Too wet

It's been raining all week off and on. Watt says that will make the ground good and soft for working. I tell him they say it's not good to work the dirt when it's so wet because it will compact.

"Who says?" he asks.

I can't remember who says.

But we don't actually have anything to plant anyway. And I have a mile long list of things to do before leaving town on Monday, so I don't think we'll be doing any cultivating this weekend.

I did order some seeds though from Local Harvest. Some cumin and coriander and dill. Some lettuces and some beans.

I had dinner with Lynn last night and asked her if she'd put anything in to the garden yet. She said no, but she had a few things starting inside and was thinking of planting beans soon, and maybe even some lettuces.

I did go out into the morning sun a few times to gawp at the sky. The pear tree is starting to bud. And there's a big purple crocus smack in the middle of the lawn. I wonder how it came to be there.

First tomato sighting

Book club met at Cathy's house and she's got heirloom tomato seedlings sprouting in her pantry window.

Sudden color

It's been raining for days, soft and warm, now suddenly there are daffodils all around town.

Ginger dreaming

I am thinking about growing ginger. I looked it up and found someone saying it was easy and you start with a bit of ginger from the store and root it like we used to do with avocado seeds. Watt looked it up and found someone else saying to just stick it in the ground. But that was a "Tropical Permaculture" site and I'm not sure the laws of fertility carry over to this zone.

Watt made a little note to remind me not to forget my ginger.

A few surprises

I went out into the garden and this is what I saw:

Iris peaking through the leaves. Parsley leafing out, and chives too, and the first few leaves of lemon balm. The rosemary has a few purple blossoms on the upper branches. The sage looks really awful and I think I might have killed it this time. I think I might have to start over with the thyme too.


I did the clipping you're supposed to do at the end of the season but I never do. The old basil stalks, the lemon grass and dill, echinacea, iris and zebra grass. The canna stalks were slimy and really hard to cut with the clippers because they gave so little resistance. I pulled a lot of wild onions and other weedy things that slid right out of the soft dirt.

Watt and Jake and Tucker dug dirt out of the humus pile to fill in the box under the maple. Don't know what we'll plant there this year. Probably lettuces to begin with.

A woodpecker's been at the maple tree and sap runs darkly from the row of holes. We sprayed the holes with soapy water because that's the advice I found on line. To discourage the bugs from gathering to the sap, which in turn will discourage the woodpecker. We shall see.

Watt also removed a low branch that had grown out over the garden box. It was about as big around as a silver dollar and it wept the whole time we were out working. Jake set a jar on the ground underneath it to catch the falling sap. We felt bad about it, Jake and I. And it seemed respectful somehow to catch and keep it.


Tucker transplanted daffodils that were coming up in awkward places, and while he was at it, unearthed a tiny glass bottle, about an inch long and only about a centimeter wide. The best glass we've unearthed, ever.

It was a good day.