After a few days of really cold weather, it has decided to be warm again. I think it got into the upper 60s today. Reminds me of last December....
And just like last December, the National Weather Service is predicting severe weather on Monday...all types of severe weather, I guess. Not looking forward to that to start 2023.
But in the meantime, it's Christmas break, and there is so much I need and want to do!
Project #1 - Work on the raised beds around the cellar
It's probably been almost a year since I finished the raised beds on the west side of the cellar. I really couldn't start on the other side until I had killed the Bermuda grass (stupid me, putting that up there!) and I didn't have enough black plastic to cover it over until I removed what was on the west side. But the Bermuda grass on the east side of the cellar baked in the sun all summer, and it's now time for me to put that area to use.
I plan to use that area to grow my lettuce, radishes, and other early spring vegetables that the rabbits just won't leave alone!
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| East cellar raised bed build in progress. |
Project #2 - Finish clearing out around another catalpa stump
The west fence around the yard use to have four catalpa trees growing along it. The storm on April 30, 2019 blew three of them over. The one that was at the south end of the row is now the centerpiece of "the flowerbed to hide the ugly stump." But the one at the north end was surrounded on the west by saw greenbriers, Japanese honeysuckle, and some kind of obnoxious rose. I had cut the rose down twice before, but this time, I wanted it gone for good!
I had already cut them all back so I spent about an hour yesterday digging out as many of the roots as I could. It was amazing to me how big the root knots on that brier were. And they are very hard to dig up. But I hope I've made a good start on that and will keep after it so I don't let any resprouts get a chance to take hold.
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| I still need to dispose of the pile of vines and roots, but they've been cleared away from the stump so I can plant some trees there. |
Project #3 - Build a Hügelkulture bed in the west end of the garden.
After the disaster that was last summer's garden, I decided I'd like to try putting in some Hügelkulture beds at the west end of the garden. I plan to start with one row, and if it does well, will add another one next winter.
We had a big pile of wood in the field from all of the trees that blew over in the 2019 storm, so I have quite a bit of rotting wood to go in the bottom of my trench. I think I've managed to finish up about 6' of the row and hoped I could get another 6' or so finished by the end of this weekend.
RAF said it looked like a grave. He said I needed to get the rest of it finished ASAP so people won't think that's what it is!
So I worked on that last weekend, and got all but about 16' of the row finished.
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| First thing to do was dig the trench. I dug it about 2' wide and about 15" deep. |
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| Next, add logs to the trench, top that with rotted wood, leaves and some of the Sorghum Sudan grass I grew last summer. |
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| I put a layer of cow manure over the trench, then piled the dirt over that and added another thin layer of the cow manure. It wasn't fresh manure - it was some of the cow piles that had been out in the field for a while and had already started to break down. I hope I didn't just plant a bunch of weeds in the new bed! |
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| And finally, a pretty thick layer of straw over the top of the bed to keep the dirt from being compacted or washing away. Now it looks like one big, long grave! |
Project #4 - continue the war on the invasives in The Carey woods
This is a project that's ongoing and sadly, will never end.
As the privet, brier and honeysuckle is taken out of the woods, something needs to go back in its place.
I'm planning to plant some black walnuts in a few spots (privet is probably juglone tolerant though).
I have a few redbud trees that have come up in my yard and garden, and plan to transplant some of them into the woods as I find them. I hope I can build some barriers around them using the privet branches so maybe the deer won't be able to get to them and eat them down to the ground.
Project #5 - Pick up foam insulation
Down the hill from us, there used to be an old broiler house (chicken house). It was falling down, and with every big windstorm, pieces of foam insulation would invariably blow off into the ditch along The Carey field. Eventually the bigger pieces would get broken up into smaller pieces, with many of them finding their way into the field or even over into the woods.
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| Bits of foam insulation that had collected along the fence line in The Carey field. |
I had picked up what was in the field before, as had my dad. But it wasn't long before more bits blew into the field - it was going to be a never-ending battle until the old broiler house was gone.
Well, it's now gone. The owners had someone come in and tear it down and bury it.
Over the course of a few days, I took some empty feed sacks with me and started picking the stuff up. The worst part was in the ditch by the road, because lots of the insulation was buried under the dead grass. But I think I ended up collecting about eight 50lb feed sacks full, and it just looks so much better!
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| Some of the insulation and trash that I picked up over the Christmas break. |
I haven't managed to get it all just yet. There is still a bit along the east fence, and quite a bit over in the woods. But I feel very happy to have most of it picked up.
Sad thing is that I was only able to pick up the stuff that was "visible." Where it had been exposed to the sun, tiny dust-like particles came off on my gloves, and I know were left in the soil. I don't know how long that will persist, or what kind of damage it does, but I hope not long and not much. Sigh.