(no subject)
danceswithcarp (dcombs@bloomington.in.us)
Tue, 05 Jun 2001 08:03:00 -0500
Bloomington, Indiana
We got back in the garden today after a month layoff. We had topsoil
hauled in when we moved in last winter and it's only about 6 inches deep
and it lays on top of a really hardpan clay that holds water and holds
water and holds water. When it was dry I couldn't water enough, after all
of that May rain it won't dry. Today I roto-tilled while it was still
clingy-wet just to break it up and help it air. I've got 2 pickup loads of
cow dung and stall-muck sunning out in the yard for application over the
winter along with another 3 truckloads on order and bags of gypsum to
apply. We've got about 80 more M2Wchiles to put in tomorrow if it's
dry. Then cukes and sunflower sprouts. Everything in the garden except
the potatoes looks like it's growing in slow motion, but I can't tell if
that's from the water or the cool weather. We've got cayennes and
jalapenos fruiting on plants that are 8 inches tall.
The electric fence is wirking real well. One night deer came up to it and
left, and one night a coon or possum got into it and scratched a path out
of it. The real mess was when it was still wet and Pat's red beagle,
Crockett, got into it. He's kind of fat so when he tried to jump to
low-wire he belly-pulled it off the post and wrapped it around his back
legs. It was insanity: He was howling and yelping and Levi ran up to
knock him out of it. Levi got nailed several times too--silly kid was
standing in mud and water--and probably won't do it again. I ran over and
unplugged it, Crockett lay in the mud for a bit, then shook it off and
bolted for the back door. That was three weeks ago at least. Now
everytime he sees Levi he starts growling and yapping at him, which is a
real pain as we all live in the same house.
carpo