Brandy's Organic Garden! Step One, Preparing the Soil

What it looked like before I dug it up (This is a picture of a different part of the yard because I didn't think to take a picture before I started digging)

Today, the snow melted and it was a glorious day!! There may not have been actual snow, but with the freezing temperatures lately it felt downright balmy at 65 degrees. This warm, sunny day inspired me to start on our pathetic yard. It's quite embarrassing actually (I feel like that is something a British person would say). Everyone else on our street 1. Has gorgeous homes and 2. Since they're the actual owners of their homes, they care about maintaining a pristine yard. Our house is not hideous but since we rent, we are reluctant to put any time or money into this house or our yard. The shame was getting to be too much to bear and so today I decided to do some raking. (Leaves from fall...I think that's why we have winter, so I have several months of cool weather to delay raking)

As I'm raking, I keep getting snagged on these viney, weed looking things. So, naturally, I decided to yank on them and throw them into my leaf pile. Ryan, presumably too busy working on whatever it is he works on (boat? wine rack made out of magazine rack he found in someone's trash?) to notice that I was tearing up the yard, finally came over and explained to me that I was pulling out our grass. For those of you who are as clueless as I am or used to grass that GROWS IN THE GROUND: St. Augustine grass is a grass that is low maintenance and runs across the top of the ground in dense layers that crowd out weeds. It looks like roots or vines or something growing horizontally across the yard which, if you ask me, is not what grass is supposed to do. It's popular in Florida and other tropical and sub tropical areas. I inform Ryan that I don't like this grass or our yard.

After I realize that raking is futile, Ryan suggests that I get started on the garden I have been talking about. Had I not been encouraged, I probably would have kept talking about the benefits of our own organic garden for quite some time. Preferably until old age when I finally was too old and fragile to start a garden. (I think he just wants me to leave him to his garage projects and stop bothering him)

So I wander over to the side of our house that receives the most sunshine. It's also the side of the house that is overrun with these burr things or, as I like to call them "Damn prickers that get stuck to my pants" and it's also the side that is furthest from the garage (I'm on to you Ryan!!!). So I try to clear an area of grass with the very sturdy metal rake I had been using to try and rake the front yard. Side note: I am not sure it's actually called a rake because it's not like the fanned out plastic thingy with thin prongs....this is maybe more like a fork or something. Might also be the reason why it kept getting stuck on our "grass".

After about 30 seconds of trying, I wander back to the garage to complain to Ryan that the stupid earth won't move and let me prepare it for gardening. So, he sets down his electric whatever it is and leads me back to the pre-garden area. He takes the shovel, steps on it and digs up some earth like no big deal and asks me to try it. I step on the shovel. And then, I jump on the shovel. I bounce back and the handle hits me in the chest. I pretend to shed a tear. Ryan isn't buying it. He tells me to try it again and LEAVES ME THERE. Angry, but not willing to give up on my project, I jump on that stupid shovel until it moves. "Ha! That will show him" I think to myself and proceed to jump and pull and dig up that section of yard until it looks like this:

As I walk by the garage to get a glass of water, Ryan calls out to me to see how it's going. I inform him that I am not speaking to him and keep walking. When he asks why, I am ready: "Because you made me reach down deep inside myself to find strength I didn't know I had" and he says "That must have been terrible for you" and it was.

(Compost heap after I added a ton of leaves)

I forgave him after he scooped up some of the compost from our compost heap (from the icky bottom that has been there since August) and helped me spread it out and cover it with a plastic sheet. Gardening tip of the day from someone who has read a few articles about organic gardening: After you dig up the ground, pull out roots, rocks etc, mix it up with some compost (or natural fertilizer if you don't have compost) and water the area, then you can cover it with a plastic sheet so the sun can cook any weed seeds in there. It also helps cook anything else that might be in there that you don't want. Organic gardening means: no weed killer! And really, if you do it right, you shouldn't need it anyway.


So, that is all for today! Now, I'm going to leave it until it's ready for planting. (Read: Until I remember that I am doing this and give it another go)


Notes:

-It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
-My hands hurt, but that is more because after I finished the garden, I decided to rake up the back yard that was full of leaves and weeds.
-I'm really hoping I'm able to grow something edible and not kill it off.