Gardening

I'm so glad that my mother taught me to garden. I'm quite sure that my 12 year old self moaned and complained about weeding and watering, but it is a skill that has become a joy. I love playing in the dirt, especially when there are worms in it, and when the results are so beautiful.

My worm compost bin is such fun. I get a kick out of dumping all our green waste in it and watching it turn into the most lovely dirt you can imagine! I'm getting better at the process with experience and by reading other gardeners' ideas. Did you know that there is a whole world of gardening bloggers? You can learn a lot from them.

Today was another skirmish in the epic battle against the crabgrass. It has been trying to take over my strawberry patch for the entire five years that we've been living here. Victory has gone back and forth between us. Two summers ago, when I was very great with child, it won entirely. Last summer revenge was sweet - I dug up the entire patch, saving the best strawberries to replant. Still, even with a fresh start and lots of newspaper mulch, that crabgrass refuses to die. It came up around the edges, poked through weak spots, and twined itself through the berry plants themselves. When I took up the paper today, I found whole colonies of yellow/white crabgrass, growing underneath. Agh!!

So, today I pulled up everything I could find, and then laid burlap cloth across the entire patch. I cut small holes in it and gently eased the strawberry plants through. It came out looking rather nice, don't you think?

After taking the photo, I added as much worm compost as I had around the plants on top of the burlap. I'll continue to add that as I make it. Watered well, added coffee grounds and little dishes of beer (the organic gardening method of killing slugs!) and hopefully my strawberries will be all set to produce beautifully this summer!