The Garden

Now that the snow was gone we could start planning on the garden. The main plot was already there, but had not been used in a few years. I also had bigger plans that included a second and third plot. One we call the bird garden which is a bird food plot planted with a heirloom variety corn, Russian mammoth sun flower, pennyroya (a hardy ground cover with a strong menthol-mint aroma with insect repellent properties used since early Greek times), borage (an edible herb that chickens like to eat), and also Amaranth known for high protein seeds.

This required some real planning to accomplish. In the early spring I laid down a thick plastic tarp over the area to discourage grass from growing then a month later remove the tarp and did a controlled burn of area with garden hoses at the ready and my trusty wife by my side with a shovel. I lit the dead grass and started the burn carefully so it would not get out of control. I extinguished it several times and relit. (I once burned several hundred acres when I was 12 and was punished severely for it by my father and "The Belt" so I was really intense about this burn.)

It did not take long and I watered the area and watched long into the evening to make sure it would not flare up. The next step was some old fashioned sod busting with my new find from the barn my Murray 2hp rotor tiller. The soil was virgin and hard even after I attempted to soften with water. The wild grass and flowers that had owned the ground before were not going to give up their roots easily. It took several days, but once I got about five inches deep, I could start to add my soil amendments like sand and manure.

Nothing fancy, but the manure came from a friend who has a friend that owns a huge diary farm and they have a methane extraction facility there. The fresh manure is heated to 2,000 degrees and turned into energy. (It’s really cool.) This was not part of my research so I’m not that knowledgeable on the subject. I do know I got some of the finest manure I had ever had the pleasure of putting my hands in. I also learned that the farm was organic so the manure is too ~ BONUS!


<--- "Lower Garden"
The soil around the farm and area was brown clay so I needed to add sand and lots of it. I mentioned this to Steve one day. (I had looked into having several yards delivered from a local landscape business. The price was a full 2-week paycheck not an option.) So Steve said "oh you need sand I got sand" and walk up to the barn. I heard an engine start and out he comes with a skid loader/bobcat type machine and drove off into the woods way behind the barn. I just stood there with my tiller in my hand as the sound of the bobcat faded. Then as the engine sound got closer I saw that Steve had come back with a full yard and a half of pure sugar sand. I could not believe it!! "Where did you get that?" I asked. "Just behind the dump in the woods,” he says. And then he produced two more loads in a matter if a few minutes. I was happy as could be mixing my soil and manure and sand, the end result was one large plot 35x45 and two medium plots 25x30 (bird garden & lower garden) and a small herb garden. Total cost of soil prep $0.00.


"Main Garden" or "veggie garden"










"Bird Garden"