Monday, June 11, 2012

One Step Forward, Four Steps Back


Late yesterday afternoon, Dad and I took the pickup truck to Lane Forest Products and got two scoops of blended mint compost. When we returned we dumped it in a dry corner of the garden. My idea was tonight we would spread the mint compost,with the help of our tractor, down in the wet end of the garden.


As you can see, after last weeks big rains, there is standing water and mud here. So Dad carefully distributed the compost and I raked it evenly over the area. Then Dad started to till the garden, for what I optimistically thought would be the fifth and final time. What happened next was a bit of a disaster.The more we tilled the worse that garden got. The soil was so wet and it just turned over in huge, clay clumps. And the wet end where we dumped the compost was so wet the tractor wheels just sunk and we weren't even able to really till in any compost. So after almost one month of tilling - and rainfall - the garden is in worse shape than it was in mid-May. To be truthful, I can't ever remember the whole garden being wetter than it is right now. I am at a bit of a loss how to proceed. We certainly can't till anymore until there is some major drying out.


On a happier note, Dorothy's rose in the garden has begun to bloom. I noticed the first blooms open yesterday and quite a few more opened in today's sunny weather.



1 comment:

Lady Farmer said...

Oh, no! Hope you dry out soon!
I am just getting my big garden in today. I am putting in the tomatoes, squash and peppers that I started in the greenhouse. I hope to plant the beans tomorrow. We've had to wait for the sun also. We had some today, in fact, I got sunburned while mowing the grass, and now this evening, it has started to rain again! :~{