Mud!
By annidavison
8 comments
Guess what I’ve been doing?
If your answer is languishing happily in my new house or buying more toys for myself, you would be wrong. If, however, your answer is digging, you would be slightly closer to the truth.
If your answer was ‘hauling 18’x18’x1’ of gravel and being covered in stinking black…mud? Clay? I have no idea…then you’d be spot on.
The garden where the grass is has good loamy/peaty soil, gritty enough to drain by pretty rich on neutrients and just ever so slightly acidic. Basically, perfect British soil. However under the gravel and tarp’s (which are only about 1/3 cleared :-O) it’s black, compact, very fine and waterlogged. It stinks, and it practically holds it’s shape just like clay does, but not quite. I don’t know if it’s the same stuff as the garden part, only compressed by the time, the weight of the gravel and the recent wet weather, or it it/the other half of the garden has had some treatment either way.
Oh, although I do have one bit of good news; my plants are thriving (although Basil and Tom are still sulking with me a little), especially my peppers, and my little leek seeds, which I planted about 10 days ago, have just started showing their tiny white, grassy heads! I’m stupidly excited over this, hehe.
And I’m taking loads of piccies; I’ll post a few up once I’ve got my own computer (library computers; don’t like you sticking things in them).
19 Feb, 2009
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Comments
i had the same problem with libary computers. It was great once I got my own. You will love it
19 Feb, 2009
Now that sounds like a fun job,pleased your plants are doing well and if you are stupidly excited (as you put it) then so am I cos I know that feeling well....Lol
19 Feb, 2009
Nope, no pond. I can only assume it's because of the compression and water; the bit I dug up earlier has pretty much dried out and turned all nice and crumbly like the rest of the garden. Hopefully I'll be able to just sorta skim the top foot of soil across the garden, churn and return it. It seems pretty good overall, but the lawn half is neutrient starved and good consistancy, and the gravel half is neutrient rich but needs balence in texture, lol.
19 Feb, 2009
Well Anni, it sounds like you have quite a job ahead of you. Don't hurt your back with all that digging!! I love to see the seeds poking their heads up too and get "stupidly excited" just like you. :o)
20 Feb, 2009
I think we all do - that's what gardening is all about! I am waiting for my first white Iris reticulata to unfold its petals - and getting excited about that! And when my plant order comes...and my plug-plants... and the next lot of sweetpeas germinates...
20 Feb, 2009
That's the thing, though; once you have your plants going it's great, but when you're just sitting there waiting for the seeds to start themselves up...it's a little like a positive pregnancy test, you know?
20 Feb, 2009
A very good comparison Anni....very much like a positive pregnancy test....LOL.!!
21 Feb, 2009
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5 Feb, 2009
sounds like it smells like the bobttom of my pond!! thats black and sludgy and very smelly!!! wasn't a pond there before was there? you have been busy wonderful what the feel of spring does to us gardeners isn't it?
19 Feb, 2009