gardening...

[rootofnewt]

i called and cancelled my aquatherapy today, citing reasons having to do with the new moon. those reasons were part of why i was in agony last night.

i realized today that, while i couldn't quite leave the house, i could go in the yard. when boy got done for the day (early--his office is moving, so they shut down the servers. everyone else is packing up their desks.), we both put on old clothing and went outside. i weedwhacked a bit around the sidewalk. i trimmed (with kitchen scissors) the grass and onions around my tulips. a nuthatch laughed at me until i looked up, then it flew to a different shrub.

boy worked on double digging a bit more garden space. i spread some ammonium sulfate (lower pH and add nitrogen) and something phosphorus-fixing. just a bit--but both are sorely needed in that plot. i spread some coffee grounds and worked them a bit. then i cast out some powdered eggshell. i rescued worms from boy's path and tossed them in my flower planters. boy garden weasled the whole patch. we then marked and furrowed four rows and planted one row of icicle radises, one row of daikon radishes, another row of icicle, and a row of raab. the raab was from seed i saved last year.

boy weedwhacked some more and now he's lying on the floor, enjoying the flow of air from the air purifier.

the birds are singing.

we need to cultivate two to three more feet out so I can plant some beans. they take a lot of room--i might need more room than that.


i'm all itchy now and covered in the juice of whacked plants. i'm allergic to just about everything i was out there rolling in. ;)

it's wonderful.

ETA: yes, i know the new moon's not for another 10 days. my cycle has shortened by 10 days. loads of fun, that. *sigh*

Comments

[aracknee.livejournal.com]

What kind of plants are coffee grounds good for? I'm afraid to over-acidify....

[krasota.livejournal.com]

used coffee grounds are actually pretty neutral--the pH tends to be 6.9. most of the acid goes into the coffee folks drink. they're great for compost or even vermicomposting. i just work mine into the soil. our soil has a lot of clay and rock. the coffee grounds help lighten up the clay and they're a decent source of nitrogen. our soil was *very* nitrogen poor. sure, cottonseed meal would be a better source, but i haven't been able to find it. ;) coffee grounds are free and it's a lot harder to overdo. i sprinkled some ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) on the soil, too, because we're *severely* nitrogen deficient and our pH isn't low enough for tomatoes.

i'm going to grow beans in another part of the garden, to see if they help fix some nitrogen better.

mine were in a clear trash bag, double-bagged. that's how i got them from starbucks. i let them sit outside nearly a week. they were steaming today and black and crumbly. i think they were espresso grounds, since they weren't in an environment where they could've composted on their own. ;)

the coffee deters snails and slugs and cutworms, i'm told. and any residual caffeine is probably enough to kill slugs and snails. worms love it, which is good. worms are lovely.

[aracknee.livejournal.com]

You are much more scientific about your gardening than I am. Probably more successful, too! We have lots of grounds and a reasonable number of snails, so I'll try it!

[javafiend.livejournal.com]

New Moon moon-times always seem to be more painful than pre-Full Moon moon times. Maybe that's just me.

Wait, why am I using euphemisms?

"Moon time" = "Menstrual period"

[risabe.livejournal.com]

Make string runners for your beans. Daddy puts tomato stakes in and drives little tacks in to create a network of string. They run up and don't sprawl around.

Of course, this depends on what kind of beans we are talkin' about... which just occurred to me.

Daddy plants field peas soon. O happy day!