MAY 2022

MAY continued its warming effect. Tim took time off from driving to St. Louis to organize the spaces we had, including the lower shed in the valley. Jeremiah had built it well with a substantial loft space. Unfortunately, the only way up was a rickety ladder and there were no safety rails to prevent you from falling out of the loft.

For me, it was time to plant the garden. Fingers crossed I would get something. I planted tomatoes, bell, banana and jalapeno peppers, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, beans, squash, onions, carrots, lettuce, and herbs. Notice the big pile of rocks on the left. There were many more I found as I dug up the space. I probably would have ruined my tiller, had I attempted to use it.

Once planted, I turned my attention to the many HUGE flower beds surrounding the house. These had all been carefully mulched with shredded and stained pallet wood. A material that never rots. It adds no organic value to the soil and does not do a great job at retaining moisture - however, it looks good! To me, it looked like a moon-scape.

When I dug into the soil, I found red clay, sand, mica and a few grubs. No worms or organic matter. I added manure, or peat moss or other soil to each plant I planted, to encourage them to grow, and yes, they did pretty well. Gradually, I am removing all the black mulch and replacing it with natural wood mulch. I now have earthworms in the soil.

The bees had finished pollenating the flowers on the apples and tiny green fruit started to appear on the large Machinitosh, and a couple on the Golden and Red Delicious apple trees.

I had also determined there was way too much mowed lawn, so I designated several acres of lawn to field, allowing native grasses and flowers to grow. This created a nice barrier from the house to Joppa Road. Tim scraped the ground in a few places, and I scattered zinnias, and other wildflower seeds I had collected for the past couple of years. Some sprouted and created a colorful oasis in the field.