Delaying Tactic #2 -- Gardening

I have just come in from the back yard where Sports Nut and I have been digging a big hole. This morning we bought a Bartlett Pear tree to put into the hole. Late this afternoon, we plan to combine the tree and the hole. And maybe next year, someone will be able to pick some pears from the tree. Not us, though. We hope to be long gone by that time, which is (after all) what this blog was supposed to be about.

However, since it's unlikely that we will be gone before the end of the summer (see the upcoming post about bathrooms), we decided to go ahead and put in a vegetable garden this year. What the hey, it keeps us off the streets.

Last year, we planted tomatoes, basil, corn, peppers (hot and sweet), zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, watermelon, cantelope, cucumbers, eggplant, and a few odd flowers. The tomatoes and eggplant did okay, but not spectacularly. While we got a few jalapeno and poblano peppers, the sweet peppers were a total bust, as were the cucumbers. The watermelon and pumpkins did fairly well, considering that we got them into the ground late. The cantelope failed because they also didn't have enough time before it got too cold. The zucchini and squash did really well, however, and we froze plenty of both to get us through the winter.

This year we have cut back in some ways and have expanded in other ways. We are planting fewer types of vegetables, but we have expanded two of the three vegetables plots in the back yard so that we could plant more. The third plot, which cannot be expanded because of its location, has mostly been turned over to fruit -- blueberries and strawberries. Here's the May 1 picture:

The strawberry plants are at the back (toward the gate) and the blueberries are at the front. There are also some cauliflower plants in there because they are the favorite vegetable of Sports Nut, who has been doing the lion's share of the ground preparation work.

That trellis, by the way, doesn't really block the sun. This plot gets 7-8 hours of full sunlight every day. I have great hopes for the fruit bushes -- and, with any luck, fruit-producing plants will make this house more attractive when the time comes to put it on the market.

In case you are curious, here's a shot of what is behind that trellis:

We pulled out countless weeds and cut back all the chamisa last year, but they're back!

The small plot where we planted tomato and basil last year was originally a bigger plot, so we merely extended it to its original parameters. We planted tomatoes, basil, some cucumbers and one bell pepper plant there. If we just add some lettuces, we can have salad! Here's a picture of the small vegetable plot on May 1:

Careful observation this year has shown us why maybe the tomatoes didn't get out of hand last year. At the back of this plot, near the little patio outside Sports Nut's room, the plants get full sun only about 4-5 hours a day. We're thinking of moving plants around a little so that the tomatoes get more sun -- and maybe we'll put that lettuce or other shade-dwellers in the back.

The thing we have to watch out for here is the area to the left (in front of the patio). Last year we found out that the pretty purple flowers growing wild out there were actually nightshade. Fortunately, we were told this by another gardener rather than by our veterinarian after one or more of the dogs had consumed large quantities of it. This year, we will be rigorously weeding this area in attempt to get rid of the nightshade.

The big vegetable plot was carved out of the formerly-grassy area of the back yard last year. This year we extended it so that we could put in more plants. Here's a picture of the big vegetable plot on May 1:

The corner closest to the front (the northwest corner) is reserved for the corn that we plan to put into the ground this afternoon. Right now, the corn is waiting on the counter for the sun to sink a little bit:

Our other ongoing project in the yard is to eradicate puncture vine. Last year we pulled up -- quite literally -- thousands of the horrible little things. They look so innocuous at first:

If we can catch them at this stage, they aren't too bad. Left alone just a little longer, however, they produce thick mats of vining greenery and, eventually, lots and lots of goatheads:

This picture is of a broken goathead. Usually there are more sharp spiky things on each of these. As they break part, each of the sharp spikes can start its own new plant -- and the little buggers can lie dormant for years before deciding to do so.

Some people use chemicals to try and kill these, but the Sports Nut and I aren't too fond of any kind of -cides and we pull them out by hand. When we started two years ago, there were large areas of the yard that were completely infested with puncture vine, including almost all of the slope down into the lower part of the yard. This year, we found small plants for the first time today, so we are definitely making some progress.

But, like Mad-eye Moody, we must practice CONSTANT VIGILANCE!! We know there are still hundreds of goatheads out there just waiting for their chance in the sun. In the meantime, the goatheads amuse themselves by embedding themselves in our shoes or in the dogs' feet and coats. Once embedded, the goatheads get a free ride into the house where they are found by anyone with bare feet. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!