Thursday, June 02, 2011

Holes to go

Risa wants to try out her new Ho-mi, or "Korean Hoe." The weather for once is cooperating. Let's gather up our flats of peas, corn, and butternut squash and our kneeling bench and head out. Wait! First, let's admire the irises and stuff. Sorry about the ornamental poppies, they're over two weeks behind, this year.


So, let's get down to it; ground level. Risa doesn't know what she'd do without her bench.


First, we pull away the mulch. This is a lasagna garden, so one of the layers down there is flattened cardboard (with plastic tape and labels removed). It's very soggy and pulls aside right along with the straw, compost and grass clippings.


Next, open the earth a little. The tool is heavy enough to whack right in, one-handed -- just like swinging a hammer or hatchet. Ignore the camera strap at stage right!


Grab a pot, invert it, squeeze, lift it away, flip the contents into the hole right-side-up, and tamp.


Now pull back some of the mulch over the "hill" to hide the tender starts from the starlings, who are being bad this year. They're attracted by the "disturbed soil" look of the black potting mix, seems like. They dig up seeds and crack them, hence the emphasis on pots this year.


Done? Great! Bump down the bed a ways; only seventy-one more holes to go...

4 comments:

  1. Hm, I'll have to tell hubby about that tool since he does some lasagna gardening.

    The quail were so bad about nibbling the squash seedlings last year that we actually laid chicken wire over the seedling bed this time. Stupid quail would kick and scratch at the straw on the edges trying to get in. One finally did and I had to go rescue her. At least she didn't destroy the seedlings in her frantic flailing about.

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  2. Those are some determined quail! Reminds me of Ruth Stout, who had to jail her corn patch to defeat the raccoons.

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  3. Unfortunately the slugs seem to love my straw mulch. What do you do to keep them away from the tender seedlings?

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  4. Ducks and chickens in a surround pen (chicken moat) to prevent migration; let the ducks in in the winter to find and eat slug eggs; hand pick.

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Stony Run Farm: Life on One Acre