, on heavy soils, every three or four years thereafter. It can be hard work if you are not used to it, but you can introduce yourself to it gradually, there's no need to complete a bed in one session, half an hour a day will get the bed dug in a reasonable time without putting your back out.
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/soil/double_digging.htm

Disadvantages of double digging: the process is strenuous, labor intensive, and expensive, given the amount of organic matter that is incorporated into the soil. "You will hear a lot about something called double digging . . . it is said it will double the life of your garden, but it may also halve the life of the gardener." --- Elsa Bakalar
http://hcs.osu.edu/mgonline/Herbaceous/gen02/07gen02.htm

No matter what you call it, it's the most backbreaking method of gardening. However, it's also the surest way to super soil. While it takes a tremendous amount of effort up front, the payoff--in the form of healthier, more productive plants--is almost immediate. Caution: If you have back problems or other health problems that prevent you from performing strenuous activity, forget about double-digging.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_soil_water/article/0,1785,HGTV_3632_1372205,00.html

This is, no two ways about it, a labor-intensive approach. But if the soil where you want your garden is very dense or hard-packed, making the effort to do this will pay you back handsomely as your garden grows.
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-934,00.html

Double digging may be hard work but it is perfect for creating new borders and deep topsoil.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0105/double_digging.asp

There are a couple of situations in which double digging might not be for you. First, if you have back problems or other health problems that prohibit strenuous activity, don’t undertake double digging. No doubt about it, double digging is physically taxing. That’s not to say you can’t hire someone to do the hard part, while you supervise from under a shade tree sipping lemonade! Second, if you don’t have access to adequate organic material – compost or manure – then wait on the double digging until you do have these materials at hand. Otherwise all of that hard work will be in vain!
http://www.farm-garden.com/feature/double_digging_gardeners_workout

Posted by Patrick at 06:12 PM

Italy, part 3