it's not
a 'garden' never will be, the word doesn't fit,
because 'wilderness' takes its time to get established
the hard clay
was surprised to see all these weeds, grasses and wild flowers
turn into a dry mass of future mulch during the dry and hot july this year
that wild growth of course tells me:
there's potential for growing chemical factory free
vegetables and herbs
for any vegetables and herbs to make it through the dry season,
first an inch or so of humus needs to be grown from green manure,
several crops of buckwheat, rye grass, clover got to do their hard work
so 'garden' is the wrong word -
the process involved is way beyond words
I'm not sure at this time, if the August sun is hot enough to 'cook' the patch
and let the worms come up from below the dried out surface
and break up the hard clay and turn it into a modicum of 'workable soil'
as of now there's enough dry matter to pull it into the surface layer;
with today's overnight rain, a solid 10x10 plastic sheet, the edges tiedly sealed
would ' burn' the dry matter under the sun,
make the worms happy and get rid of the grass sods
then broadcasting buckwheat, a dense stand as cover crop
Not before there's humus that incorporates with the clay
nothing can be sown for over-wintering, no roots get deep enough yet
no matter how thick the mulch cover tries to be
-humus thick enough to hold the moisture during the next heat and dry spell
up front, the small grass patch is nearly dead,
so turning it also into a green manure producer
with deep rooting plants like comfrey...
but for now, after the rain, a good beginning,
overseeding it with a thick stand of buckwheat...
Parsley in the pots grows good,
stuff for the winter window sill and the salads to come
Chives the same, one pot at a time,
great green stuff for the home-baked sandwhich
I don't have a spade, it would be useless,
hard clay is stronger than me,
so let nature take its course and work the soil herself
I also got to 'work the raspberries
an old stand from last century
that needs rejuvenation
red plums are ripening,
surrounded entirely by grass
that needs to be mulched away...
the apple trees, fewer apples this year,
one two trees, their fruits turning yellow, dry meat
I suspect water shortage like last year,
surrounded by dried out weeds
getting to know the 'garden' ---
and if next winter the native deer return -
I left all-around the wild flowers stand,
the same they ate last winter
those deer produced a lot manure...
they shared the bird-seed with the birds
and 'stretched out' in the warmest spot of their garden