Gardening

Today's project was filling a set of trough pots and securing them to the benches of the new picnic table. (This is from Tuesday, but it's after midnight so the date reads Wednesday. See some "before" pictures.) There are 6 troughs total, although one already had wild strawberries in it from earlier. Each bench holds 3 troughs. I got these and a bunch of other pots when Big Lots went out of business.

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Today I took some pictures at the Charleston Food Forest.

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These pictures mostly show the south lot. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna and Prairie Garden, and Back Toward the House.

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These pictures are from the left side of the Charleston Food Forest.  See Part 1 Right Side.

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Today I planted most of my new rocks! \o/ I'm waiting to sink the pink mica rock until I get a second one to point the other direction along the road, to catch headlights from both ways.

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These pictures are from Sunday, but it's after midnight so the timestamp will say Monday. See the savanna and house yard.

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Cicadas are hatching! I've seen a few hatch earlier, but this morning after the rain there are lots of them. The biggest concentration is around the forest garden and edges of the patio. :D These are red-eyed cicadas, technically periodical cicadas. Their carapaces are almost hard, their wings fully extended but still too soft to fly. It's a feast for everything that eats insects. Humans can eat them too. (I'm not planning to try that.) Usually what we get here are various types of the larger green cicadas, like the dog-day cicadas.

For maximum birdwatching benefits, keep an eye out on mornings after a rain. Once the nymphs shed their shells, they are soft and vulnerable. Many birds eagerly feast on them.

See also the poem "The Flying Jewels of Spring."

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I took photos of new flowers today. These are mostly from the house yard.

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Today I finished the hugelkultur pot. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) I still have the second one to fill, but this one is done for now. \o/

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Today I started on my hugelkultur pot project. The pot is about 21" at the outside top, 18" at the inside top, 16" tall, and 10 1/2" at the base.

I've been thinking about how I wanted to fill it. I didn't want to use all potting soil because sometimes it's too heavy and other times too light. I didn't want to use gravel or ceramic shards for drainage because eventually I'll want to dump it and refill it. So I hit on the idea of using sticks as the bottom layer, because they'll make good drainage but can also break down over time. Also, I love the idea of using things from my yard. A key rule of permaculture is "Obtain A Yield," and that can be anything you find useful. In this case, I'm using cut brush to improve drainage, so it's productive rather than just a pile of branches in the way of the lawnmower. I'll be adding leaves, compost, and potting soil later.

Hugelkultur is a type of no-turn compost similar to lasagna gardening where you make a pile of stuff, only this version can include anything from sticks to whole trees on the bottom. Eventually the wood decomposes.

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